Home 
 News 
 Archive

Archive for the “Advocacy” Category

Letter: City infrastructure plans must look beyond just pavement

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Originally published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Recently, Aldermanic President Megan Green, on St. Louis Public Radio’s Politically Speaking, spoke on the need to address traffic safety during the upcoming aldermanic session. Trailnet, the regional nonprofit dedicated to safe streets for all, has several recommendations for Aldermen to consider.

First, the use of American Rescue Plan Act funds in Ordinance 71650 must include community engagement and safety for pedestrians and cyclists. The city cannot pave and stripe its way to safety for all; protective infrastructure changes must be made.

The aforementioned can be done by enacting new Complete Streets legislation. The City’s current Complete Streets guidelines were recently scored 30 out of 100 by Smart Growth America. A more rigorous complete streets policy, strictly adhered to by city officials, would increase safety for people walking, biking and driving.

Trailnet supports Board Bill#105 on automated enforcement and Board Bill#106 concerning surveillance and the establishment of a Neighborhood Traffic Safety Fund. We are, however, concerned with Board Bill #185 regarding surveillance. We recommend the establishment of a committee, made up of an equal number of residents and city officials, to create policies and monitor the implementation of all the bills.

Finally, keeping the public more informed on infrastructure changes and traffic safety is essential for a safer environment. Providing accessible updates on City infrastructure spending—perhaps on the City website—would promote transparency and allow the public to better understand how projects are progressing.

Trailnet stands ready to assist.

Sincerely,

Cindy Mense, Trailnet CEO

The Louisiana Avenue Calm Street Project

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

A decade in the making, this North-South corridor in South St. Louis is undergoing transformations that could change the way St. Louis streets are designed and improved in the interests of vulnerable road users.


2013 – 2014: Project Background

In 2013, Trailnet and our partners in the City of St. Louis received an EPA grant to educate and engage the St. Louis Community about traffic calming.

Traffic Calming – Traffic calming consists of physical design and other measures put in place on existing roads to reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. 1

From 2013 – 2014, Trailnet helped to educate more than 1,200 residents in Dutchtown, Forest Park Southeast, and North City through mapping, community meetings and neighborhood outreach.

The communities we worked with became excited about increasing pedestrian and cyclist safety by transforming neighborhood streets into what were then referred to as neighborhood greenways and bicycle boulevards, now known locally as Calm Streets.

Calm Streets – A Calm Street is a residential street transformed to reduce speeding and provide safety for everyone traveling there. Using traffic calming features such as speed humps and curb extensions, Calm Streets create an environment where people drive the speed limit and therefore preserve the safety of people walking and biking. They also incorporate green infrastructure to mitigate stormwater issues and address environmental concerns like the urban heat island effect.

2015: A Formative Trip to Portland

In 2015, Trailnet secured a second round of EPA grant funding, which was used to fly a group of project partners, city officials and residents to Portland, Oregon, where they took inspiration from the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s Neighborhood Greenways Program.

Full of ideas and bolstered by concrete evidence of the plausibility and effectiveness of neighborhood-, and city-wide traffic calming projects, the team returned to St. Louis to choose a location for a pilot project.

At the time, Trailnet was working with Froebel Elementary School in the Dutchtown Neighborhood on creating safe routes to school for their students. Through that project, Trailnet had already established residents’ desires for safer streets in their neighborhoods and begun to build political willingness to act in the Dutchtown Community—which has the highest concentration of school-aged children in the City of St. Louis.

With that groundwork already done in the Dutchtown community, Louisiana Avenue was chosen as the pilot site for the City of St. Louis’ Calm Streets Concept. The rationale: Louisiana was an ideal North-South connection, parallel to the City’s highest crash corridor (Grand Blvd.) and adjacent to many parks, schools, small businesses and residential streets. Thus began the process of planning, designing and constructing what would become the Louisiana Avenue Calm Street.

2016 – 2023: Pop-ups, Planning and Construction

In November 2016, Trailnet hosted a traffic calming demonstration (check out the video and flyer!) on Louisiana Avenue next to Marquette Park to demonstrate what a Calm Street could look like on the corridor. During the demonstration, people driving slowed down by over 10 miles per hour. Ten miles per hour is the difference between someone struck by a car having a 5% chance of dying (with the concept installed) or having a 45% chance of dying (prior street layout).

Residents who witnessed the demonstration expressed their overwhelming support for the project, saying “we definitely need something to slow traffic” and “if you have to put a speed hump every six feet, I’m all for it!”

In 2017, the City of St. Louis submitted an application for federal funding, and the Louisiana Avenue Calm Street Project was chosen as the number one funding priority that year by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.

Over the next five years, the City of St. Louis, its project partners and contractors jumped many hurdles on the way to creating a more streamlined process for building future Calm Streets in the City. The plan went for design in 2018, with construction beginning in 2021.

In spring 2023, construction was finished on Phase 1 of the Louisiana Calm Street Project. The first phase features 1.1-miles of assorted traffic calming measures (speed humps, mini traffic circles, high visibility crosswalks, bump-outs, rain gardens, etc.), from Gravois to Meramec.


Looking Ahead:

Phase 2 will extend the current Louisiana Avenue Calm Street South to Carondelet Park. Phase 2 is currently in design.

A third and final phase will extend North to Tower Grove Park and complete the North-South connection between two of our City’s largest and most-visited parks.

The goals of the Louisiana Avenue Calm Street Project are many:

  1. To reduce speeds and increase safety for all road users,
  2. To foster a sense of safety in the neighborhoods, schools and parks adjacent to the corridor,
  3. To provide an alternative North-South connection in South City parallel to one of our most dangerous streets,
  4. To encourage healthy, active living,
  5. To test various, modern best practices for transportation engineering and traffic calming,
  6. To develop a streamlined process for calming a network of streets across the City of St. Louis…

The finished vision for Louisiana is a safe > 3-mile corridor that connects thousands of people to the places that they live, work and play.

Phase 1 is completed, but this project still needs public support to be fully realized!

If you live in the neighborhoods that have been or will be touched by the Louisiana Avenue Calm Street, express your support to the City for safer streets. If you have feedback based on your experience of the corridor, reach out to your alderperson.

This pilot project will ultimately be a success if it paves the way for effective improvements to our built environment that save and better the lives of our neighbors! As one project partner from the City said at a recent presentation: “Maybe every street should be a Calm Street.”

More Resources:

  1. For example, vertical deflections (speed humps, speed tables, and raised intersections), horizontal shifts, and roadway narrowing are intended to reduce speed and enhance the street environment for non-motorists. Closures that obstruct traffic movements in one or more directions, such as median barriers, are intended to reduce cut-through traffic. Traffic calming measures can be implemented at an intersection, street, neighborhood, or area-wide level,” according to the US Dept. of Transportation. ↩︎

Spire and Trailnet Collaborate on New Bike Path at Bayless Elementary

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A team of Spire volunteers constructed an all new walking and biking path on the property of Bayless Elementary School this summer!

The project was the result of a collaboration between Trailnet, Spire and Bayless Schools, funded by Spire Serves and carried out by volunteers through Spire’s Day for Good program.

The trail will connect the surrounding neighborhood with the school and provide awesome opportunities for bike education and recreation for Bayless students.

“We love opportunities like this,” said George Godat, Vice President and General Manager MoEast at Spire. “We provide opportunities for our employees to do a day of good in the community each year, and we also have dollars that we put into the community. Trailnet was able to apply for some funds from our Spire Serves program. We gave them $10,000 to provide the materials and labor, then our team came out and got to work. It was the perfect partnership for us and something we’re really excited about.”

Thanks to the Spire Team for cranking out a beautiful path that will result in years of recreation and bike education for our young neighbors!

2023 Q1 Crash Report

Tags: , , , , , , ,

For the third year, Trailnet is releasing a first quarter Crash Report, which compares the number of bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicular crashes from January 2023 to March 2023 to the same time period in 2022 within the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County.

There are a few trends worth noting:
  • 12 people were injured while walking or biking on Grand Blvd in the City of St. Louis in Q1.
    • Gravois Ave was the next highest crash corridor in the City. 8 people walking were injured. There were zero fatalities on Gravois in Q1.
  • A new high crash corridor emerged in St. Louis County. Clayton Rd, which was not a top crash corridor in either of our last two annual reports, has already been the site of three crashes in the County.
  • The Governors Highway Safety Association recently reported that, in 2022, the nation notched its highest number of pedestrian deaths since 1981. In St. Louis those numbers have continued to rise in 2023, with crashes in most categories increasing or holding steady in Q1.

The City of St. Louis’ BB120 funding has focused some of its attention on Trailnet’s previously-named high-crash corridors, which is a good start. We want to acknowledge the City for dedicating resources to this epidemic. Trailnet looks forward to learning more about how we can support the design and review of these infrastructure plans to help expedite the process towards construction.

In addition, we encourage both City and County officials to supplement infrastructure improvements with more urgent measures, including quick-build solutions, equitably implemented traffic enforcement and improved drivers education.

Trailnet will continue tracking this crash data—and regional leaders’ response to traffic violence— throughout 2023.

Trailnet Applauds County Councilmembers, County Executive as BB#86 Veto is Sustained

Tags: , , , , , ,

BB#86 would have unfairly targeted pedestrians, residents with disabilities, unhoused people and other vulnerable road users.

On Tuesday evening, the St. Louis County Council sustained County Executive Dr. Sam Page’s veto of County Council BB#86. This bill, introduced by Councilmember Trakas, would have made it “unlawful for any person to walk or otherwise move along and upon, stand upon, or sit in an adjacent roadway,” where sidewalks are provided.

Trailnet wishes to thank the members of the County Council who voted down this bill, and in doing so, protected the interests of people walking, people with disabilities, people using mobility devices, runners and all others who are forced to make strategic decisions with every step they take along our unsafe streets and sidewalks.

We also acknowledge and thank the many advocates—both individuals and organizations—who collaborated with us in writing to councilmembers and the County Executives’ office, strongly objecting to BB#86. While we did not know many of you before this effort, we have bonded over our joint commitment to the idea that people ought to be able to move as necessary to get to their destinations safely.

Trailnet recommends the County Executive and Council reopen the County’s 2019 Action Plan for Walking and Biking to address some of the issues Councilmember Trakas discussed. In addition, although it is outdated, the County passed a Complete Streets Ordinance in 2014 which sets out the general principles for accommodating all users when streets are designed, maintained or repaired. Together both of these documents provide a good starting point for discussions on pedestrian, sidewalk and road safety. 

Again, our thanks to the many partners and we look forward to future collaborations.

Signed,

Cindy Mense

Trailnet’s Position on County Bill #86

Tags: , ,

As written, St. Louis County Council Bill #86 conflicts with various aspects of the 2021 St. Louis County Action Plan for Biking and Walking, and falls short of the guiding principles and practices set forth by the St. Louis County Complete Streets Ordinance, adopted in 2014.

Trailnet and our partners strongly recommend that St. Louis County officials avoid taking steps in the wrong direction in 2023. Instead, we encourage the County to work with us to develop strategies that keep the safety and interests of vulnerable road users at the forefront.

See Trailnet’s full position below:

Trailnet’s Work With The Ville Community

Tags: , , , , ,

Trailnet and 4TheVille teams gathered around the monument at MLK and Sarah in North St. Louis. A stone sign in the foreground reads "Welcome to The VilleNeighborhood"
From our earliest collaborations, to the annual Juneteenth Community Ride, to transportation planning in 2022: What we’re working on in these historic neighborhoods, and why the work matters.

Since 2014, Trailnet has worked with community partners like 4TheVille and Northside Community Housing, Inc. within the Ville and Greater Ville neighborhoods to help plan for safer, slower, and greener residential streets.

Chart of The Ville transportation survey results

Regular Trailnet riders will recognize the name 4TheVillethe community-based tourism and arts organization created by multi-generational Ville residents and volunteers to restore pride in the legacy of The Ville—as our perennial partner on the Juneteenth Community Ride. But our partnership has grown well beyond one ride.

EPA-Funded Traffic Calming

In 2019, Trailnet received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving program. This funding was aimed at (1) making it easier for people in The Ville/Greater Ville to get around and (2) exploring opportunities for green infrastructure to address negative environmental and health impacts in the neighborhoods.

In September of 2021, Trailnet partnered with 4TheVille to host a pop-up park and traffic calming demonstration at MLK Drive and North Sarah Street. The event celebrated the Ville’s heritage, highlighted talented Black artists, and imagined the Ville’s potential.

The 2021 traffic calming pop-up event also allowed us to survey community residents on their current transportation patterns and priority areas for improvement:

Chart of The Ville transportation survey results

The Cultural Boulevard

In 2022, we began consulting on 4TheVille’s Cultural Boulevard Project, which aims to transform a stretch of Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. into a walkable, bikeable hub of culture, history and economic development in North St. Louis.

“One of the things that impacts the residents of this community directly is unsafe streets… So we’re considering how this project can create safer streets in the community,” said 4TheVille Co-Founder Aaron Williams of the Cultural Boulevard Project.

Full Sidewalk Assessment

Also in May 2022, one Trailnet planner began an in-depth sidewalk assessment of The Ville & Greater Ville neighborhoods. Over the course of five months, she surveyed 61 miles of sidewalks! The completed map (right) is littered with colored marks, which represent sections of sidewalk that are inaccessible or in disrepair. This map is the first of its kind—a full sidewalk assessment for a single St. Louis neighborhood.

Mobility Infrastructure Report

In March 2023, Trailnet and our partners completed the Mobility Infrastructure Report.

This Mobility Report was created to support a neighborhood transportation plan for The Ville Community (The Ville, Greater Ville, and Kingsway East neighborhoods). This report provides several strategies towards achieving the neighborhood’s vision to become an active transportation-friendly space where walking, bicycling, and transit provide safe, accessible, and healthy mobility options for everyone in the community.

This document features a combination of community-informed qualitative data about transportation trends and desires and quantitative environmental, transportation and road data. The document will be used to support policy change, future advocacy and planning efforts and to bolster future applications for funding improvements in the area.

A summary of these findings was presented at 4TheVille’s Neighborhood Redevelopment Town Hall on March 4, 2023. Read the full report here.

This project was completed with funding from the EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program and the Building Resilient Inclusive Communities (BRIC) program.


A man uses a mobility device on a street in The Ville. The nearby sidewalk is impassable.

The Ville & Greater Ville neighborhoods comprise 1.4-square-miles of one of the most historically significant pockets of Black history, art and culture in the entire country. Yet, 100% of the census tracts in this once-thriving community have now been identified by the Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All discretionary program as environmentally, economically, and health disadvantaged.

These are also communities with disproportionately low rates of personal vehicle ownership and high rates of public transit use. Yet, years of disinvestment have left their sidewalks and streets inaccessible and unsafe for people outside of cars.

As Trailnet aims to direct our local advocacy efforts toward the areas of greatest need, we will continue to implore local leaders to invest in neighborhoods like The Ville & Greater Ville, with the hope that someday soon our streets will be safe and accessible for everyone, everywhere.

UPDATED: St. Louis Board of Aldermen Candidate Survey on Safe Streets

Tags: , , , , , ,

Trailnet and St. Louis BWorks teamed up to survey candidates for the Board of Aldermen in advance of the City of St. Louis General Municipal Elections on April 4, 2023.

Trailnet logo + St. Louis bworks logo

This questionnaire was created to educate City voters on the issues that our organizations consider central to our missions. These survey questions were constructed to collect Board of Aldermen candidates’ positions on issues related to safe streets, infrastructure funding, environmental impact and more. We received responses from nine of the 28 aldermanic candidates in the new 14 wards. See the list of respondents and their complete, unedited responses below:

Respondents

Ward 1Anne Schweitzer
Ward 5Helen Petty
Ward 6Daniela Velazquez & Jennifer Florida
Ward 7Alisha Sonnier
Ward 8Cara Spencer
Ward 9Michael Browning
Ward 10Emmett L Coleman
Ward 12Tashara T. Earl

Non-respondents: Anthony Kirchner (1); Tom Oldenburg, Phill Menendez (2); Shane Cohn (3); Bret Narayan, Joe Vaccaro (4); Joe Vollmer (5); J.P. Mitchom (7); Ken Ortmann (8); Tina Pihl (9); Shameem Clark Hubbard (10); Laura Keys, Carla Wright (11); Sharon Tyus (12); Pam Boyd, Norma Walker (13); Rasheen Aldridge, Ebony Washington (14)

Section 1

Questions in this section included pre-made answer choices, as well as an option for open response.

Question 1

Should the 1/2 cent sales tax for street and sidewalk infrastructure go directly to the city or continue to be distributed as “ward capital” to the alderpersons?
Anne Schweitzer (1)The city needs an infrastructure plan, with the administration and alderpersons working together to fund it. That plan will likely take several revenue streams to accomplish. Ward capital alone is nowhere near enough for all the infrastructure needs of the city it is expected to cover.
Helen Petty (5)Infrastructure issues should be approached holistically, city-wide
Daniela Velazquez (6)Infrastructure issues should be approached holistically, city-wide
Jennifer Florida (6)Infrastructure issues should be approached holistically, city-wide
Alisha Sonnier (7)Infrastructure issues should be approached holistically, city-wide
Cara Spencer (8)Ward Capital should be distributed by ward for neighborhood needs. We should NOT be relying on this funding for major infrastructure projects. We need a REAL street and infrastructure budget.
Michael Browning (9)Infrastructure issues should be approached holistically, city-wide
Emmett L Coleman (10)Infrastructure issues should be approached holistically, city-wide
Tashara T. Earl (12)The money should be divided between alderpersons and the city

Question 2

What metric(s) should be used to determine equitable distribution of the 1/2 cent sales tax?
Anne Schweitzer (1)The 1/2 cent sales tax is split with half going to ward capital funds, and the other half going to parks, recreation centers, citywide capital improvements, and to police department capital improvements. I believe funds going directly to each ward should be split equally, but would be open to a conversation about increasing the percentage that goes to the other categories. All of this relies on the city having an infrastructure plan in place.
Helen Petty (5)Poverty, by census tracts; Number of street miles contained in the wardI think we need to look at the current state of roads and sidewalks in any given area, the historic disinvestment, and frequency of use by cars/large trucks etc
Daniela Velazquez (6)Number of vacant lots and abandoned buildings; Number of street miles contained in the ward
Jennifer Florida (6) Citywide Needs assessment. Strategy of leveraging grants. Schefule maintence.
Alisha Sonnier (7)Poverty, by census tracts; # of vacant lots and abandoned buildings; # of street miles contained in the ward; current conditions of roads and conditions of the housing should be considered
Cara Spencer (8)None of these approaches is ideal. The 1/2 cent sales tax should be distributed by population in my opinion. But again, this is PENNIES compared to what our communities need. and we need a real infrastructure budget, a 10 year investment plan that is developed by a needs based approach. This ad hoc approach to infrastructure is failing our communities.
Michael Browning (9)Ward capital shouldn’t be the funding mechanism for infrastructure. It is not enough money and it puts decisions in the hands of political actors and non-experts. Most of ward capital is currently used on infrastructure. I am in favor of a small amount distributed equitably among the wards based off of a combination of metrics, but only if the city takes infrastructure out of the purview of alderpeople and their ward capital budgets.
Emmett L Coleman (10)Poverty, by census tracts; Homeowners vs. renter percentage; Number of vacant lots and abandoned buildings; Number of street miles contained in the ward
Tashara T. Earl (12)Poverty, by census tracts; Number of vacant lots and abandoned buildings

Question 3

Should the City embark on a Vision Zero “No traffic fatalities” approach to street and sidewalk maintenance and improvements?
Anne Schweitzer (1)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Helen Petty (5)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Daniela Velazquez (6)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Jennifer Florida (6)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Alisha Sonnier (7)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Cara Spencer (8)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Michael Browning (9)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Emmett L Coleman (10)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal
Tashara T. Earl (12)Yes, there should be a No fatalities approach, and I will prioritize achieving this goal

Question 4

Should the city use funds to support better pedestrian and bike infrastructure and education?
Anne Schweitzer (1)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Helen Petty (5)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Daniela Velazquez (6)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Jennifer Florida (6)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Alisha Sonnier (7)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Cara Spencer (8)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Michael Browning (9)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Emmett L Coleman (10)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety
Tashara T. Earl (12)We need to prioritize pedestrian and cyclist safety

Question 5

Should the city increase automated traffic enforcement in light of the continued decrease in police officers?
Anne Schweitzer (1)I support automated traffic enforcement and officer involvement in traffic enforcement.
Helen Petty (5)Yes, but it must be equitably enforced
Daniela Velazquez (6)Automated traffic enforcement is unconstitutional in the city.
Jennifer Florida (6)Yes, but it must be equitably enforced
Alisha Sonnier (7)This is something that needs to be a community conversation. We have to be extremely sensitive to community feelings on surveillance and we need to do a deep dive of the data on if automatic traffic enforcement actually increases people’s compliance with traffic rules/laws.
Cara Spencer (8)Automated traffic enforcement is not ideal but we need traffic enforcement period. And if this is the only option given our current policing, we should explore this option. We should exercise caution, but we need to explore any and all ways of making our streets safer for all.
Michael Browning (9)Yes, but it must be equitably enforced
Emmett L Coleman (10)Yes, but it must be equitably enforced
Tashara T. Earl (12)Yes, but it must be equitably enforced

Question 6

Should the city increase traffic enforcement through non police or courtroom tactics?
Anne Schweitzer (1)Warning letters to car owners; Warning letters to Insurance companies; Residents can report concerns to their Neighborhood Improvement Specialist. They often help with issues like this in the neighborhood.
Helen Petty (5)Warning letters to car owners; Warning letters to Insurance companies
Daniela Velazquez (6)Warning letters to Insurance companies
Jennifer Florida (6)Warning letters to car owners
Alisha Sonnier (7)Warning letters to car owners
Cara Spencer (8)Warning letters to car owners; Warning letters to Insurance companies; Yes, but these are not going to get us very far. Persons who routinely drive 80 miles an hour down residential streets are not going to be deterred by a letter. and often these drivers are uninsured. We need real traffic enforcement.
Michael Browning (9)Warning letters to car owners; Warning letters to Insurance companies; Civilian personnel can be used as extra eyes and ears on the road, and respond to low-risk situations like traffic collisions to fill out reports, instead of diverting one of the city’s few traffic officers to do these routine tasks.
Emmett L Coleman (10)No, the city should not use these strategies, I believe that simply sending letters to car owners is wasteful and the majority of people will ignore them. There is no way to even determine if car owners have current car insurance outside of police enforcement. There has to be some sort of enforcement to be effective, even if there are warnings provided to drivers. I think having cameras at intersections and along bike routes can help solve our hit-and-run crisis to assist the police in catching drivers who take off after an accident.
Tashara T. Earl (12)Warning letters to car owners; Warning letters to Insurance companies

Question 7

Should the city allow residents to assist with (submit photos of) simple infractions of non-moving motor vehicles such as blocking sidewalks with cars for review and possible mail ticketing?
Anne Schweitzer (1)Yes. This can already occur through reporting to CSB, police, and the traffic division.
Helen Petty (5)Yes
Daniela Velazquez (6)No
Jennifer Florida (6)Yes
Alisha Sonnier (7)Yes
Cara Spencer (8)possibly. i would have to see how this has worked in other cities. I would not wnat this to be an approach that results in targeted enforcement.
Michael Browning (9)Yes
Emmett L Coleman (10)We currently have a system in place where residents can take photos and file complaints with the Citizens Service Bureau(CSB) or contact our designated Neighborhood Improvement Specialist(NIS) to solve most non-moving motor vehicle infractions. I plan to go the extra mile to further communicate and collaborate with the NIS and CSB to obtain estimated timelines on resolving issues, relaying those timelines to residents to keep them updated on the status of their requests, and to collaborate with the city department employees and housing inspectors to ensure the issues are completed within a timely manner.
Tashara T. Earl (12)Yes

Question 8

In the past few months, what different modes have you used to get around the city?
Anne Schweitzer (1)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Bicycle, Bus, Taxi / Rideshare
Helen Petty (5)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Bicycle
Daniela Velazquez (6)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Taxi / Rideshare
Jennifer Florida (6)Drive alone, Walking
Alisha Sonnier (7)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Metrolink, Taxi / Rideshare
Cara Spencer (8)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Bicycle
Michael Browning (9)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Bicycle, Metrolink, Taxi / Rideshare
Emmett L Coleman (10)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Bicycle, Metrolink, Bus, E-Scooter / other micro-mobility, Taxi / Rideshare
Tashara T. Earl (12)Drive alone, Carpool, Walking, Bicycle, Taxi / Rideshare

Question 9

Should the City fund a media campaign against destructive driving and speeding?
Anne Schweitzer (1)Yes. I believe the city plays a role in educating the public on this issue.
Helen Petty (5)Yes, this is essential to safety efforts, especially if it can be targeted
Daniela Velazquez (6)As part of a larger public education program about safer streets initiatives across the city.
Jennifer Florida (6)Yes, this is essential to safety efforts, especially if it can be targeted
Alisha Sonnier (7)Yes, this is essential to safety efforts, especially if it can be targeted
Cara Spencer (8)Yes, this is essential to safety efforts, especially if it can be targeted
Michael Browning (9)Education is an important component of traffic safety, but I would need to see more details on the media campaign to evaluate if it is worth the investment.
Emmett L Coleman (10)Yes, this is essential to safety efforts, especially if it can be targeted
Tashara T. Earl (12)Yes, this is essential to safety efforts, especially if it can be targeted

Section 2

Questions in this section are exclusively open response.

Question 10

2022 saw 18 pedestrian and 2 cyclist fatalities, and 171 pedestrian and 48 cyclist injuries. What is your vision for solving this problem?
Anne Schweitzer (1)I believe in the Vision Zero approach to build systems that prioritize safety first and foremost, bringing together transportation professionals, policymakers, and all stakeholders to work towards this goal together. That means knowing the data, and using that to guide decision making. The city budget needs to reflect the priorities of the community through community engagement and prioritizing areas that need the most attention and investment. The city must set a date to achieve this goal, and I’m hopeful this can be a priority of the Board of Aldermen in the upcoming session.
Helen Petty (5)The use of technology to enforce traffic laws, increasing use of public transportation, stiffer repercussions for traffic violence, mandatory driver training programs for repeat offenders, and public education campaigns.
Daniela Velazquez (6)The first step is making our streets safer by lowering the speed limit on high-traffic streets. At the same time, we need to invest in pedestrian enhancements on busy streets holistically and across the city.
Jennifer Florida (6)2 fatalities occurred on S Grand, I legislated S Grand Great Street Scape initiative to improve safety and placemaking. Enforcement plays a role in safety.
Alisha Sonnier (7)I support a city wide infrastructure plan for our streets, and a comprehensive approach to traffic violence. This comprehensive plan needs to include a complete reconfiguration of our streets. I support this reconfiguration including the addition of protected bike lanes. We can make our streets pedestrian-friendly by extending curbs, building pedestrian islands, and creating green spaces around heavily-traveled roads.
Cara Spencer (8)We need to implement Vision Zero NOW. we need to say enough is enough. We need a REAL infrastructure budget and a 10 year investment plan. We need to use the funds that are generated on the streets (parking fees) to make our streets safer for all.
Michael Browning (9)This numbers are horrifying, and likely an undercount. It is absolutely a policy choice to continue to let this happen. To address, we should move infrastructure planning and funding back to a central city department with the directive to connect existing pedestrian and bicycle networks. St. Louis’ future is walkable, and we need more leaders who prioritize people over cars and car infrastructure.
Emmett L Coleman (10)I plan to reduce the number of pedestrian and cyclist injuries and deaths by sponsoring legislation for stricter pedestrian protections locally while also working with state lawmakers to do the same statewide. I will also facilitate the installation of traffic-calming measures within the new 10th Ward that would include more pedestrian and cyclist protections such as protected bike lanes, crosswalks, and curb extensions while fighting for these improvements citywide.
Tashara T. Earl (12)I lost a family member cycling due to a drunk driver on Mardi Gras in 2019. I truly believe we must address this issue from all angles starting with enforcing drivers education for all new drivers. Parent with poor habits teaching teens how to drive creates irresponsible drivers. We should review the legalities of the red light cameras to fine the vehicle of the car and not the driver. We should install more bike lane visibility and safety infrastructure to better protect our pedestrian and cyclists. In addition, add more signage to the streets to bring more awareness to cycling in the city.

Question 11

In order to decrease carbon emissions, what would you do to increase the usage of public transportation or biking to work?
Anne Schweitzer (1)In the last few months, I’ve started commuting to work by MetroBus and encourage others to do the same. I support the North South MetroLink expansion and public information campaigns that encourage public transportation. I try to share my own experiences with public transit on social media. I support increased and improved biking infrastructure and more enforcement of traffic laws that are supposed to protect pedestrians, including, but not limited to, speed limits, parking or traveling in bike lanes, or parking motorcycles on sidewalks.
Helen Petty (5)In order to increase the use of public transportation we need to expand the routes and make it more efficient and reliable. By looking at solutions like bus rapid transit lanes and the expansion of metro link we can make public transportation more useful for more people. Similarly, we can increase the use of biking to work by making it safer. Protected bike lanes city wide, narrowing arterials, and traffic calming measures can all be useful.
Daniela Velazquez (6)First, we need to make our streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. To increase the use of public transportation, prioritizing projects that focus on developing regional transportation, such as a North-South MetroLink, establishing a Bus Rapid Transit option and creating residential development projects near public transit. As a Board, we should pair our planning of public transit with investments in affordable housing, walkable neighborhoods, greenways and other holistic initiatives.
Jennifer Florida (6)I expanded safe cycling..Bike St. Louis, contunue thse efforts. I supporting transit. Let’s increase ridership by improved access and reliable service.
Alisha Sonnier (7)I am in support of using ARPA funds or the funds from the RAMS settlement to expand and make our public transit system more appealing, universally accessible, and to make transit time 60 minutes or less between any two points in Saint Louis. Privately owned vehicles should not be the only form of reliable transportation, this being the case only adds to inequities and makes our city inaccessible
Cara Spencer (8)make our roads safer for non vehicular traffic and seriously look at at bus rapid transit and economically feasible ways of expanding public transit options.
Michael Browning (9)When you see a statistic like “36% of pedestrian crashes and 45% of pedestrian fatalities occur within 200 feet of a MetroBus stop in St. Louis city,” it becomes clear that using public transportation is not safe. We also know that it is not convenient. Improving the safety of infrastructure directly around bus and metro stops should be a priority. We also cannot expect people to take the bus if it takes 4 times longer than it takes to drive to their destination. Increasing the number of buses for major routes, hiring more drivers with better pay and benefits, and using technology to make it easy to use the bus are all good starts to making public transportation more convenient to use. We can also encourage new developments and employers to provide secure bike parking on site, as well as provide repair stations near common destinations. But at the end of the day, people won’t bike to work if they don’t feel safe on the roads, so it comes down to infrastructure and maintenance. Does St. Louis have a bike lane sweeper? It absolutely should.
Emmett L Coleman (10)I am self-employed so I do not have to commute to work. I do, however, own only hybrid vehicles right now to reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption. As an alderperson, I look to use public transit to commute to city hall. I plan to facilitate the installation of traffic-calming measures within the new 10th Ward, which would include more protected bike lanes, more highly-visible and protected ADA approved crosswalks, and road signage. I also plan to facilitate the installation of electric vehicle charging stations along commercial corridors within the new 10th Ward as well as enforce the installation of electric vehicle charging stations as part of any new mixed use development within the new ward to encourage more electrical vehicle usage in the city.
Tashara T. Earl (12)I would highlight the benefits of taking public transportation and biking to work. In addition express how this helps our society’s air quality for our overall health. I would encourage the city to offer free public transportation to encourage more citizens to ride public transportation.


City residents: don’t forget to vote in the St. Louis General Municipal Elections on April 4, 2023.
Find your polling place here
Full Sample Ballot
More information for voters in the City of St. Louis

The 2022 St. Louis City and County Crash Report

Tags: , , , ,

"2022 St. Louis City and County Crash Report" in white font over orange, partially transparent rectangle, all over background photo of the intersection at Washington Ave. and 4th St. in downtown St. Louis.

Trailnet’s 2022 Crash Report reviews a year rife with traffic violence and proposes solutions for the St. Louis region.

Last year, 173 people were killed and 14,930 people injured in traffic crashes in St. Louis City and County. 

In the City of St. Louis, 78 total people died as a result of traffic violence—the second-most fatalities in any year on record, and more than double the number of traffic fatalities in the City a decade ago.

In St. Louis County, the number of pedestrian fatalities over a three-year span from 2020-2022 was up 228% from 2010-2012.

These and other key findings are part of Trailnet’s “2022 St. Louis City and County Crash Report.” This report is a snapshot and analysis of traffic violence in the region and lays out recommendations for local leaders to better address these tragedies.

“This data reinforces the already-clear link between poorly-designed roads, high speeds and deadly conditions for people outside of cars,” said Sam McCrory, Trailnet’s Community Planner and the primary author of the report. “Last year, City leaders finally committed to long-term solutions, but we also need immediate responses across the region. We cannot continue waiting around for change while people die on our streets.”

“We’re focused first and foremost on the needs and safety of people walking, biking, and using transit, but these crashes can affect everyone and ripple through our community,” said Cindy Mense, Trailnet’s CEO. “The human toll of these crashes is immeasurable.”

The report is based on data from the Missouri Statewide Traffic Accident Records System, which catalogs crash information from law enforcement agencies across the state.

In addition to reporting crash data, this year’s report features a new section for fatal crash reviews. These reviews analyze the context and roadway conditions of specific crash sites from five crashes in 2022. Each analysis is followed by a series of recommendations to prevent future deaths, including: reducing dangerous driver behavior through street design, improving safety near bus stops and reimagining our most car-centric corridors.

Other key takeaways include:

In 2022, in the City of St. Louis, seven roads were responsible for 35% of crashes. Of those seven, Grand, Chippewa, Kingshighway, Broadway, and Gravois were responsible for 44% of pedestrian deaths. These high-crash corridors make up only 1% of the city’s road network. 

In 2022, in St. Louis County, seven roads accounted for 23% of pedestrian crashes. Of those seven, St. Charles Rock Road, Page Ave, and W. Florissant were responsible for 42% of pedestrian deaths.

95% of pedestrian fatalities in St. Louis County occurred on roads marked 35 MPH or higher

84% of pedestrian fatalities in St. Louis City & County occurred at mid-block locations

32% of fatal car crashes in St. Louis City & County occur due to Speeding Related circumstances

Visit trailnet.org/2022-crash-report to read the full report.

St. Louis Safer Streets Bill Signed

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Trailnet was invited to be a part of the signing of the St. Louis Safer Streets Bill on March 1. Here’s what that means, why we’re excited, and what more needs to be done.

On Wednesday morning, March 1, 2023, City of St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones signed the St. Louis Safer Streets Bill (also referred to as Board Bill 120) into law.

This is a huge win. It marks the City’s largest-ever investment into street safety and infrastructure, and Trailnet was invited to be a part of the ceremony.

We couldn’t have done this without support from our members and community. 

Together, we have fought for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users over the last three decades. We laid the groundwork for change by shifting the conversation, focusing on systems, and gradually building public support. We sounded the alarm about traffic violence with the Crash Report. We built relationships with decision makers and met with elected officials.

The work isn’t over, though. Now, the funding must be carefully applied, on a comprehensive scale, to the problems it hopes to solve.

As Trailnet CEO Cindy Mense said in her remarks to the press, “While improving infrastructure is crucial, it will not, on its own, deter reckless drivers or put an end to the plague of traffic violence…. Trailnet and our partners stand ready to work with the administration in pursuing a vision of zero traffic injuries and fatalities on our streets.”

Together, we will continue to fight for Streets for All.