Anti-bicycle amendment was opposed even within sponsor's own district

It turns out that the anti-bicycle amendment introduced by Rep. Paul Curtman, which would have removed bicycling from the state transportation funding proposal, was opposed even by key local officials in his own district.  The anti-bicycle amendment was soundly defeated on the floor of the Missouri House Tuesday. 

The anti-bicycle amendment was defeated in the House Tuesday; the Bicycle Ban proposal is still alive

Wednesday's E-Missourian, which covers news in Curtman's district, features an extensive article about the anti-bicycle proposal. The article prominently quotes Alderman Dustin Bailey of Union, one of the cities in Curtman's district.

Bailey strongly opposes Curtman's proposal to remove bicycling from the transportation funding plan:

Bailey argues that cities within Franklin County are making strides to expand bike paths.

“I hope he (Curtman) is aware of the many things going on in the county right now. In Washington, a new Missouri River bridge is being pursued that includes pathways to allow bikers to access the Katy Trail, a major attraction is the mixed-used Riverfront Trail, and bike lanes have recently been added to major intersections,” Bailey said. “ In Union, bike lanes have been added to major roads and the comprehensive plan recommends many miles of off-street multiuse trails.

Even Curtman's home town of Pacific is heavily invested in improving conditions for bicycling and walking:

“The city of Pacific has been adding sidewalks throughout town and is seeking the addition of trails,” he added. “Franklin County, in addition to the Union and Washington, have bicycle and pedestrian master plans developed by Trailnet that recommended many miles of trails.”

Bailey further added that bicycling promotes quality of life and contributes to the attractiveness of a community.

“More importantly, I feel it is a viable mode of transportation that allows people who may not own or be able to afford a car to get to the doctor, grocery store, or other desired destinations,” he said. “These people, who will pay this sales tax every day, deserve to get to these locations safely.”

According to Bailey, aldermen and other local officials should have input on sales tax dollars that affect their communities.

“I know that a small percentage of these proposed sales tax dollars would be returned to local municipalities,” he said. “I think it is up to the local leaders to decide how they best want to encourage transportation in their communities. If local leaders feel that bicycle facilities are the best use of this money, I think they should have the ability to decide this.”

House Democrats are a minority in the Chamber, with fewer than 1/3 of the House's 163 seats. But to pass a transportation measure of this type, their support is essential.  If Democrats were able to vote against the measure in a block, they could stop it.

As the article points out, Democrats' strong support of bicycling, walking, and transit is a very important reason those elements are included in this plan:

The AP reported that House Democrats spoke against the amendment and said the state should promote alternative forms of transportation. They also threatened that they would oppose the entire measure if the amendment were added.

Opposition from Democrats could sink the transportation measure that state officials say is necessary in order for Missouri to be able to maintain its roads and bridges.

That isn't to say the Republican support of bicycling, walking, and transit isn't important, too--a large majority of both parties voted to kill the anti-bicycle amendment Tuesday, and we are fortunate to have strong supporters across the entire political spectrum.

But the way the anti-bicycle amendment played out Tuesday clearly showed the depth of support in Missouri for bicycling, walking, and transit.

If any of these were omitted from the transportation plan, it would have no chance of passing the General Assembly.

And that is a powerful sign of Missouri's growing institutiional support for bicycling, walking, and transit. 

Remember that MoDOT's regional transportation planning partners across Missouri are currently creating their project lists for MoDOT's portion of the transportation funding plan. Contact your local transportation planning agency to make sure that bicycling and walking are well represented in your own local plan.