Thank you to all of our volunteers – the stars of this campaign.
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This campaign was made possible by funds from the Federal Highway Administration through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Transportation.
The Bike Index was started in Chicago in 2013 by a group of bike shop employees and bicycle lovers frustrated by the prevalence of bike theft. They regularly saw people trying to sell stolen bikes, and would search for the bikes online—but it was too difficult to find definitive information about them because too few people save their serial numbers.
So they built the Bike Index platform, a voluntary, easy to use registration system that will eventually house bike serial numbers from across the nation. The team launched a successful Kickstarter to hire a full time programmer and connect with pilot cities.
After a year of work, the Bike Index now does what no other registry does: it provides a way to verify used bike sales, offers a comprehensive search, and reaches bicyclists who don’t know that registration is possible.
Trailnet applied for St. Louis to be a pilot city after discussions with Mayor Slay and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The Bike Index was impressed by the level of cooperation and selected St. Louis as the first pilot. From founder Seth Herr, “The fine leaders at Trailnet have made the process of connecting with the city as smooth as a finely-tuned bicycle.”
Trailnet is now an official Bike Index Partner which allows you to register your bike for free:
If you've been watching Trailnet’s Facebook posts you have seen that we have set our 2014 Ride the Rivers Century date. In 2014 the ride will be almost a full month earlier than it was in 2013. The date is Sunday, September 21, 2014.
The location of the ride has also changed. Beautiful Pere Marquette Park is our new start location. For those of you who may be interested in staying in a hotel room or cabin at Pere Marquette we have some information for you.
We were told on January 31 that all of their available rooms are booked for Friday, September 19 and Sunday, September 21. Obviously, their rooms sell out fast and far in advance. We were told that they had 61 available rooms (including cabin rooms) for Saturday, September 20. The rate is $149 per night. They told us they will “absolutely” sell that date out, probably within the next week.
Click here to go to Pere Marquette’s website. Their phone number is 618.786.2331. Camping may be an alternative there if you’d like to discuss that with them.
Other hotel options in the Grafton area are the Rubel Hotel, 618.786.2315 and the Grafton Inn, 618.786.2222.
Hotel options in the Alton area are the Super 8 Alton, 618.465.8885; the Best Western Plus Parkway Hotel, 618.433.9900; the Holiday Inn Alton, 800.465.4329; and the Comfort Inn, 618.465.9999.
Click here to see the event on our Ride the Rivers Century Facebook page.
If you haven't “liked” that page yet, you may want to so that you'll receive updates about the ride as soon as we post them.
Our 2014 Calendar of Rides will be available at our Beans, Bikes & Brews party on March 8 and in our members' mailboxes around March 10.
Please contact Steve at steve@trailnet.org or 314.436.1324 x 138 if you have any questions at all.
Complete Streets passed in St. Louis County last night, setting the vision to create connected streets that allow all people, regardless of age or ability, to travel safely to their destination.
The bill allows the County Departments of Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Health to have input into the transportation system that connects children to schools, people to parks, and neighborhoods to services. It also allows municipal leaders and stakeholder groups to participate in setting goals and priorities for the region.
To see a copy of the Complete Streets bill that was passed in St. Louis County on Tuesday, January 21, click here.
Trailnet staff put in countless hours (and a lot of blood, sweat and tears) to get this policy passed. This work is supported solely by member donations. Please donate now to help us continue this work to create a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly St. Louis region.
Councilman Dolan was tireless in his pursuit of a bill that would work for all the stakeholder organizations, and deserves our thanks. Councilman Stenger co-sponsored the bill early on, putting his support behind Complete Streets. The final vote was six in favor and none against, with one Council member abstaining.
Please sign the thank you letter to St. Louis County Council members!
Thank you, as always, for your support. We can’t wait to see you out on the streets and trails in our great communities.
Ann Rivers Mack
Chief Executive Officer
We had about 1800 guests this year checking out the booths and gear of 95 vendors from 9 states. Fox 2 Now and KSDK were both on-site, covering the event. We awarded 24 attendance prizes including a $100 gift certificate from Bike Surgeon.
New this year were fashion shows, clinics, a Kids Corner and bounce house, a climbing wall, and shuttles to and from the closest MetroLink stop. All of these new additions were great successes. We rented the entire Gateway Center – 40,000 square feet – for the first time and are already planning on how to maximize the entire space again for the 2015 Bike Expo and Swap, next January 25.
Stltoday/ The South County Connector: Can we get a better return on investment?/November 12, 2013
Stltoday/ South County Connector not worth the small benefit/July 24, 2013
Stltoday/Editorial: Disconnect the South County Connector/July 23, 2013
Stltoday/Put connector in a different place/July 20, 2013
Stltoday/St. Louis County needs to rethink South County Connector project/July 20, 2013
STL Beacon/South County Connector project sparks diverse outcry/July 18, 2013
Stltoday/Opposition builds to South County Connector proposal/July 17, 2013
CBS Local/Leaders From Maplewood, Trailnet Make One Last Plea Opposing Connector/July 16, 2013
CBS Local/Trailnet Issues With South County Connector/July 16, 2013
Fox 2 Now/You Paid For It: South County Connector/July 15, 2013
Webster Kirkwood Times/Mayor Outlines Pros/Cons Of Connector/July 12, 2013
CBS Local/City Residents, Aldermen Gather To Criticize South County Connect/July 9, 2013
CBS Local/Aldermen Hold Hearing on South County Connector Tonight/July 8, 2013
Fox 2 now/South County Connector Plan Dividing Opinions About Project/July 8, 2013
KPLR11.com/South County Connector Plan Dividing Opinions About Project/July 8, 2013
DC Streetsblog.com/Highway Revolts Break Out Across the Midwest/June 28, 2013
South County Times/Shrewsbury Mayor Raises Questions On Connector Plan/June 28, 2013
CBS Local/Communities Concerned, Criticize Proposed South County Connector/June 18, 2013
Stltoday/Proposed South County Thoroughfare No Relief to Some/June 2, 2013
Maplewood-Brentwood Patch/4 Views of the South County Connector/May 31, 2013
Webster Kirkwood Times/South County Connector Public Meeting May 30 in Shrewsbury/May 24, 2013
South County Times/Trailnet Shares Concerns About Connector Roadway/May 17, 2013
Stltoday/Residents Question Need for South County Connector/May 12, 2013
Maplewood-Brentwood Patch/South County Connector Would Run Through Deer Creek Lot/May 9, 2013
CBS Local/Residents Question Wisdom of Proposed South County Connector/May 9, 2013
kmov.com/County refines plans for South County Connector/May 7, 2013
Ferguson, Clayton, and St. Louis City all have Complete Streets policies in place, and are working to improve accessibility as opportunities present themselves – without additional funding.
St. Louis County’s 2013 Strategic Plan calls for a Complete Streets ordinance to be adopted as one part of a multi-prong approach to enhance mobility and connectivity.
In 2010, MoDOT public opinion polling found that 53% of Missourians agree with the statement, “Up to 25% of each project’s funds should be spent to add bicycle/pedestrian facilities at the expense of other projects. The newly released 2013 survey from the National Association of Realtors shows support of the general public as well:
We will keep you informed on the progress of this important legislation. Thank you for your interest and support in making St. Louis a better place to live, work, and play.
Thank you to our volunteers who helped us count cyclists and pedestrians at 103 locations throughout the St. Louis Metro region this past September. Collecting such extensive data can be a real challenge, and it would not have been possible without them. We have summited the data to the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project.
Despite the dangerously high temperatures, significant increases were observed at several locations.
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.