Missouri Bicycling, Walking, Running, and Trails News

St. Louis University study links poor community environment and obesity

A recent study by researchers at the St. Louis University School of Public Health and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services finds that poor community environment is directly linked to obesity in adults. From an article on EurekAlert.org:
According to the report, Missourians who indicated in telephone surveys that they consider their neighborhoods unsafe and unpleasant were one-and-one-half times more likely to be overweight than individuals who said they considered their neighborhoods safe and pleasant. In addition, those who reported not having access to outdoor exercise facilities such as walking or running tracks, basketball or tennis courts, and swimming pools, were more likely to be overweight than those who had access to such facilities.

"We often think of overweight in individuals being caused just by people overeating and not exercising," said Bert Malone, Director of the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. "But this study shows that some of the overweight problem may be due to the environment in which people live." . . .

"[T]his study suggests that changing communities by making them safer and offering people access to community parks, public recreation facilities, and walking and biking trails may help reduce the prevalence of overweight by promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles," Brownson added.

Meanwhile, a recent study finds that one in four Canadian boys age 13-16 has high blood pressure. The cause? Obesity.

According to an article in Reuters:
The findings warn of an impending epidemic of high blood pressure among adults, lead investigator Dr. Gilles Paradis of McGill University noted [because the proportion of the population with high blood pressure only gets larger as the population gets older] . . .

"Schools, parents, health professionals and policy makers need to understand that the gravity of the obesity epidemic requires urgent and massive prevention efforts targeted at getting kids to become physically active as well as to eat a healthy diet, promoting growth but not excessive calorie intake," sad Paradis in a statement released by the AHA.

And let's not even mention the epidemic of Type II Diabetes among teenagers--one recent study documented a 10-fold increase in such cases in the 1990s, and adds "It is well known that obesity is increasing among American adolescents, and our study points out that this trend may have important health implications."

Of course, very few teenagers will actually suffer from Type II Diabetes. Even the teenage high blood pressure, which affects many more teenagers than does Type II Diabetes, still strikes only a minority. But such diseases are the canaries in the mine--they are the most obvious and alarming symptoms of a culture that promotes "safe" activities like TV-watching over "dangerous" activities like walking and bicycling; a culture that creates communities unpleasant for walking, playing, and other physical activities because it's "too expensive" and "might slow my morning commute by a few seconds."
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Novel uses of your mountain bike . . .

Not getting enough miles on your bike? How about getting a few more by mowing your lawn on your mountain bike?

(I know you're all so excited about this you can't contain yourselves, so I'll warn you that when I rushed to order my own "Pedal-powered Lawn Mower" I was crushed to discover that one vital part was "no longer available". Oh, well--it was a really nice idea . . . )
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One-day bicycling course in St. Louis area March 22nd

Bill Carlson, Saint Louis Regional Bicycle Federation board member and League of American Bicyclist's certified League Cycling Instructor will be conducting a Road I course at Holy Lutheran Church, 2030 Union Road, 63125.

The March 22nd, Saturday, course starts at 9 a.m. with classroom instruction. After lunch the cyclists will "drive" their bicycles through a variety of traffic situations previously discussed during the morning session. The afternoon session will conclude about 3 p.m.

The class is limited to 10 cyclists. Cost is $10 which includes the Road I Student Manual.

For more information contact Bill Carlson (314) 544-8152 or wfosterc@aol.com.
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St. Louis-area McKinley Bridge to be re-vamped with bicycle access

Because of safety concerns, the McKinley Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River near Alton, has been closed since October. When it is reopened, two of the four lanes are planned as motor vehicle lanes and the other two lanes will be bike/ped lanes.

There are a number of issues that must be resolved before construction can move forward.

Read the complete story in the Alton, IL, Telegraph.
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MoDOT and city cooperate on new multi-use trails in Jackson

The SEMissourian reports that the city of Jackson and MoDOT are cooperating to create a network of new biking/walking trails that will connect all public schools in Jackson.

The first stretch will be along West Independence Street, which leads from Jackson Middle School to nearby neighborhoods, a funeral home, and a trailer park.

West Independence Street, where autos routinely drive over 40 MPH, has no sidewalks or shoulder but is routinely used by middle school students walking to school, because it is the only available route.
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MoDOT announces funding for bike/ped river crossing at Jefferson City

MoDOT recently announced a $4 million grant under TEA-21 (the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, the federal highway funding bill) to add a 6-foot bicycle-pedestrian path to the southbound side of the Missouri River crossing at Jefferson City.

The path will allow bike/ped travel in both directions. It can be no more than six feet wide because of weight considerations--the new pedestrian span will be cantilevered from the west side of the current bridge. The path will have 8-foot high fencing, with an inward curve at the top, on both sides.

On the south end of the river is downtown Jefferson City, including the state capital and other government buildings; on the north side is the Katy Trail.

MoDOT had previously announced a re-striping and re-fitting project for the northbound lanes of the bridge to give more shoulder room, making the northbound direction bicyclable. The soundbound side of the bridge, however, remained a difficult problem.

The bridge is an important link between the Katy Trail and Jefferson City. MoDOT's Bike/Ped coordinator Caryn Giarratano said that "It will in effect connect the greenway to the Katy Trail."

The community must come up with $1 million to match the $5 million provided by the federal government. The Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau is exploring the idea of creating a foundation to collect community donations to raise the needed funds.

Pedestrian and bicycle advocates hailed the bike/ped bridge and the shoulder widening as an important links across the Missouri River. Currently the Missouri River crossing at Jefferson City is very, very difficult for bicyclists and completely impassible for pedestrians. The nearest alternative crossing points are northwest at Booneville and east at Hermann, about 25-35 miles distant.

The new bridge has important implications for tourism in the Jefferson City area--both as an attraction in itself and as a link between Jefferson City and internationally renowned Katy Trail.
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2003 Midwest Mountain Bike Summit in KC March 14-16

The Midwest Mountain Bike Summit is coming to Kansas City next weekend. The Summit schedule has just been posted on the EarthRiders web site.

The Summit includes presentations about building and maintaining single-track mountain bike trails, hands-on workshops demonstrating the techniques involved, bike skills classes and demonstrations, rides, new product demos, a film festival, a swap meet, and much more.

The Summit will be held at Landahl Park in Blue Springs, which has some of the finest mountain bike trails in the area.
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Will Missouri Senator Bond support alternative transportation in TEA3?

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that
the Senate's new key players, like Republicans James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Kit Bond of Missouri, seem bent on returning to the 1950s era of road-building, with less emphasis on repairing the aging interstate system or expanding commuting choices in metropolitan areas.

The article suggests that senators like Inhofe and Bond will be less likely to support bicycle, pedestrian, and transit funding as part of the TEA-21 renewal package.

Missourians can find contact info for Sen. Bond on his web page.
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Blue Springs mayor asks citizens to support liveable communities

In a recent Kansas City Star column, Blue Springs mayor Greg Grounds asks citizens to let city government know how they feel about development standards:
In trying to evaluate the issues I find myself wondering where the bulk of our residents stand.

John and Mary Doe, where are you? While anecdotal information can be unreliable, many of you who contact me say you like what is going on, and urge a continuation of present policy. However, few of you ever show up at public hearings, or even write letters to the council or newspapers unless it is a project next door to where you live.

At the same time, some local builders call me and claim that planting large numbers of trees is ruining the town. "Who wants to live in a forest?" they ask. They do appear at hearings, often with paid representatives.

Mayor Grounds has good advice--if you want to live in a bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly community, you've got to speak up!
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KC Northland area begins ambitious trail-building plan

The Kansas City Star reports that several counties north of the river in the Kansas City area are embarking on an ambitious bike/hike trail-building program. Many smaller-scale trails already exist, but the new plan is to make "trail arterials" that link one area to another and one trail to another.

Just a few of the first trails will be built this summer. The final result will be an elaborate, interlinked network of trails.

The KCStar article gives a nice summary of quite a number of new trails that will be built in this area next summer.

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Kansas City Walkability Plan needs public support now

The Kansas City Walkability Plan came up for a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Committee today.

The Walkability Plan, an outgrowth of citizen input into FOCUS Kansas City, is one of the most exciting developments in Kansas City this decade. This and the BikeKC plan, passed last summer, offer the first glimmers of hope that Kansas City might, one day, become a "cool city" (in the phrase of Kansas City Star columnist Mike Hendricks).

KCMO's Lynnis Jameson sent the following report about the results of today's hearing:
Those who testified today on the Walkability Plan showed both patience in waiting for the hearing to occur, and passion for their point of view. Although the majority of the testimony was in favor of approving the Walkability Plan, testimony from the Home Builders Association and from Chuck Weber continued to raise the issues of cost, and whether the Pedestrian Level of Service Analysis should be required at all for residential development.

Councilman Ford requested that the Walkability Plan be held 2 weeks and then heard again on March 19.

The hearing is scheduled at 1:30 in the City Council Chambers and the docket will again be very large. I hope you will continue to find the time and energy to make your point of view known on this very important plan. I will be out of the office for the next two days, so if you have additional questions, please contact Gerald Williams, or you can reach me on Monday, March 10.

Lynnis Jameson, Senior Planner
City Planning and Development Department


The Homebuilder's Association wants to save a few nickels and continue weaseling out of providing reasonable pedestrian accommodations in neighborhoods--as they have done for the past 50 or more years in the Kansas City area.

Unfortunately, not only are they working against the best interests of the community and of the neighborhoods they create, but in fact they are working against their own best interests.

Take a look at these statistics from a brochure entitled The Economic Benefits of Walkable Communities published by the California Department of Health:
* A 1999 study by the Urban Land Institute of four new pedestrian-friendly communities determined that homebuyers were willing to pay a $20,000 premium for homes in them compared to similar houses in surrounding areas.

* According to a 1998 analysis by ERE Yarmouth and Real Estate Research Corporation, real estate values over the next 25 years will rise fastest in "smart communities" that incorporate traditional characteristics of successful cities including a mix of residential and commercial districts and a "pedestrian-friendly configuration."

* Reducing traffic noise, traffic speeds, and vehicle-generated air pollution can increase property values. One study found that a 5 to 10 mph reduction in traffic speeds increased adjacent residential property values by roughly 20%.

* Another study found that traffic restraints that reduced volumes on residential streets by several hundred cars per day increased home values by an average of 18%.

Please write, call, and email members of the Planning and Zoning Commission to let them know your stand on KC's Walkability Plan.

You can find contact information--including phone, email, and mailing addresses--for members of the Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development committee on the KCMO web site.
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People Pay A Premium to Live Where It's Walkable.

The California Department of Health publishes an interesting little brochure entitled The Economic Benefits of Walkable Communities. A few excerpts:
A 1999 study by the Urban Land Institute of four new pedestrian-friendly communities determined that homebuyers were willing to pay a $20,000 premium for homes in them compared to similar houses in surrounding areas.

According to a 1998 analysis by ERE Yarmouth and Real Estate Research Corporation, real estate values over the next 25 years will rise fastest in "smart communities" that incorporate traditional characteristics of successful cities including a mix of residential and commercial districts and a "pedestrian-friendly configuration."

Reducing traffic noise, traffic speeds, and vehicle-generated air pollution can increase property values. One study found that a 5 to 10 mph
reduction in traffic speeds increased adjacent residential property values by roughly 20%. Another study found that traffic restraints that reduced volumes on residential streets by several hundred cars per day increased home values by an average of 18%.
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