The second annual Active Transportation Summit occurred on August 11th in Jefferson City. Representing Trailnet, our Education and Encouragement Manager, Taylor March and CEO, Ralph Pfremmer, went to the summit to share and hear ideas for making our communities more active, vibrant, and economically sustainable through bicycling, walking, and trails. The event included walk and bike tours of Jefferson City, a chance for Trailnet to discuss with other Missouri bicycle, pedestrian, and advocacy professionals from around Missouri as well as the annual meeting of the Missouri Chapter of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals. Summit topics and themes ranged from the increase of tourism and the economic impact that bicycling, walking, and trails has on rural, suburban, and urban communities to the health and safety impacts bicycling, walking, and trails have individuals.
John Kohler, the Planning and Programming Manager for The City of St. Louis, presented alongside Jacque Lumsden from CBB: Transportation Engineers + Planners on the Louisiana Avenue Calm Streets Project, the first “Calm Streets” Project in St. Louis that was steered by a grant Trailnet provided. This presentation was an opportunity for Missouri pedestrian and bicycle professionals to learn the history, conceptual planning efforts, and project details that Trailnet wrote providing safe, comfortable, and inspiring street designs that could build neighborhoods and connect people to institutions and amenities.
To follow, Taylor March gave an overview on the current Complete Streets and Public Health policies Missouri has adopted – 35, to be exact. Communities all across the state have adopted Complete Streets policies because they see the positive impact these Complete Street projects have on neighborhoods making them better, safer, complete and connected. March elaborated on the connection between Complete Streets and public health and how any city, county, or neighborhood can improve the public health by adopting or implementing a Complete Streets policy.
In replacement of Patrick McKenna from MoDOT, Ralph Pfremmer asked to be a Keynote Speaker at this years summit. Pfremmer felt that presenting at the summit was a great opportunity for Trailnet to provide a regional perspective on what connectivity and mobility could look like in St. Louis. He stressed the importance of racial equity when developing new street designs like our protected bike lanes and sidewalks for the St. Louis region that connects our city and helps bridge our cities racial divide post-Ferguson. Keeping strong development, racial equity, and equal access regardless of location at the forefront of conversation when creating an improved transportation method are the keys to success for St. Louis to grow.
The August Blender: Planning Committees Come Together
Come September, we will be nine months into the 18-month Master Planning process for a network of on-street protected Bikeways. Our Master Planning process has five committees made up of 80 people from 56 partner organizations. With assistance from the Community Builders Network, we gathered all five of our planning committees together for our first Blender of the Master Planning Process.
For the past four months, these parties have pledged to ensure recommendations for outreach, design, destinations, routes, affordability, and land use policy that will support a more just community. The purpose of this Blender was to allow all five committees to convene for the first time and openly discuss the ideas, thoughts, and plans each committee has created thus far. The goal of our Blender was to make sure the committees are keeping each other in-check with the ultimate goal of our Master Plan, which is making St. Louis safe and easy to ride and walk around using the planning lens guiding principles.
Overall, The Blender had high energy and very important thoughtful conversations happening with the 60 people in attendance representing all five committees. Bob Lewis from Development Strategies made a comment to Trailnet about how we’ve gone about the Master Planning Process since his day-to-day work deals with using data to help people do their own planning. He shared that, “Planning is at its finest when we all get together to learn from the data and figure out a mutual future.” This is exactly what our committees did throughout this day of learning and developing to ensure our plan is meeting the planning lens. Most committees learned what areas they could improve on and got a better idea of what the right track looks like for the Master Plan.
Please click here to watch a short recap video of the days events.
Joi McClain & Kellen von Hoven, Trailnet Champions
Here at Trailnet, we wouldn’t be able to conduct majority of our events nor our advocacy work around this community without the dedication of our volunteers and staff members. Whether they are spending their weekends out on the trail for a Bicycle Fun Club ride or spending Monday – Friday downtown assisting with membership entry and ride registration – our team is stronger thanks to these dedicated individuals. For this month’s Trailnet Champion, we wanted to say a special thank you to not one, but two incredible members of our team. 18 year-old Joi McClain and 17 year-old Kellen von Hoven could be spending their summer months embracing their lack of schoolwork and sleeping in, but instead they decided to trade in their school desks for office ones by working at Trailnet this summer. They have been assisting our office with administrative tasks as well as working the Bicycle Fun Club rides. Before heading back to school this August, our Marketing and Communication Manager, Jeanette Harris-Courts, had the chance to sit down and have a chat with these two ambitious and active community members. Between discussing what it’s like working for Trailnet and learning what these St. Louis natives do for fun (besides advocating for cyclist and pedestrian safety) — no topic was left unsaid during an interview at the Kaldi’s in City Garden this past July.
Jeanette Harris-Courts: Good Morning guys! Let’s start with the basics. Tell me a little bit about yourselves. Where do you guys live and where do you currently go to school?
Kellen von Hoven: I live on a private street right at the edge of the city in the Central West End. I love my neighborhood and living in the Central West End, especially with all of the incredible restaurants to visit nearby. I currently attend MICDS [Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School] where I’ll be a Junior this upcoming fall.
Joi McClain: And I live in the Florissant neighborhood. To know my neighborhood is to love it. It’s quiet, but full of life and kindness. It is it’s own world inside St. Louis. I just graduated from Metro [Academic and Classical High School] and will be heading to Washington, D.C. to start my Bachelor’s in Computer Science at Howard University, with a minor in Spanish…possibly a double minor in Creative Writing. I’m not 100% sure yet.
Jeanette Harris-Courts: Congratulations on graduating, Joi! I sure know we’re going to miss having you around the office after you depart for college in a few weeks. Kellen, do you have any ideas where you might be going to college after this next year?
Kellen von Hoven: I definitely plan on going to college after high school, but I’m undecided as of now as to which one. I do know that when I get to college in two years, I plan on applying and participating in the ROTC or the NROTC to start my carrier in the military.
Jeanette Harris-Courts: Wow! Good for you, Kellen. We can’t wait to see what college is lucky enough to snag you. So how did you both get involved with working for Trailnet?
Joi MC: I got involved in the summer of 2016 through STL Youth Jobs. At the end of my eight-week program, Director of Programs Cindy Mense asked me to stay as a part-time employee. As a 17-year-old, the benefits were good enough for me. I’d be working at a desk, on the computer, and listening to music at work instead of flipping burgers and smiling at mouthy customers. Beyond that amazing opportunity and the flexible hours I was allowed, Trailnet gave me valuable job experiences that will prove useful for future jobs.
KVH: I’m family friends with Steve Schmidt, the Rides Manager here at Trailnet. I started as a volunteer for the Trailnet Bicycle Fun Club rides doing a variety of things – I arrive before the 7:30 a.m. registration time to help Steve set up, I work registration, I’ve ran the occasional SAG run, and I help pack up at the end of a ride day. I continue to stay involved with Trailnet because I really enjoy these rides. The people are great, it’s always a great atmosphere, it’s for a great cause, and of course, I get to talk about bikes for hours on end with other riders – which is hard to do in my everyday life since my friends don’t even know how to take the front wheel off of a bike.
JHC: I know cyclists love seeing you out at our rides, Kellen. So Joi, what do you do here at Trailnet?
Joi MC: I mostly help with data entry for our bike rides, events, and memberships. It’s mundane work, but the workplace environment here at Trailnet is amazing! Working in the office helps me realize that Trailnet is member-driven and the work I do is the lifeblood of the organization. Lately, I’ve been branching out a bit more by managing signups and registrations, tabling to help with community outreach for the new vision, and helping Steve out at more rides and events.
JHC: Speaking of our vision, what are your thoughts about our city, the vision, and do you think St. Louis has what it takes to make this type of infrastructure happen?
Joi MC: St. Louis is as ruptured as it is beautiful. We have a lot of work to do socially, politically, structurally, and economically. For better or for worse, to be a St. Louisan is to be passionate. I firmly believe no city can succeed without citizens who want to see the growth of that city. It takes work to develop a city, so without people willing to work, the city itself will not work. I do community outreach to help further Trailnet’s new vision because I truly believe in it. I love St. Louis, and I want to see it develop by way of bike and pedestrian accommodation. The changes that need to be made aren’t easy ones, and they would take all of our hard work and support; but if it means seeing my city flourish economically, living in a destination city, and making sure my friends and family feel safe and secure on the roads, however they choose to travel, I’m willing to work for it.
KVH: I couldn’t agree with Joi more. I bike everywhere – to friends houses for parties, to run errands, going on leisure rides with my dad, and I even biked to both of my jobs this summer. I love the idea of the Trailnet Vision. I feel fairly safe and comfortable riding on the street since I have some biking experience, but still, I have dealt with my fair share of accidents that had the inclusion of cars. I think people with less riding experience would feel much safer and more comfortable riding using the infrastructure that Trailnet wants to make happen. A city thrives through community, and that’s all I see with what Trailnet is doing. Biking, running, and walking are all great activities to do with family and friends so having a space for people to do so would only help the city grow. I think STL has potential and it might have a long way to go, but I believe we can get there.
Joi MC: Exactly! St. Louis has the foundation of any top city, which is residents that love their town and who want to see it prosper. All we need now is to come together, define our priorities, and make a decision to move forward as a city.
JHC: Cheers to that you guys! I couldn’t have said it better myself. When you advocates aren’t helping us make St. Louis a safer community for bikers and pedestrians, what do you do in your free time?
KVH: Other than biking I do many other activities – mostly with my family. This includes scuba diving, sailing, and skiing. When I was younger, my parents would go sailing every spring break for a week with other family friends and they’d leave my brother and I at home. Once my brother and I were old enough, they began taking us along and teaching us how to sail. I really got into manning lines and working on deck while by brother – who for some reason can’t get sea sick – works the ship from below.
Joi MC: Before anything else, I’m a poet, and language is the greatest tool I will ever wield. Accordingly I’m also interested in Spanish and programming. Whether on paper or on screen, I am a creator with the ability to make something out of nothing. To pull strings from keystrokes and epics from graphite. To take words—from English or Ruby, Spanish or JavaScript—that accomplish nothing on their own…I manipulate them to form my own world of meaning. That world may remind someone of their childhood or manage a database of employees; no two poems or projects are the same. I like to say that writing doesn’t just fuel me, but it’s my engine, ignition, and battery.
JHC: Beautiful, you two. Okay one last question: What has been your most memorable Trailnet memory so far?
KVH: My most memorable Trailnet experience was my first Bicycle Fun Club ride, the Great Pizza Ride. I was able to be there from the very beginning to the end. I got to meet a lot of new people, I rode the ride after registration, and the pizza afterwards was delicious.
Joi MC: When I first came to Trailnet, I was supremely intimidated. I didn’t say much to anybody and worked through my lunches despite being told to take breaks. The point I began to relax came on a Tuesday when everyone was in the kitchen celebrating some birthday. I was working through yet another break when I heard the employees of Trailnet making plans for happy hours while sitting on tables & making lame jokes with each other. It was tremendously humanizing. After that I started to gradually ease into the professional, but fun Trailnet atmosphere, and I’ve been comfortable with my coworkers – and now friends – ever since.
JHC: Oh Joi, we sure are going to miss having you around the office. Luckily we get to keep Kellen for a few more years, but we hope to see you around when you come back in the summers Joi. Thank you both for taking the time to meet with me and discussing your time spent at Trailnet, outside of Trailnet, and your thoughts on our vision. Our office appreciates your hard work and dedication to our mission to help make St. Louis a more commuter friendly city.
KVH: Thanks, Jeanette! Joi MC: Thanks!
Janice Branham, Trailnet Champion
Growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts, Janice Branham moved to the St. Louis region when she was in high school with her family and hasn’t left since. Now living in Manchester, she describes her street as quiet with a high population of young families living in this hilly neighborhood filled with lots of open space. Having this much open space is perfect for Janice since she enjoys spending most of her time outside, especially anything that involves a saddle or a paddle. Raising a family in the St. Louis region was great for the Branham family since they love having the ability to drive a few short minutes out from St. Louis to enter an environment that is perfect for camping, hiking, and biking.
Janice has biked since she was a kid, but her deep dive into the biking world came along after she met her husband, Barry. She slowly started by doing weekend rides and then began commuting by bike to and from her job at Oasis where Janice is the Communications Director. Oasis is a national organization based in St. Louis whose mission is to promote healthy aging through lifelong learning, active lifestyles, and volunteer opportunities around the St. Louis community. “Engaging our minds and our bodies makes us happier and healthier, and people are eager to use the wisdom and experience they have gathered throughout life in meaningful ways,” Janice expresses when asked what makes her want to wake up for work everyday. “I’m planning to retire from full-time work in the next year. While, I’m excited about having the freedom to wander around on my bicycle and [spend] more time with my grandchildren, I know that I’ll want to continue to use the skills I’ve developed along the way through volunteering or part-time work around the community.”
When Janice isn’t working or volunteering, she tries her best at being an active grandmother and wife. Three years ago, she and her husband rode the central California coast on CA-1 from Bodega Bay to Carpinteria, just south of Santa Barbara and they plan on riding Route 66 fromSt. Louis to Santa Monica next. Janice explains how she loves the independence of self-contained travel because, “You can decide where and how far to go depending on what each day presents.” When asked about the biking scene in St. Louis, Janice says there are many beautiful places to see and you get to know them a lot better on a bike seat. She also loves how biking is a natural intergenerational activity that she can enjoy along side her grandchildren. “My grandchildren have graduated from training wheels and I love seeing them push their boundaries and discover the freedom of exploring their neighborhood in a new way.”
Finding fun and beautiful places for Janice to bike with her family are important, but the most important issue to Janice is safety first. “We have to make our streets safer for walking and biking. Traffic-calming tools and protected lanes willallow more people to enjoy the health benefits and happiness of traveling by bike or on foot. And more bicycle-friendly environment will make St. Louis a more appealing place to live and work, which is good for the region,” states Janice. “We also need more public education on strategies to ride safely anywhere. Being visible and predictable, knowing when to take the lane and how to communicate with drivers – these are essential survival skills. Pulling over to let the cars pass now and then when you can do it safely helps too. I think it shows an understanding that “share the road” is a two-way street.”
As she plans to retire this year, spending more time volunteering, being a grandmother, and bicycling around our neighborhood – we hope to make Janice and other riders like her have the ability to see the vibrant neighborhoods, parks and trails, cultural and educational institutions throughout St. Louis. Janice believes just like us that, “Putting people first and making it safer for people to explore and enjoy all these resources will help us be more connected and make St. Louis a better place to live.”
Born and raised in St. Louis, Michael Schwartz can’t remember a time when he wasn’t riding a bike. Better known as Mike, he grew up in Chesterfield riding around his neighborhood with friends. He didn’t know that this leisure activity from his childhood would turn into an activity that would follow him into adulthood and become his main source of exercise and enjoyment. As a young adult, Mike says he always had a bike, but it was never anything that he spent a great deal of time with until he was living in Washington D.C. There, he was introduced to the Rails-to-Trails biking system, which was one of the first and more well known Rails-to-Trails systems in the country. Having access to this system sparked Mike’s interest with using biking as a way to get from A to B without relying on a vehicle.
When Mike moved back to St. Louis, he was looking to fulfill the missing void of the D.C. bike community. After doing research and asking around, he found out about Trailnet. Once he was introduced to the Bicycle Fun Club rides as well as Trailnet’s advocacy work for better the biking and walking infrastructure within our city, he realized he had found the St. Louis biking community he was longing for since his move. He finds it amazing that in St. Louis, you have multiple parks and neighborhoods to ride in, but you can drive just twenty minutes out and find rural areas to ride in as well.
Even though Mike finds this diverse aspect of St. Louis biking satisfying, he still thinks there’s room for improvement. He feels that our region is not designed well for commuting, which is why he’s so excited about Trailnet’s master plan to develop protected bikeways and walkways within our city. Mike started as a rider, but once he discovered Trailnet’s core mission to develop this master plan, he joined the development committee of Trailnet. Now, Mike serves on the Board of Directors helping Trailnet work towards its master plan to make St. Louis an even more equitable and vibrant city.
Mike works as an attorney at Bryan Cave which is a global law firm that got it’s start here in St. Louis. His practice is in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and commercial transactions. He assists a range of clients including major corporations, family owned businesses and start-up enterprises in industries that include manufacturing, financial services, retail, healthcare and biotechnology. For the last eight years, Mike finds fulfillment in doing a job that helps businesses strategize their goals and hopefully change their business for the better based on what they want to accomplish.
When Mike isn’t working 9 to 5 to help corporate businesses with mergers and acquisitions, he spends time doing pro bono work for new nonprofits in our area that he’s passionate about and finds beneficial for our region. He helps these new organizations gather the pieces of what they want to provide our community by writing up business strategies and helping these education and art based nonprofits find their voice within the St. Louis region.
Now living in University City with his wife and 18-month-old daughter, Ingrid, Mike doesn’t get to spend much time riding 100-milers over the weekend like he once did, but he doesn’t regret a single moment spent with his family. Mike stays involved with the bike community by being one of the leaders within his firm, Bryan Cave, to organize a bike group for riders that want to bike to and from work. This past Bike to Work Day, Mike led his group to the Missouri History Museum to enjoy baked breakfast goods and coffee with other passionate and excited members of the bicycling community.
Trailnet is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a 29-year history of Promoting Active Living as a way of life that encourages people to integrate physical activity into their daily routines. Trailnet leads in fostering healthy and active communities through innovative programs, planning, and policy that promote walking and bicycling throughout the St. Louis bi-state region.
As part of its work, Trailnet has helped thirty communities throughout the St. Louis region create the framework for developing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure through bicycle and pedestrian master plans. With a focus on transportation infrastructure improvements and encouragement programs that promote walking and biking, these plans produce action-oriented goals and objectives to help reach a community’s unique desired vision.
General Summary
The Planner leads the development and creation of plans, and for assigned plans will serve as the primary contact for projects involving contracted partners, municipalities, governmental agencies, mayors, city administrators, public works and parks directors. They will manage all planning tasks including developing documents and creating maps. The Planner realizes Trailnet’s mission in planning environmental changes to promote lovable urban places.
The Planner reports to the Special Project Director, and works in collaboration with Trailnet’s Director of Programs to deliver services that integrate public health, urban planning and advocacy.
Responsibilities
Work with federal, state, and local governmental agencies to manage, develop, and negotiate bicycle and pedestrian planning projects
Project management including cost estimating, budgets, reports, data collection, and contracts
Lead and assist with field reconnaissance and analysis of data
Support and assist in designing community forums to elicit critical information for bicycle and pedestrian planning projects, identify issues of importance, develop solutions, and prioritize needs
Maintain healthy relationships with community leaders, metropolitan planning organizations, elected officials, and state and federal level administrators to inform and transform communities through healthy design that accommodates all modes of active and motorized travel
Develop and maintain familiarity with current and future activities of key agencies and programs (Local, State and Federal Transportation entities, Safe Routes to School, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Recreational Trails, Street departments, MEPRD, GRG, BSL, etc.)
Initiate and follow through on data collection such as requesting and collecting existing data from municipalities on streets, trails, parks, public facilities, and neighborhoods, etc.
Assist in planning placemaking projects, including conception, execution, and follow-up
Provide technical assistance to Advocacy and other departments as appropriate with regard to the built environment and new vision
Assist in developing recommendations, communications, and collateral concerning bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and related safety claims
With the Director of Special Projects, develop internal standards for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and assure standards are incorporated into all of our efforts
Required
Masters degree preferred in urban planning or a closely related field with two years relevant experience; or a Bachelors degree plus 2-5 years relevant experience. Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), local governments, bicycle and pedestrian planning, grant writing, and project administration is a must. Must be highly computer literate (MS Word, Excel, Power Point, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign) and at ease with public meetings, presentations, and marketing the program.
Qualifications
Knowledge of Complete Streets, street design standards, and bicycle facility types as tools for creating livable communities that promote active living
Familiarity with NACTO, AASHTO and MUTCD guidelines
Ability to manage multiple projects with multiple partners and differing deadlines
Excellent writing skills
Ability to think strategically, including systems-level thinking, ability to optimize systems and resources, and ability to think ahead to next steps
Ability to work independently and manage self and partners toward goals, while being a genuine “team player”
Ability and interest in presenting case studies and success stories to local, regional, and national level conferences
Ability to connect bicycle and pedestrian planning to larger public health issues, identifying opportunities for complementary programs and policy
Ability to work in a fast-moving environment; ability to work with fast-paced colleagues
Demonstrated ability and/or knowledge of cycling
AICP certification preferred
Compensation and additional information
Salary commensurate with experience. Competitive benefits package and flexible work schedule available. Informal, casual work environment above the Downtown Bicycle Station and close to MetroLink.
Trailnet has received an award from the Transportation Research Board for Slow Your Street: A How-To Guide for Pop-up Traffic Calming. Grace Kyung, Trailnet’s Special Projects Director, developed the guide to make it easier for everyone to create their own pop-up traffic calming demonstrations. Trailnet has installed these temporary demonstrations in several St. Louis neighborhoods to show how streets can be designed for those who walk and bike. Several other cities, including Tulsa and Indianapolis, are currently using the Guide to plan traffic calming demonstrations. View the Guide online. Read more about Trailnet’s pop-up traffic calming projects.
For questions contact planning@trailnet.org
Cliff Cave Trail Expansion Under Attack
An important expansion to Cliff Cave Park in south St. Louis County, years under development and with broad public support, is being stopped by one new St. Louis County Council member.
Trakas claims that emails on the subject are running 50-50 for and against the trail–and we need to change that in a BIG way if we want to save this important trail. We need 10-to-1 in support–or better. Your help is vital.
Please take 2 minutes today to call & email Councilman Ernie Trakas “I support the Cliff Cave Park Trail – Please don’t slow or stop it.”
For several years, Great Rivers Greenway and St. Louis County Parks have been working on the Cliff Cave Park Trail, a key connector in the Mississippi Greenway.
The planned trail is beautiful and will connect people who walk and bicycle over several difficult obstacles to an amazing overlook and miles of riverfront trail.
Construction is set to start in March. But a new St. Louis County Council member is threatened to stop the trail altogether. He claims that messages are running 50/50 for/against the trail and we need to change that in a BIG way today.
Be polite and persuasive when you contact your elected officials–this is by far the most effective approach.
Use a brief, clear subject line such as “I strongly support the Cliff Cave Park Trail”
Clearly state that you strongly support the trail and strongly oppose his effort to slow or stop it. You support it and support moving forward with it quickly. Unfortunately in this case, delay is equivalent to opposition. Trakas is trying spin his opposition as “just slowing down to take time to consider the options” but the problem is, the trail is been under study and consideration for many years with all sorts of public meetings involving thousands of people and public comments. With money already spent and preliminary construction underway, Trakas knows that delay will kill the project–which is what a very few, very persistent neighbors want.
A short message is as effective or more effective than a long one.
Include your connection to the County (live, work, visit, vacation, etc) , especially if you live work, or visit St. Louis County District 6, Ernie Trakas’s district in SE St. Louis County.
Include a sentence or two, or a quick story, showing why trails, bicycling, and walking are important to you personally, to your community, and/or to St. Louis County.
Your message is about Cliff Cave Park specifically, but is also a valuable opportunity to raise the profile and importance of trails, bicycling, and walking with the St. Louis County Council.
County Council members need to know that the County has many strong supporters of the bicycle, pedestrian, and trail system in the County.
We are working closely with our local partners, members, and affected agencies on this effort, including Trailnet, the regional St. Louis area advocacy group that works the create positive change in the St. Louis bi-state region by encouraging healthy, active living and that founded the region’s trail system in the 1990s. Look for more information coming soon from both us and our local and regional partners on this important issue.
Contact Information for St. Louis County Council
If you live in the County, contact your own County Council representative and also cc: Mr. Trakas, who is the key decision-maker on this issue.
If you don’t live in the County or have a connection to a particular Council District, you might email Mr. Trakas and cc: Steven Stenger, St. Louis County Executive.
Phone calls are very helpful. And email message is also helpful, and both phone and email followup is best of all. A posted letter or fax is also very effective, simply because constuents more rarely take the time to send a ‘real’ letter and that makes each one more impactful.
Councilman Dolan was sponsor and a major supporter of St. Louis County’s Complete Streets initiative. You might thank him for his prior support of walking and bicycling in the County.
You might cc: Carmen Wilkerson on any email message you send to Councilman Trakas. We understand that Councilman Trakas’s voice mail has been full; again you might call and speak with (or leave a message with) his assistant instead.
Thank you! It really does make a big difference when you take the time to contact your elected representatives.
RFP for strategic planning for Missouri’s regional active transportation organizations
RFP for strategic planning for Missouri’s regional active transportation organizations
Trailnet and our peer organizations in Kansas City, Springfield, and Columbia request proposals for strategic planning services to inform future collaboration between the four organizations and to further our shared goals to improve the health and livability of our communities.
RFP Issued: January 20th, 2017 Questions Due: February 3rd, 2017 Proposals Due: February 10th, 2017
Partner organizations include Trailnet in St. Louis, BikeWalkKC in Kansas City, PedNet Coalition in Columbia, and Ozark Greenways in Springfield. This work is supported by the Missouri Convergence Partnership, a funder’s collaborative that includes the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and the Missouri Foundation for Health.
Help the planet by riding your bike to the Earth Day Festival and be a supervisor for our bike valet. We need two experienced supervisors per shift at each location. Supervisors must have prior experience with bike valet. Click here to sign up!
Come September, we will be nine months into the 18-month Master Planning process for a network of on-street protected Bikeways. Our Master Planning process has five committees made up of 80 people from 
Overall, The 
KVH: I’m family friends with Steve Schmidt, the Rides Manager here at Trailnet. I started as a volunteer for the Trailnet Bicycle Fun Club rides doing a variety of things – I arrive before the 7:30 a.m. registration time to help Steve set up, I work registration, I’ve ran the occasional SAG run, and I help pack up at the end of a ride day. I continue to stay involved with Trailnet because I really enjoy these rides. The people are great, it’s always a great atmosphere, it’s for a great cause, and of course, I get to talk about bikes for hours on end with other riders – which is hard to do in my everyday life since my friends don’t even know how to take the front wheel off of a bike.
KVH: I couldn’t agree with Joi more. I bike everywhere – to friends houses for parties, to run errands, going on leisure rides with my dad, and I even biked to both of my jobs this summer. I love the idea of the Trailnet Vision. I feel fairly safe and comfortable riding on the street since I have some biking experience, but still, I have dealt with my fair share of accidents that had the inclusion of cars. I think people with less riding experience would feel much safer and more comfortable riding using the infrastructure that Trailnet wants to make happen. A city thrives through community, and that’s all I see with what Trailnet is doing. Biking, running, and walking are all great activities to do with family and friends so having a space for people to do so would only help the city grow. I think STL has potential and it might have a long way to go, but I believe we can get there. 
Joi MC: Before anything else, I’m a poet, and language is the greatest tool I will ever wield. Accordingly I’m also interested in Spanish and programming. Whether on paper or on screen, I am a creator with the ability to make something out of nothing. To pull strings from keystrokes and epics from graphite. To take words—from English or Ruby, Spanish or JavaScript—that accomplish nothing on their own…I manipulate them to form my own world of meaning. That world may remind someone of their childhood or manage a database of employees; no two poems or projects are the same. I like to say that writing doesn’t just fuel me, but it’s my engine, ignition, and battery.
KVH: My most memorable Trailnet experience was my first Bicycle Fun Club ride, the Great Pizza Ride. I was able to be there from the very 
Joi MC: When I first came to Trailnet, I was supremely intimidated. I didn’t say much to anybody and worked through my lunches despite being told to take breaks. The point I began to relax came on a Tuesday when everyone was in the kitchen celebrating some birthday. I was working through yet another break when I heard the employees of Trailnet making plans for happy hours while sitting on tables & making lame jokes with each other. It was tremendously humanizing. After that I started to gradually ease into the professional, but fun Trailnet atmosphere, and I’ve been comfortable with my coworkers – and now friends – ever since.
Janice has biked since she was a kid, but her deep dive into the biking world came along after she met her husband, Barry
As she plans to retire this year, spending more time volunteering, being a grandmother, and bicycling around our neighborhood – we hope to make Janice and other riders like her have the ability to see the vibrant neighborhoods, parks and trails, cultural and educational institutions throughout St. Louis. Janice believes just like us that, “Putting people first and making it safer for people to explore and enjoy all these resources will help us be more connected and make St. Louis a better place to live.”
Born and raised in St. Louis, Michael Schwartz can’t remember a time when he wasn’t riding a bike. Better known as Mike, he grew up in Chesterfield riding around his neighborhood with friends. He didn’t know that this leisure activity from his childhood would turn into an activity that would follow him into adulthood and become his main source of exercise and enjoyment. As a young adult, Mike says he always had a bike, but it was never anything that he spent a great deal of time with until he was living in Washington D.C. There, he was introduced to the Rails-to-Trails biking system, which was one of the first and more well known Rails-to-Trails systems in the country. Having access to this system sparked Mike’s interest with using biking as a way to get from A to B without relying on a vehicle. 
biking satisfying, he still thinks there’s room for improvement. He feels that our region is not designed well for commuting, which is why he’s so excited about Trailnet’s master plan to develop protected bikeways and walkways within our city. Mike started as a rider, but once he discovered Trailnet’s core mission to develop this master plan, he joined the development committee of Trailnet. Now, Mike serves on the Board of Directors helping Trailnet work towards its master plan to make St. Louis an even more equitable and vibrant city. 
Mike works as an attorney at Bryan Cave which is a global law firm that got it’s start here in St. Louis. His practice is in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and commercial transactions. He assists a range of clients including major corporations, family owned businesses and start-up enterprises in industries that include manufacturing, financial services, retail, healthcare and biotechnology. For the last eight years, Mike finds fulfillment in doing a job that helps businesses strategize their goals and hopefully change their business for the better based on what they want to accomplish. 
Trailnet has received an award from the 
