DeSoto

The National Complete Streets Coalition has released a major new analysis of Complete Streets policies across the U.S.--and policies from Missouri are among the top ranking of hundreds of policies evaluated.

Two Missouri Complete Streets policies--from Crystal City and Herculaneum--were listed among the top fifteen policies in the country.  Missouri was one of only two states with two policies listed among the top fifteen.

A rural Complete Street

Complete Streets policies are based on the idea that our streets and our cities need to work for everyone--people who drive, but also those who walk, bicycle, and use transit, the old and the young, the able bodied and those with disabilities.

Crystal City adopted a Complete Streets policy August 24th, becoming the seventh Missouri city to do so.

The other six are Columbia, St Joseph, De Soto, Ferguson, Festus, and St. Louis. The East-West Gateway Council of Governments (St Louis region) has also adopted a Complete Streets policy.

Festus and Crystal City have been working methodically on a bicycle/pedestrian master plan, including a Complete Streets policy, for some time:

Friday, June 11th, 2010, the St Louis Board of Aldermen will vote on a bill to create a Complete Streets policy for the city.

How you can help

Best thing you can do to help support Complete Streets in St Louis is to write the St Louis alderman and ask them to support the bill.  Sample message:

Please support the Complete Streets bill, Board Bill 7 sponsored by Alderman Cohn. 

The full list of Board of Aldermen and a link to send each an email message is here.

Details about the St Louis Complete Streets proposal

See the full text of the St Louis complete Streets proposal here.

According to the West End Word article:

“This has already been adopted at the federal level as part of their funding requirements,” said 24th Ward Alderman Shane Cohn, the bill’s main sponsor. “It’s incumbent and imperative on us to get with the program.”

While the bill has received wide support and had 17 co-sponsors, some of the aldermen had concerns about implementing the policy citywide. . . . 

DeSoto, KS, has banned bicycling on a key section of 83rd Street for many years now. Various bicycle groups have tried to work with the city over the years to try to have the ban removed.

Recently the issue came up in the DeSoto City Council and it appeared there was support for removing the ban.

The DeSoto Explorer has the update--no change for now, but perhaps in a few months, after a current major construction project on 83rd Street is completed:

With the project’s completion, the city council will revisit the ban of bicycles on 83rd Street east of Kill Creek Road.

Although there seemed to enough support on the council to rescind the ban during discussion last month, the council voted 3-2 last Thursday to continue to leave it in place — at least for now.

Councilman Ron McDaniel, who joined Betty Cannon and Mike Drennon in voting against lifting the ban, said he would reassess his position once the improvements were finished.

In defense of the DeSoto city council, the planned road construction on 83rd Street will have it down to one lane in long sections--meaning it won't be much fun to drive or ride on the near future. City Council members are likely thinking about nothing more than waiting until the disruption of the construction is over before making the change.

(In a strange twist, the city of DeSoto, Missouri, adopted a Complete Streets policy recently. So the two DeSotos are something like evil twins--though the Kansas DeSoto will lose its evil status if this proposed change goes through.)

"Complete Streets"--a bill to give MoDOT strong encouragement to make their roads safer for bicycling, walking, and transit users and to design roads to be safe for the young, the old, and the disabled--will have a hearing in the Missouri House Transportation Commitee on Tuesday, March 3rd, at 12 Noon.

--> Click here to send an email message to Rep. Dixon, Chair of the Transportation Committee, and other committee members

The bill is designed to encourage MoDOT to adopt the principles of the nationwide Complete Streets movement--a movement that is supported by groups as diverse as the National Association of Realtors, the American Planning Association, American Public Transportation Association, Institute of Transportation Engineers, League of American Bicyclists, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Smart Growth America, and the American Council of the Blind.

Complete Streets policies have been adopted in a number of states (including Illinois and South Carolina) as well as in the cities of Columbia, Ferguson, DeSoto and the St. Joseph and St. Louis metro areas.

Representative Mike Sutherland of Warrenton has introduced the bill again this year.

Last year when a similar bill was introduced, it passed the House with a nearly unanimous vote, but when it came to the Senate, MoDOT Director Pete Rahn personally came to the capitol to make sure it was stopped.

This year we have arrayed a much larger and stronger array of groups in support.

The hearing is Tuesday, March 3rd, 12Noon, Committee Hearing Room 7, Missouri State Capitol.

The bill's online page is here.

FULL BILL TEXT
As introduced.

Section A. Chapter 226, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 226.222, to read as follows:

226.222. 1. The department of transportation's plans, programs, and projects shall provide full consideration for the safety and contiguous routes for bicyclists, pedestrians, disabled persons, and transit users of all ages and abilities. Bicycle ways and pedestrian ways shall be given full consideration in the planning and development of transportation facilities by the department of transportation, including the incorporation of such ways into state plans and programs. The highways and transportation commission may expend state road fund moneys to provide appropriate accommodations for bicyclists, pedestrians, disabled persons, transit users, and other users of the public roadways, in addition to operators of motor vehicles.

2. As used in this section, "appropriate accommodations" include but are not limited to pedestrian ways, bicycle ways, shoulders suitable for use by bicyclists, lane striping, "share the road" signage, crosswalks, pedestrian control signals, curb cuts, and ramps.

3. As used in this section, "bicycle way" means a publically owned and maintained bicycle lane, shared-use lane, shoulder, or way designed and designated for bicycle travel. A bicycle way may be designated for the exclusive use of bicycles or may be shared with other transportation modes.

4. The department shall establish planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations standards for appropriate accommodations for bicyclists, pedestrians, disabled persons, and transit users. The department shall establish appropriate training programs for staff to implement these standards.