Missouri Bicycling, Walking, Running, and Trails News

ALERT: MoDOT asking for public comment on hundreds of proposed projects - comment deadline Dec 22nd - How you can help in 5 minutes

MoDOT has just released a massive list of proposed projects and needed projects - many or most of which will be funded by the recent federal infrastructure bill and other newly available funding. The purpose of the prioritized list of projects was to get ahead of the proposed federal funding so that Missouri would have a good idea of how this funding - and any future funding that may be received - will be spent.

MoDOT is asking for public comment on their project list - a list that includes many roads, highways, and bridges and also a large number of pedestrian, bicycle, trail, transit, rail, airport, and other projects.

Deadline for public comment is December 22nd.

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President Biden signs long-awaited Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, including multi-year federal transportation reauthorization - and it's good for people who walk and bicycle!

Monday President Biden signed the long-awaited Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, including the multi-year federal transportation re-authorization, into law. 

Work on the transportation re-authorization portion of the bill has been going on for many years.  Every year for the past several years at the National Bike Summit, Missouri's delegation has spoken to every Missouri Congressional office about this bill and the various issues and proposals in play.  Many of those proposals - proposals that the national bicycle movement has been working towards for many years - have made it into the final, passed version.

The "Stimulus Infrastructure Bill" that was combined with transportation re-authorization has been under discussion for several years as well - during the four years of Trump's presidency and then with greater urgency when the covid pandemic struck.

Below:

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ALERT: MoDOT needs your input! Public meetings Nov-Dec 2021 across MO for High Priority Unfunded Needs list

Over the past several months, MoDOT has been working with its planning partners - Regional Planning Commission and Metropolitan Planning Organizations in every part of Missouri - to develop a "High Priority Unfunded Transportation Needs" list. Now they are releasing that project list to the public and asking for your input.

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Santa Fe Trail Bicentennial: Long & short Santa Fe Trail bicycle routes to ride for Raytown's Festival of the Trails September 11th, 2021

It's the 200th anniversary of the Santa Fe Trail in 2021 and communities all across America and Missouri are celebrating.

The Raytown area - second day out on the trail from one of the major Santa Fe Trail launching points in Independence, Missouri - is celebrating with the The Festival of the Trails on September 11th, 2021. The Festival is a series of activities and events along the historic Santa Fe Trail route through town.

As part of this Santa Fe Trail bicentennial celebration, MoBikeFed has created two bicycle routes that allow you to visit all the Raytown Festival of the Trails venues along with a number of Santa Fe Trail historic sites from Wayne City Landing on the Missouri River in Independence to New Santa Fe on the far west Missouri border:

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MoBikeFed announces 370 miles of "Birthplace of the Santa Fe Trail Bicycle Tour" for Santa Fe Trail bicentennial

2021 is the bicentennial of the Santa Fe trail - a trail pioneered in 1821 from Boon's Lick, Missouri to Santa Fe, Mexico.  The entire Santa Fe Trail, a transcontinental route connecting nations and cultures, is filled with 200 years of history--and the first portion of the trail in Missouri is no exception. 

In honor of the Santa Fe Trail bicentennial, MoBikeFed is announcing the release of over 270 370 miles of carefully designed, vetted, and amazing bicycle touring routes exploring the Birthplace of the Santa Fe Trail in Missouri.

 

The 270 370 Miles of Santa Fe Trail Bicycle Routes

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Butterfield Stage Experience 500 Bicycle Route? Not officially (yet) but...try an early, unofficial draft of the Springfield MO-Ft Smith AR route (240 miles)

[UPDATE October 2022: The OFFICIAL Butterfield Stage Route through NW Arkansas will soon be announced.  For now we have removed the unofficial, early draft route.  As soon as the official route is announced, we will link to that official route here!]

The Butterfield Stage Experience mostly-gravel bicycle route, 250 miles Jefferson City to Springfield, has been an amazing success for Missouri and for Butterfield Trail communities since it was announced in 2018.

Now - thanks to an amazing group of leaders and organizers in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas - we are looking at having the next 250 miles of the Butterfield Trail turned into an officially adopted bicycle route, by December 2022.

 

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STL Post-Dispatch: Missouri parks boosters falling millions short of fundraising goal for 144-mile cross-state Rock Island Trail section

A year and a half ago, Missouri State Parks and Ameren signed a historic agreement to transfer the next 144 miles of the Rock Island RR corridor, between Windsor MO and Washington MO, to Missouri State Parks to become Rock Island Trail State Park.

However, there was a big catch: To finalize the transfer, Missouri State Parks and its supporter had to raise $9.8 million dollars in private or other non-state, non-state parks funding, so that Missouri State Parks could accept the corridor.

Building statewide trail connections, preserving trail corridors like the Rock Island, and taking full advantage of your trail connection when it finally happens, will be some of the main topics of discussion at the Missouri Active Transportation Summit, Friday August 13th, 2021. All virtual for 2021 Join us!

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A great lineup for the 2021 Missouri Active Transportation Summit August 13th - Early Bird Registration ends Fri, July 24th

We invite you to join us for the 2021 Missouri Active Transportation Summit, where we will be sharing ideas for making our communities more active, vibrant, healthy, and economically sustainable through bicycling, walking, and trails.

  • Early Bird Registration for the Summit ends Friday, July 24th.  Save $10 just by registering early.
     
  • Take an extra 25% off registration with this online Coupon Code: 2021SUMMIT25

We have an amazing line-up of sessions for this year's Missouri Active Transportation Summit--two top-notch keynotes and a large number of breakout sessions to choose from. Register today!

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Rock Island Trail - Jackson County segment Grand Opening Saturday, completing statewide trails vision

Grand Opening for the final section of the Rock Island Trail in Jackson County is Saturday, July 10th, 2021, 10am at the Truman Sports Complex in Kansas City. Details below. 

This is the last big piece of the statewide Katy-Rock Island trail system we've been envisioning for more than 25 years. There are, as always, some gaps in the system - but in the grand outline, this is it.

With the completion of this westernmost section of the Rock Island Trail, Missouri now has 376.5 miles of (almost) seamlessly connected trail stretch from (almost) state line to state line and connecting communities with millions of residents along the way.

This is as truly monumental accomplishment, and one many decades in the making.

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Ozark National Scenic Riverways seeks public input on Roads & Trails Management Plan - Potential key connections on Ozark Trail Mountain Bike System

Ozark National Scenic Riverways - Missouri's most extensive National Park - has released a draft roads and trails management plan that is open for public input. 

You may recall that ONSR is currently a major impediment, but with updates to its trail plan could become a key link, in the 280+ mile Ozark Trail Mountain Bike System.

ONSR has never allowed mountain biking on any of its trails.  The previous draft proposed opening a good number of trails to mountain biking, which is a positive.  But key links in the potential 280-mile Ozark Trail Mountain Bike System were not included. 

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Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation comments to FHWA regarding proposed changes to national road design guidelines

Today the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation joined thousands of organizations and individuals across Missouri and the U.S. in submitting detailed comments about problems with proposed changes to the influential Manual on Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

The MUTCD is the national guidance for all visible parts of the nation's road network--signs, stripes, lanes, crosswalks, traffic signals, and more.   The MUTCD is updated about once a decade.

The recently released draft for the 2021 MUTCD update is very problematic from the perspective of pedestrian and bicycle transportation. Public comments on the proposed updates are due Friday, May 14th, 2021 and can be submitted using the official U.S. government response page here.

However, the simplest and easiest way to submit a public comment is to use the Bike League's automated comment submission form:

League of American Bicyclists automated MUTCD comment submission form

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Join MoBikeFed's Advocacy Network

MoBikeFed is a statewide group of people like you, working together for better bicycling, walking, and trails in Missouri. When you join our advocacy network you receive occasional important advocacy alerts and bicycle, pedestrian, and trails news from around Missouri.

Working together we make a real difference! Join our advocacy network: