Century Club Members 2015
For information about the Century Club, click here.
Click here to see the lists of riders who participated in each of the eligible rides.
Author Archive
2015 Walk and Bike Count Data
The data from our 2015 walk and bike counts is in. Thanks to the 76 volunteers who donated 152 hours of their time to count cyclists and pedestrians throughout the St. Louis Metro region in September. Collecting such extensive data can be a real challenge, and it would not have been possible without them. You’ve helped make Trailnet a resource for advising the city and other organizations on transportation-related decisions. We have summited the data to the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project, which compiles data for use by planners, governments, and bicycle and pedestrian professionals. We also submit the data to local planning agencies and nonprofits to inform plans for better biking and walking.
Trailnet moves Calm Streets project forward with study tour
One of the best ways to advocate for better infrastructure is to allow decision-makers to experience best-practice designs first hand. We do live in the Show-Me state after all. Knowing this to be the case, Trailnet took City of St. Louis staff, elected officials, and partners to Portland, Oregon August 17 to 20. The study tour was part of Trailnet’s Calm Streets project—a project with the purpose of promoting the creation of a Calm Street network in the City of St. Louis. Calm streets are residential streets transformed to reduce speeding and provide safety for everyone traveling there. On calm streets, traffic calming measures are used to reduce the volume and speed of motorized vehicles; increase space for landscaping and managing stormwater; and increase comfort for those walking and biking.
From left to right: Alderman Shane Cohn, Community Liaison Wendy Campbell, City of St. Louis Traffic Commissioner Deanna Venker, community partner Matthew Green of Park Central Development, and Alderman Scott Ogilvie get ready for the trip’s first bike tour of Calm Streets.
For two days, Trailnet’s Director of Strategic Initiatives, Jennifer Allen, led tour participants to meet with City of Portland staff and local organizations to learn about how Portland created successful Calm Streets and other low-stress infrastructure. They biked Calm Streets and protected bike lanes. They learned about the profound impacts rain gardens can have in managing stormwater as part of Calm Street design. They learned new best-practices and discovered new strategies for making a Calm Street network a reality in the City of St. Louis.
From left to right: Community Liaison Ramona Scott, Community Liaison Wendy Campbell, City of Portland Capital Program Manager Dan Layden, community partner Matthew Green of Park Central Development, and community partner Josh Goldman of Urban Strategies.
The tour was profoundly successful. It significantly strengthened the partnerships of those involved and everyone walked away with important realizations and strategies critical to the project’s success. Perhaps most importantly, the group came to understand that creating Calm Streets is really a low-hanging- fruit project that will meet many of the City’s goals, such as building more complete streets and reducing pedestrian injuries and fatalities.
Project partners do a mini-charette with City of Portland staff and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. City of St. Louis Director of Operations Todd Waelterman, Alderman Shane Cohn, and Board of Public Service Planning and Program Manger John Kohler pictured left to right in back.
One of the tour’s greatest impacts was strengthening relationships with City of Portland staff and providing tools to the City of St. Louis. After the tour, City of St. Louis Traffic Commissioner Deanna Venker, requested Portland’s design specs for traffic-calming design elements used on Portland’s Calm Streets. She, other Streets Department staff, and Aldermen are now working to create a traffic-calming policy for the City of St. Louis to describe permissible traffic-calming designs in the city. This policy is an important step along the way to seeing Calm Streets built with high-quality design.
Aldermen Cara Spencer and Scott Ogilvie check out a world-class protected bike lane
The current phase of The Calm Streets Project includes selecting pilot Calm Streets routes and devising strategies for creating a full network in the future. The Calm Streets Project is funded, in part, by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Crash. Not Accident.
Word choice matters. The words “Crash” and “Accident” are often used to describe the same event, but in reality each word conjures up very different images. An “accident” just happens. Accidents can’t be reasonably predicted or avoided. A “crash,” on the other hand, is the result of choices made and risks disregarded. Crashes don’t just happen; somebody is at fault in a crash.
A majority of fatal road crashes are caused by intoxicated, speeding, distracted, or careless motorists. They are NOT just unfortunate events. The victims were NOT simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Deadly crashes in the St. Louis region this year are too numerous to list here. They include the January crash precipitated by Hazelwood motorist William Goad, who was driving more than twice the speed limit on Gallatin Lane in Bridgeton when he struck and killed Bridgeton resident Duane Johnson, who was riding his bicycle. That was no accident. More recently, in September, the 18th pedestrian fatality in the City of St. Louis this year occurred when a hit and run driver sped through St. Louis’ Fairground Park on a Sunday afternoon and killed Nathaniel Thomas, 29, as he crossed the street. That was no accident.
Trailnet, and many other transportation advocates, want to change how we talk about traffic collisions in this country. When one motorized vehicle careens into another, or turns into an oncoming cyclist, or rounds a corner right into a pedestrian — call it a “crash,” not an “accident.” Words matter, and the way car crashes are framed has a powerful effect on how they are perceived. If thousands of preventable traffic injuries and deaths per year are described as accidental, why bother with thorough investigations to uncover root causes and determine potential solutions?
Accident or Crash? Our choice of words can educate the public, set accurate expectations, contribute to improved road safety, and ultimately help save lives. Changing our language is one of the first steps to realizing Vision Zero in St. Louis.
Froebel Students Celebrate Walking to School
A brisk, sunny Friday morning was a perfect day to walk to school and get a jump start on celebrating Halloween. Kids warmed up with hot chocolate and received “blinkies” to light up their walks.
Froebel Literacy Academy in Dutchtown has partnered with Trailnet for several years, working to make students and community members more aware of pedestrian safety and the benefits of an active lifestyle. Family and Community Specialist Von Smith welcomes students each morning and crossing guard Wendy Campbell helps to ensure the kids’ safety during busy arrival and dismissal times.
League Cycling Instructors Certified at Trailnet
Among the many ways that the League of American Bicyclists advocates for bike safety is their training of League Cycling Instructors. These instructors are certified to teach Smart Cycling classes to both children and adults, with the goal of helping people feel more secure on their bikes, and to ensure that bicyclists know how to ride safely and legally.
In mid-October, Trailnet hosted League Cycling coach Preston Tyree and twelve candidates at a League Cycling Instructor Seminar. The seminar provided three days of intensive training that included both classroom instruction and on-bike skills development. All of the candidates were experienced bicyclists. The seminar provided them with techniques that they will use to share their knowledge with less-seasoned bicyclists. Most of the seminar participants were St. Louis residents, and it is Trailnet’s hope that these instructors will provide grassroots instruction in their communities to help bicyclists improve their skills and confidence levels.
All of the seminar participants were evaluated by Coach Tyree and local League Cycling Instructors. Each participant made several classroom presentations, and was also evaluated for their competence at performing on-bike handling skills and safely negotiating traffic.
Candidates plan on using their certification in a variety of ways. Some wanted to become certified in order to help their communities or workplaces to attain Bicycle Friendly status. Some were already working with youth or adults and hope to broaden their capacity to help other bicyclists. All of the candidates shared a passion for bicycling and a desire to spread their enthusiasm.
Trailnet thanks Kaemmerlen Electric for providing us with a parking lot on which to practice bike handling skills, Papa John’s for donation of pizza, and The Fountain on Locust for welcoming twenty hungry cyclists with indoor bike parking and a fantastic lunch. Special thanks to Great Rivers Greenway for funding the seminar and to Ariell Heacox and Preston Tyree of The Bike League for their support and excellent coaching. Finally, congratulations to all twelve of the candidates who successfully completed their certification. We appreciate your hard work and dedication and know that you will be valuable resources for other bicyclists in your communities.
Pop-up demonstrations just around the corner
The first of four pop-up traffic calming demonstrations will take place this Saturday, October 10, in Dutchtown on the 3100 block of Gasconade Street. Come out and see proven methods for making safer streets. Representatives from the Healthy Eating, Active Living Partnership, including Trailnet staff, will be at the corner of Compton Avenue and Gasconade Street from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to foster discussion with the community.
Trailnet is currently seeking volunteers for all four events. Those interested can sign up for a time slot below.
Dutchtown – Saturday, October 10
TheVille/GreaterVille – Wednesday, October 14
Carondelet – Tuesday, October 20
JeffVanderLou – Tuesday, November 10
Trailnet has been working to compile a database of our projects aimed at demonstrating methods to slow traffic, increase pedestrian and bike activity, and decrease accidents in the area. The collection of projects make up what we are calling our Traffic Calming Library.
Below is a sneak peek at how the Traffic Calming Library is coming together. The painted tires will be used in our pop-up demonstrations.
For more information on the demonstrations, check out our press release and the following fliers:
Trailnet brings 25 regional leaders to innovative walking and biking conference
Justin Carney
The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Professional Development Seminar took place in St. Louis September 28 – October 1. Trailnet applied to host the conference in St. Louis as a way of building the capacity of our leaders to further improve walking and biking. As the presenting sponsor and host committee coordinator of the conference, Trailnet provided free registrations to 25 regional leaders. These leaders realize the important impact Trailnet is having on our community by providing access to education about cutting-edge infrastructure and strategies. Here’s what a few of them have to say:
Justin Carney, Senior Planner, Strategy + Innovation, Office of County Executive, St. Louis County
“A scholarship is important for me as someone in the County where budgets are slim and training opportunities are slim, but it’s still very important for us to be part of the conversation. As we’re developing and implementing our Complete Streets policy, which brings our health, planning, and transportation departments together, it’s necessary to have all of those departments represented. The scholarships allowed us to have an interdisciplinary presence at the conference and it’s been really beneficial for us.”
Jim Wild
Jim Wild, Interim Executive Director, East-West Gateway Council of Governments
“It’s important that Trailnet and other groups provide access to conferences like these so we can learn effective strategies to create a well-rounded transportation system to create a better quality of life for our region.”
Larry Welty (pictured right) with John Hicks, St. Louis County Transportation Development Analyst
Larry Welty, Improvement Programs Manager, Transportation and Public Works, St. Louis County
“The detailed information from the conference is inspiring and reenergizing. Everyone was impressed with the mobile tours of the Arch and the riverfront. It was great for us to tell the story of what’s so great about St. Louis.”
Nichalos Gardner
Nichalos Gardner, Director, Transportation and Public Works, St. Louis County
“I think the conference definitely created more of a synergy and energy around improving the transportation network—to get more pedestrians and bicycles on the road. I also hope it’s going to help with our education of the public—getting them involved and helping them understand exactly what needs to be done. Good conference!”
Trailnet teaches youth about active living during bike weeks
For students at several schools in Webster Groves and Kirkwood, PE class now includes bicycling! In September, Trailnet worked with the Webster Groves Computer School and Keysor Elementary in Kirkwood to teach kids bike handling skills, rules of riding safely, and some basic bike mechanics.
Trailnet staff presented the “ABC Quick Check,” an easy way for kids and parents to make sure that a bike is safe to ride before taking a spin. Students learned how to measure tire pressures, how to change a flat, and how to check their brakes and chain.
Keysor students were also introduced to Trailnet’s advocacy efforts aimed at making the St. Louis region a better place to ride a bicycle. Asked whether they thought a kid could be an advocate to improve bike safety, students were eager to give examples of how they might make a difference in their community. Their ideas included: “if I saw a pothole in the street I would call city hall and tell them to fix it”…“we need a crosswalk on my street – I am going to write to the president”…”when I see trash on the sidewalk I stop and pick it up.”
Robinson Elementary, another Kirkwood school, is holding its first Bike Week this week. Trailnet looks forward to helping make the week a big success and to sharing the thrill of bicycling with a new group of kids.
Thanks to Great Rivers Greenway for providing funding for these bike education programs.
The Time for Vision Zero STL has Arrived
A movement to end traffic deaths and disabling injuries known as Vision Zero, which began as an Act of Parliament in Sweden in 1997, is gaining traction in the U.S. where traffic fatalities are twice that of EU countries and almost twice that of Canada.
Vision Zero is a philosophy, a policy, and a paradigm shift. It holds that “all traffic deaths and serious injuries are unacceptable and preventable.”
The U.S. Conference of Mayors endorsed Vision Zero this year, and ten cities including New York, San Antonio, Los Angeles and Seattle are developing or implementing Vision Zero plans.
Vision Zero cities have taken these steps:
- The Mayor has publicly, officially committed to Vision Zero.
- A clear goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and severe injuries has been set.
- A Vision Zero plan or strategy is in place, or the Mayor has committed to doingso in clear time frame.
- Key city departments (including police, transportation and public health)are engaged.
Vision Zero is a Trailnet priority because the St. Louis region is now at a five‐year high for traffic deaths. It’s time to systematically address and ultimately end the crash carnage. Trailnet urges Mayor Slay to publicly announce a commitment to Vision Zero and embark on the other three steps necessary to make St. Louis a recognized Vision Zero city. We will be an engaged partner in this bold journey.