Vinita Park, Missouri

Trailnet's partnership with Vinita Park started when Vinita Park became one of the first communities to participate in Trailnet's Community Planning services to develop a bicycle and pedestrian master plan for the city. The project was informed by resident input and was completed in 2007. Putting those new and improved pedestrian and bike improvements into place was the next objective.

In November 2009, Trailnet received a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to make some of the ideas from the plan a reality. The Touchstone Project includes the Earn-2-Bikes class, a collaboration to fund trail revitalization along the Vinita Park Memorial Trail, reaching out to local businesses to educate staff on bike commuting, as well as a policy initiative to adopt policies that support land use and street design standards that accommodate pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities.

As part of the Healthy, Active, & Vibrant Communities initiative the program addresses policy and built environment/infrastructure change and relies on community engagement to build support for changes.

Earn-2-Bikes Program as Solution:

Earn-2-Bikes uses the approach of building social networks to encourage biking, as studies show that people are more likely to be active if a friend or family member joins them in exercise. It includes:

• a six-week class that teaches basic bike maintenance, safety skills, and provides two free bikes to two people completing the class together

• Trailnet’s Bike Smart class that teaches on-street riding skills

• monthly bike rides targeted toward class graduates and the larger community

Partners:

Funding for this project was provided in part by The Missouri Foundation for Health. The Earn-2-Bikes program is modeled after St. Louis Bicycle Works Earn-A-Bike Program. Bikes for the program were provided in part by St. Louis Bicycle Works.

Contact:

Jennifer Allen, Active Transportation Manager, at 314-436-1324 x121
jennifer@trailnet.org