Missouri Bicycling, Walking, Running, and Trails News

In a surprise move yesterday, Governor Nixon has restricted the entire $20 million in funding from the new Missouri Moves cost share funding.

Missouri Moves, passed by the Missouri General Assembly this spring, is the first state transportation funding in Missouri history to take the "total transportation" approach, which makes funding available for transit, walking, and bicycling alongside of road and highway projects.

MoDOT has already solicited and received applications for the funding, which was to be distributed as a local cost share program. In the applications that were submitted, local cities and counties were offering to provide 50-80% of the total cost of the projects.

MoDOT indicated that approximately 50% of the funding applications submitted were for multimodal projects, with many bicycle, pedestrian, and transit projects in the mix. MoDOT reserved 1/3 of the total funding for multimodal and bike/ped projects.

In addition to the projects submitted specifically for the multi-modal/bike/ped funding, many of the projects submitted for the 2/3 of the funding reserved for road and highway projects also included bicycle and pedestrian elements.

Recently, one of our members asked us about a situation where a local police officer had directed him to leave the street and bicycle on the adjacent sidewalk.

Unfortunately, this situation happens occasionally in Missouri. With hundreds of cities and counties and thousands of law enforcement officers, not all of them are as well versed in bicycle law and best practice as they should be. So we do get reports of police officers asking or ordering bicyclists on a busier street and move to the sidewalk instead.

Thankfully, this is a rare occurence in Missouri--and becoming rarer, as bicycling becomes more popular and accepted.

But just to set the record straight, we want to say as clearly as we can:

Missouri's primary elections are being held across the state on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2016.

"I bicycle - I walk - I run and I vote" is one of the most powerful statements we can make to any elected leader, in our work to make Missouri a better, safer place to walk and bicycle.

So whatever your party, whoever your candidates, whatever your issues, please get out and VOTE on Tuesday, August 2nd.

MoDOT is replacing the Champ Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River.  It is the only river crossing between Hannibal MO & Alton IL in the St Louis metro area. Current plans are for wide shoulders for the new bridge, but no sidewalk or pedestrian accommodation.

As with other river bridges in Missouri, MoDOT and IDOT will be more willing to include good, safe bicycle and pedestrian accommodations on this bridge if the public speaks up and clearly asks for them.

Major river bridges like this are vital infrastructure that affects the availability of bicycling and walking routes in the nearby cities, in the region around the bridge, and across the state. Whether you live, work, or vacation in the area--or would like to!--your voice is a welcome part of this conversation.

If you would like to contact MoDOT, please ask them to make sure that the bridge is accessible to people who bicycle AND walk.

Branson, Missouri, has started work on one of the biggest and most ambitious Complete Streets projects in Missouri--and in the U.S. and the world, as well.

Branson's New Spirit of 76 Project will give the Branson "strip"--where theaters and tourist attractions line the street and vie for the attention of 7.5 million visitors annually--a completely new and more attractive look.

For years, Highway 76 through Branson has been a problem and an eyesore in need of a fix.  The area is unwalkable, unbikeable, and--given that it is a national tourism center that attracts millions of out-of-state visitors annually, literally by the busload--about as physically unattractive as possible.

Visitors and tourists are injured and even killed on a regular basis--Highway 76 is that difficult and dangerous for visitors.

Branson is never lacking for vision, however. Incremental improvements along the strip have been moving forward for years--for example the sidewalks and crosswalks you see on Highway 76 today. Local advocates listed Hwy 76 intersection improvements for pedestrians as among the state's High Priority Bicycle/Pedestrian/ADA Project List in 2010.