Trailnet Calls on City to Eliminate Pedestrian and Bicycle Fatalities
Death and injury in any form are unacceptable. Our city is often focused on violent crime, rightfully so. But this conversation ignores another major contributor to deaths and injuries – traffic violence.
From 2009-2012, 49 people were killed while walking or biking and 1,496 were injured. This is more than one person a day hit by a car while walking or biking in St. Louis City. Another fatal crash occurred on Friday, killing a bicyclist in full reflective gear. These traffic deaths are preventable and can be eliminated by prioritizing people on foot and bicycle, the most vulnerable users of the road.
Mayor Slay has made it a focus of his administration to make St. Louis more walkable and bikeable, but without a multi-sector action plan and strict enforcement of traffic violations this will not be accomplished.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has continually named St. Louis as a Pedestrian Focus City, because the rate of drivers hitting pedestrians is so high. Thirty-six percent of city traffic deaths are pedestrians.
The City of St. Louis must get serious about keeping residents safe and make a commitment to the people of this city. In order to achieve a walkable and bikeable city, eliminating injuries and deaths must be a measurable part of the City’s Sustainability Plan and include the Departments of Streets, Health, and Public Works.
There are two main ways to decrease traffic crashes: change the behavior of the people using the road, and change the physical engineering of the road.
At minimum, Trailnet urges the City to:
Set a goal to eliminate pedestrian and bicycle fatalities (e.g. Zero fatalities by 2019)
Increase enforcement of traffic violations that injure and kill people: speeding, running red lights, turning violations, and running stop signs
Hire a Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator with the expertise to design and implement safer streets for people walking and biking
Set a plan to:
Begin utilizing FHWA recommended traffic calming measures such as high visibility crosswalks, speed bumps and roundabouts
Update and adopt the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan
Pass policies to create safer streets such as no texting while driving
Zero is the only acceptable number. If you live, work or play in the City of St. Louis, call Mayor Slay today at 314-622-3201 and ask him to set a timeline to eliminate pedestrian and bicycle fatalities.
Concerned cyclists will gather next Monday, June 30at 8 a.m. in front of City Hall at the Tucker Street entrance to ask for safer streets.
About 400 cyclists lucked out with a beautiful day for a bike ride. The temperature started off in the low 50s with clear blue skies and no wind. As a pre-ride warm-up, cyclists enjoyed Mississippi Mud coffee brewed and provided by Sacred Grounds in Edwardsville. Biking on roads that were once part of old Highway 66 and on sections of the Madison County Trails, cyclists viewed many original iconic Route 66 buildings. Cyclists on the long route had the opportunity to visit the Mother Jones Monument and a rest stop at the historic Soulsby’s Shell Station in Mount Olive. After the ride, the annual Route 66 Festival was just a short walk away in the Edwardsville City Park.
Funded, in part, by The Great Rivers Greenway District
Sunday, June 15, 2014
This year’s city tour was scheduled on Father’s Day at the request of our Bike Shop sponsor, South Side Cyclery. This year the updated route took riders on a bi-state sojourn crossing into Illinois on the Eads Bridge and back into Missouri on the McKinley Bridge. Of the 150+ cyclists, many had never ridden on either bridge. Once in Illinois cyclists were routed into the oldest African American incorporated town in the US, Brooklyn. Another new treat for this year’s Bike St. Louis City Tour was a private ride through Bellefontaine Cemetery. Cyclists entered the cemetery through the Amaranth Gate (closed to public) and were greeted by a group of volunteers who shared insider information on some of the highlights.
Leaving the cemetery, the first rest stop was at “Mr. Bumpy Face,” St. Louis’ velodrome. If desired, riders could do laps on the track. The rest stop was staffed with great snacks from our friends at Bike MS. From there, cyclists toured some of the beautiful old homes of North City, the commerce of Euclid Avenue, and a trip around the Cathedral Basilica. Cyclists continued on the routes as they split with the long and medium routes going through Forest Park, stopping at Parker’s Table for rest and recharge. The long route then continued south through Tower Grove and Carondelet Parks before finishing. The short route visited Lafayette Park while the medium cruised Cherokee before returning.
Returning cyclists were treated to flagship brews from Urban Chestnut- Zwickel and Winged Nut- along with Gus’ Pretzels and Roger’s Hot Diggity Dogs.
This Week: MoDOT Meetings for Proposed $6.1B Sales Tax
On August 5, Missourians will vote on a proposed $6.1 billion sales tax for transportation. MoDOT created a master list of priority projects to be included on the ballot for the 3/4-cent sales tax, and are holding open houses this week to gather public comment. The word “bicycle” was not included anywhere in the list; MoDOT opted for “non-motorized” instead.
Trailnet submitted a priority list to MoDOT and East West Gateway to inform the MoDOT list. Our priority list was based on over 700 results from a 2013 survey that asked residents to identify priority bike/ped projects. These results were combined with input from institutional partners for Trailnet’s final list. Few made it onto MoDOTS’s list.
MoDOT surveyed over 12,000 Missourians as part of the Missouri on the Move listening sessions, who clearly indicated that the priority is on maintaining, not expanding, the existing system:
(You can view a larger version of this image by clicking on it and hitting the back button to return to this blog post.)
MoDOT’s project list does not reflect the priorities of Missourians.
Please attend one of the meetings this week and ask MoDOT to include walking, biking, and transit projects that will move our region forward.
Tuesday, June 17
4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
University of Missouri – St. Louis
Millennium Student Center
1 University Blvd.
St. Louis, MO
Wednesday, June 18
4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
St. Louis Public Library
1301 Olive St.
St. Louis, MO
Thursday, June 19
4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
St. Charles Community College
College Center Rotunda
Cottleville, MO
This map was developed by Trailnet in partnership with Tower Grove neighborhoods to help residents and visitors get to and from destinations in the neighborhood by bicycle or bus.
The map shows routes for Beginner Riders and Experienced Riders. The Beginner routes are generally on lower-traffic streets with slower vehicles. The Experienced routes are typically higher traffic, but may include bike lanes.
Funding for this project was provided in part by The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH). MFH is a philanthropic organization whose vision is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves.
Trailnet thanks MFH and the alderpeople and neighborhood associations of the area this map serves.
This map was developed by Trailnet in partnership with the Dutchtown Neighborhood to help residents and visitors get to and from destinations in the neighborhood by bicycle or bus.
The map shows routes for Beginner Riders and Experienced Riders. The Beginner routes are generally on lower-traffic streets with slower vehicles. The Experienced routes are typically higher traffic, but may include bike lanes. In addition to the large scale neighborhood map, smaller maps with routes to downtown and midtown are included.
Funding for this project was provided in part by The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH). MFH is a philanthropic organization whose vision is to improve the health of the people in the communities it serves.
Trailnet thanks MFH and the alderpeople and neighborhood associations of the area this map serves.
Click on the map to download a pdf.
We pay for the roads, let’s join in how they are planned
When large road projects are built, we get a lot of people asking, “Why was the road built now? Why doesn’t it have sidewalks?” For large transportation projects, the answers can usually be traced back to the Long Range Plan produced by our metropolitan planning organization, East West Gateway Council of Governments. The Long Range Plan sets guiding principles for improving transportation in the region, along with creating a phased list of large-scale projects for the next 30 years. The plans are updated every five years, and the planning process for the next Long Range Plan is going on now.
Talking about transportation priorities in 30 year can seem abstract but the guiding principles in the Long Range Plan are the key to how approximately $40 million gets spent on transportation every year in our region. When your city or county wants to build and improve streets, intersections, sidewalks, and bicycle facilities, they often rely on transportation funds through East West Gateway. The projects are chosen using a scoring system based on the priorities in the Long Range Plan. The highest scoring projects end up in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), and are funded and built.
East West Gateway is working on a new Long Range Plan, so NOW is the time to speak up about your priorities for the region, and where you would like to see our money spent. East West Gateway is hosting a free speaker series at the Missouri History Museum that focuses on regional transportation issues with interactive audience polling. Click here for information and the dates for all four events.
The first event on June 18 at 7:00 pm is “Back to the Future: How St. Louis’ Transportation Past Informs our Future.” The speakers will look back at the history of transportation in St. Louis, which was founded before cars, streetcars, and even bicycles, to see what we can learn for the future. The speakers will be followed by a keypad polling session to gather public feedback on priorities.
This is a great opportunity to learn more about the history of St. Louis transportation, and make your voice heard about the future of transportation in St. Louis. In 2013, East West Gateway finished a three year, $4.6 million plan, OneSTL, to support sustainability in the region. We need to make sure the common-sense recommendations for sustainable transportation and funding are carried into the Long Range Plan. Trailnet will be at the meeting, advocating for improving and expanding sustainable transportation, including making transit, walking, and bicycling infrastructure a priority for the region.
We will also be focusing on financial sustainability. Every year, as we hear about bridges deteriorating and highways needing to be rebuilt, it is a reminder that our infrastructure does not last forever. We will be asking East West Gateway to help local governments build projects that they can afford to maintain and rebuild, when the time comes. All grant applications should include a financial plan for paying for regular maintenance on roads, along with reconstruction costs when the engineers estimate the road will need to be rebuilt, usually about 40 to 60 years.
By looking forward and anticipating our costs, we can make sure that we are building a resilient transportation system, and that we won’t burden our children with the cost of maintaining and rebuilding a transportation system we built without planning. We do this kind of long-term budgeting everyday in our own lives when we save for retirement, and in our businesses, when we set aside money to fix or replace equipment when needed. Let’s make sure our transportation budget fits the same standards. And if a local government can’t afford to replace a bridge once it can no longer support trucks, we can always look into giving the infrastructure to people walking and bicycling.
Old Chain of Rocks Bridge – formerly serving motor vehicles
Re-cap of June 5 Bike Smart class at the Salvation Army on Arsenal
Three enthusiastic cyclists participated in Trailnet’s Bike Smart class at the Salvation Army on June 5. The class was led by two League of American Bicyclists certified instructors. Topics covered included helmet and bike fitting, basic bike maintenance, and Missouri traffic law that applies to cyclists. Drills that covered effective starting, braking, shifting, and bike handling were followed by a ride to nearby Benton Park.
If you want to feel more confident riding on the road, learn more about how your bike works, and use your bike more and your car less, join us for one of our classes at the Salvation Army, 2740 Arsenal. They are FREE and open to all – every Thursday in June from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon. Go to https://trailnet.org/calendar/trailnet-bike-smart-class-3-2014-06-12/ for more information and to sign up.
Do you live, walk, or bike in Des Peres? Please help us create a plan that suits Des Peres by filling out a ten minute survey about walking and biking in Kirkwood. Your answers will guide the recommendations and priorities in the plan.
Through the end of July, the planning team will be at public events in Des Peres to gather input on walking and bicycling in the community, and find what residents value when it comes to transportation. The input will be used to guide the creation of a Des Peres Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan.
At these outreach events, you can talk to the planning team about walking and biking in Des Peres, what’s working, what isn’t, and how you would like to see walking and biking enhanced over the next 15 years. Outreach events will have maps, surveys, and comment cards to capture your thoughts and suggestions. The planning team will be available at the following events; please come out and talk to them about the future of walking and biking in Des Peres.
An online survey may be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DesPeres; it is also available on paper at the Des Peres City Hall and at the tabling events
About 400 cyclists lucked out with a beautiful day for a bike ride. The temperature started off in the low 50s with clear blue skies and no wind. As a pre-ride warm-up, cyclists enjoyed Mississippi Mud coffee brewed and provided by Sacred Grounds in Edwardsville. Biking on roads that were once part of old Highway 66 and on sections of the Madison County Trails, cyclists viewed many original iconic Route 66 buildings. Cyclists on the long route had the opportunity to visit the Mother Jones Monument and a rest stop at the historic Soulsby’s Shell Station in Mount Olive. After the ride, the annual Route 66 Festival was just a short walk away in the Edwardsville City Park.
Leaving the cemetery, the first rest stop was at “Mr. Bumpy Face,” St. Louis’ velodrome. If desired, riders could do laps on the track. The rest stop was staffed with great snacks from our friends at Bike MS. From there, cyclists toured some of the beautiful old homes of North City, the commerce of Euclid Avenue, and a trip around the Cathedral Basilica. Cyclists continued on the routes as they split with the long and medium routes going through Forest Park, stopping at Parker’s Table for rest and recharge. The long route then continued south through Tower Grove and Carondelet Parks before finishing. The short route visited Lafayette Park while the medium cruised Cherokee before returning.
