20th Anniversary Blast from the Past: What was MoBikeFed doing in 2004?

Celebrating MoBikeFed's 20th Anniversary this year, we're taking some time to look at what MoBikeFed was doing--and what the bicycle, pedestrian, and trails landscape in Missouri looked like--at different times over the past 20 years.

MoBikeFed helped organize the Ride of Silence in 2004

In 2004--at ten years old!--we were just getting ready to hire our lobbyist for the first year--taking the very first steps towards becoming a professional organization with professional staff and all that comes with it.

At the time, we wrote a series of articles explaining why it made sense to hire a lobbyist and what we were planning to--articles that ring as true today, 10 years later, as they did then.

We also explained what we had been doing for the past 10 years--it's a good summary of the first 10 year's of MoBikeFed's history.

MoBikeFed's History and Accomplishments--through 2004

Over the years, the Missouri Bicycle Federation has had an influence on statewide bicycle policy far out of proportion to its size and budget. A few examples of issues MoBikeFed has worked on over the years since 1994:

• Repealed the mandatory sidepath law
   
• Defeated a proposal in the MO legislature to require bicyclists to ride on the wrong side of the road
   
• Defeated a bill requiring bicyclists to ride single file
   
• Proposed far-reaching highway safety legislation that has twice passed the Missouri Senate.
   
• Assembled a broad coalition in support of the highway safety legislation, including bicycle clubs, motorcycle clubs, volksmarch clubs, pedestrian advocacy organizations, and the Missouri PTA.
   
• Worked with Amtrak & the MO Legislature to allow bicycles to be rolled onto MO Amtrak trains in 1997
   
• Prodded MoDOT to hire a Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator in 1993, then to fill the position again when it went vacant in 2001.

The partnership between the MoDOT Bike/Ped Coordinator and MoBikeFed has produced numerous positive changes:

• The revision or creation of MoDOT standards for the accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians. Before the Bike/Ped Coordinator position, there was essentially no consideration of bicycle and pedestrian issues in MoDOT plans and standards.
   
• Numerous updates to the Missouri Driver Guide to include bicycle and pedestrian issues (the entire chapter, "Sharing the Road", was added and later revised and improved).
   
• Creation and distribution of a draft state bicycle route map, maps of shoulders on state highways (data and a map that never before existed) and maps of traffic counts for bicyclist use in route planning.
   
• Consideration of bicyclist needs in planning rumble strip policies.
   
• The creation of a bike-friendly drain grate policy (which is currently in the process of being adopted).
   
• Generally, consideration of bicycle and pedestrian needs when planning all state road construction and reconstruction, when before there was none.
   
• Input on specific projects and plans, in far too many specific cases to mention individually. (Example)

States that have representatives bringing bicycling issues before state political leaders develop a friendlier and safer environment for bicycling.

We need your help to make this happen here in Missouri.

More information from our 2004 campaign to hire our first lobbyist:

• Why do bicyclists need a representative in Jefferson City?
• Why is James Farrell a good choice?
• FACT SHEET: Why hire a lobbyist?
• FACT SHEET: Why Hire James Farrell?
• FACT SHEET: What is in the proposed legislation?
• FACT SHEET: What is MoBikeFed's track record?