Check out the Great Rivers Greenway website for biking and walking trails in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, or St. Charles County.
You can also access Metro East Recreation District’s trail locator for the most comprehensive view of bike paths or walking trails on the Illinois side of the metro region.
After more than 15 years of operation it is with both optimism for the future and a hint of nostalgia that the Confluence Partnership announces it will be closing operations effective November 1, 2013.
This decision was made after months of careful review and interviews with stakeholders and supporters of the state, local and federal agencies and non-profits that provide the wonderful programming and experiences along the confluence of our great rivers.
Like people, trees and animals, organizations too, have a life cycle. And in many ways, thanks to the work of hundreds of individuals and many organizations the original mission of the Confluence Partnership is complete. Originally conceived in 1996, this bi-state’s initiative began as a cooperative endeavor between five non-profits (Trailnet, Greenway Network, Trust for Public Land, Southwestern RC&D, & Grace Hill Settlement House) with a common vision of elevating our Great Rivers to garner the international recognition they deserve. With generous multi-year funding from the McKnight Foundation, the overarching goal was to connect people to our great rivers through better access and to promote the geographical and cultural heritage of the confluence to a larger audience.
Since that time and after more than $170 million in investment and years of hard work by agencies from the federal government, state, local, non-profits and even volunteer groups … the confluence has indeed become the area many visionaries had hoped … a place to learn about, connect to, understand and appreciate our great rivers.
So while the work in the area is not finished, it is time to put the spotlight on those organizations actively working in the area. And we encourage those of you who love the rivers to continue to visit these organizations, to spread the word and to support their work through volunteerism, donations and your enthusiasm.
It has been a pleasure to share with you our love of the rivers …. and we look forward to your continued involvement as life takes us all downstream and around the bend.
For all but the bravest or most experienced road cyclist, bicycle infrastructure is necessary when it comes to improving our comfort level and overall feeling of safety on the road.
For many, protected bike lanes or paths provide an experience far superior to cycling on a road with fast moving cars and little or no safe shoulder. However, they have been slow to be adopted, despite mounting evidence that they improve safety.
All of that, I hope, is poised to change. In a recent memo from the FWHA (Federal Highway Administration), transportation engineers were told that the FHWA supports a “flexible approach” to bike/ped facility design. It urges transportation engineers to use, as their primary resources, two guides as they plan, design, operate, and maintain bicycle and pedestrian facilities. They are the Urban Bikeway Design Guide issued by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NAACTO) and Designing Urban Walkable Thoroughfares from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE).
NACTO, an association of 15 major U.S. cities formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues, features in its guide protected bicycle lanes and other innovative best practices routinely seen in Europe but not so much here.
The FHWA’s support for the NACTO guidelines gives cities and states a usable toolkit to help them provide safe and effective infrastructure that better serve pedestrians and bicyclists. The blessing of the FHWA makes all the difference since U.S. transportation engineers generally hesitate to use designs that aren’t officially sanctioned. My hope is that this memo creates great forward movement.
The FWHA memo makes this a good time for me to toot the horn of Trailnet staff who’ve created our new piece – Streets for Everyone. It’s a guide that’s easy for the layperson to understand while providing valuable information and insight to planners and city and municipal leaders.
Take a look. I believe this kind of infrastructure is now attainable. Change happens!
Trailnet volunteers have stepped up to sit down and count people on bikes and on foot. If you have not signed up already I hope you will!
On Tuesday and Wednesday of next week (September 10 and 11) bike/pedestrian counters will be seen at 132 locations throughout St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., finding out where people are biking and walking. And where they’re not.
The data they gather will be used to inform local decisions about bicycle and pedestrian networks. It will also be added to a national database of statistics, and will help to refine bike/ped forecasting.
Filling these slots has been a big undertaking and the response from our volunteers has been impressive. We have 88 slots filled and 29 left to fill. We have a sweet incentive this year – for each slot you fill, your name will be entered in a drawing for an iPad.
The information we collect and record through these counts, which is being done in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway, is essential for so many reasons. Some of you may remember receiving an American Community Survey (the form that replaced the long form census) that asked about how you commuted, and gave you the chance to identify biking or walking. But it didn’t ask you if you walked or rode your bike for other reasons, and that represents more than half of all trips! Counts are a way to capture trips for all purposes.
Counters are also on the lookout for cyclists on sidewalks and cyclists riding against traffic. These numbers will be taken into consideration when decisions about education campaigns are made.
The home page of the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project explains it best: one of the greatest challenges facing the bicycle and pedestrian field is the lack of documentation on usage and demand. Without accurate and consistent demand and usage figures, it is difficult to measure the positive benefits of investments in these modes, especially when compared to the other transportation modes such as the private automobile. This nationwide count provides a consistent model of data collection and regularly updated data for use by planners, governments, and bicycle and pedestrian professionals.
My deepest thanks go to Trailnet’s many volunteers and staff who donate their most precious resource, their time, to this important project. Please check your calendar and see if you can take a shift or two. Your volunteer hours will provide invaluable information.
Thank you.
Thank you to everyone who came out for our campaign kickoff and volunteer thank you party held at the Schlafly Tap Room. Special thanks to STL Style for helping us promote the party and campaign.
“In this case, there are no winners. There are only losers.” Those were the words the judge in court extended today (Friday, March 8, 2013) to everyone who was present for the resolution of the Sam Scott case. He also said this case was a sad example of what can happen when someone drinks and drives.
Today ended the long string of postponements in the case of Emily Hagan, the intoxicated driver who hit Sam Scott while he was on his bicycle on Delmar Blvd. on the evening of February 3, 2012. Sam died shortly after. Ms. Hagan pled guilty of involuntary manslaughter and waived her right to a trial. The judge sentenced her to three years in a Missouri Correctional Center.
Sam’s mom had a few paragraphs about Sam prepared and the victim’s read them aloud. Sam’s mom wanted the judge and those present to understand who Sam was, not just from her point of view but from others. She wrote about what losing Sam meant to his best friends and his beloved girl friend. She quoted a powerful letter of reference written by one of Sam’s teachers. I was left knowing the world is poorer because we lost Sam.
I don’t pretend to know whether Ms. Hagan’s sentence is “fair” or not. Would she have served more time if she had hit and killed a pedestrian or the driver of another motorized vehicle? Did having a high-powered defense attorney affect the outcome of her sentence?
Am I satisfied with the outcome? As the judge underscored, there can be no satisfaction today. Instead, there must be continued and heightened work to pass essential policies, build the best infrastructure, and educate all users how to safely share our roads. Trailnet is committed to doing just that.
I do believe the presence of bike/ped advocates in court, through the past 13 months of set and postponed court dates, made an impression in the end. I believe Susan Scott’s confidence in Trailnet sent a message that Sam’s community includes everyone who chooses for transportation an alternative to a motorized vehicle. All of us at Trailnet are deeply saddened by the loss of Sam and that no amount of grief, remorse, or punishment will change the unchangeable.
Please be an advocate for safe roads by committing to driving sober and not allowing your friends or family to drive while intoxicated or distracted. Ever. Remember Sam.