Action Alert: Let MoDOT know YOUR priorities for I-70 innovation and MoDOT's future direction

Recently, MoDOT announced a visioning process for the I-70 corridor.  MoDOT is asking Missourians to submit their innovative ideas and vision for what I-70 should be.  With MoDOT currently undertaking a national search for a new MoDOT Director, the direction the agency takes on I-70 is likely to set the tone for MoDOT's immediate future.

TAKE ACTION: Take a few minutes to let MoDOT know your thoughts about the future of the I-70 corridor--and please include some of the innovative ideas we suggest below.

MoDOT's proposed Road to Tomorrow for I-70
MoDOT's proposed Road to Tomorrow for I-70

Take Action: What innovations for I-70 can you suggest that will improve bicycling and walking along this corridor?

Please take the time to respond to MoDOT's request for innovation on the I-70 corridor on its Road to Tomorrow website.
 

Below are some suggested innovations that you can submit to MoDOT:

  • Make the entire I-70 corridor more bicycle and pedestrian friendly and safe. How can an interstate freeway where bicycling and walking and not allowed become better for bicycling and walking?  There are three specific, very important, ways that will help provide needed and important bicycle and pedestrian access and safety along and across the I-70 corridor:
    • Freeways are the among the biggest barriers to bike/ped travel in the communities they serve.  A major innovation in Missouri would be to reverse this historical situation by making every interchange and overpass bike/ped friendly and accessible, as appropriate to the location of each interchange, and carefully evaluating the viability of bike/ped crossings in between interchanges where needed.
       
    • Create a continuous frontage road along I-70 across Missouri, on at least one side of the freeway, and ensure that the entire frontage road reaches at least Bicycle Level of Service "C" level.  Provide pedestrian access along the frontage road where appropriate/needed.
       
    • Improve safety for pedestrians who (mostly due to circumstances outside their own control) find themselves on I-70. A surprisingly high number of pedestrians are killed on interstate freeways, many after exiting their vehicles after collisions or breakdowns.  Include shoulders/ breakdown lanes on all portions of any newly constructed freeways and consider technological, legal, or other solutions to improve pedestrian safety in these situations
       
  • The biggest innovative idea MoDOT needs to explore with I-70 is how to do more with less.  Missouri citizens have said pretty clearly that they don't want or need big, expensive, flashy freeway and highway expansions, but rather well-considered, basic, cost-effective solutions that maintain the current system at lowest possible cost.  - Is there a way to extend the life of current infrastructure another 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 years beyond its projected lifespan?  Are innovative treatments available that will allow this?
    MoDOT
    MoDOT
    • Can we explore innovative ways to reduce congestion and traffic back-ups without requiring extraordinarily expensive additional lanes and additional right-of-way?
       
    • Can we explore mass transit, carpooling, demand management, freight transportation options, and other alternatives to reduce traffic demand on I-70 without making major, expensive expansions of the basic roadway?
       
    • Can we explore traffic demand management, staggered start times for business, transit, and other innovative ways to reduce demand on I-70 while still keeping Missouri's economy strong?
       
    • How about carpool lanes, congestion charging, and tolling? These innovative ways of funding and reducing congestion on freeways have worked in other parts of the country and the world.  Why not in Missouri?
       
    • Will every suggested improvement or expansion to I-70 be evaluated via triple-bottom-line accounting methods and full health and environmental assessments?  Considering all impacts of our highway projects on Missouri's health, economy, and environment would be very innovative and put Missouri into the forefront of 21st Century transportation solutions.
       
    • Can MoDOT integrate all plans for I-70 expansion with land-use planning for the surrounding areas? Much travel demand can be reduced or eliminated by smart land use planning that goes hand-in-hand with transportation planning--and which we have not seen MoDOT participate in, in the past.

A fully multi-modal, integrated, comprehensive approach to managing I-70's future will be truly innovative. Please take a few minutes today to urge MoDOT to move in this direction.

 

 

Working to create a world-class bicycle and pedestrian transportation system in Missouri is one of the top goals in MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri. Working with statewide agencies like MoDOT to improve bicycle and pedestrian access to MoDOT's 34,000 mile system that reaches through every city, county, and town in MIssouri is one of our primary responsibilities.

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