Q&A with Bill and Carla Sauerwein, owners of Pedego St. Louis
Conducted by Trailnet Marketing & Communications Coordinator Justin Seaton
Justin: Hi Bill! I understand you and Carla have long histories as bike/walk advocates. Tell me about how you got involved in this world.
Bill: Both Carla and I have been cyclists all of our lives. Carla is a pediatric RN and for years ran the St. Louis SAFE KIDS Coalition. She led education and advocacy to prevent childhood injury, including supplying and promoting bike helmets and car seats. I served as Mayor of the City of Oakland form 1997 – 2001 and with the idea of providing safe streets and walkways for residents, constructed almost all of the sidewalks you see in the city of Oakland and redesigned many of the streets. As Mayor, our city-wide capitol improvements plan was nominated for a state-wide landscape architect design award.
J: How did you first become involved with Trailnet? Tell me about your partnership with us over the years.
B: I suppose my first connection to Trailnet came when I attempted to acquire a small strip of abandoned railroad property within the City of Oakland in order to construct a park. In that process, I met Ted Curtis, then the Director of Trailnet, who introduced me to Trailnet and its mission. Trailnet ended up completing the northern leg of the Grant’s Trail with the property and the City constructed a park around the trail. Our store is adjacent to the park. Thereafter, Carla and I became supporters of Trailnet, participating in Trailnet rides and learning about the many projects undertaken by Trailnet.
More recently, as we met the dedicated staff of Trailnet—Cindy, Corrine, Kevin and others—and witnessed firsthand their hard work and dedication, we knew that Trailnet was an important organization to support. We share its mission…. and over the years we have helped raise funds so that they can continue to make streets and trails safer and available to all.
J: When/How did you open Pedego St. Louis, and how has your business connected you to the St. Louis cycling community?
B: We opened Pedego St. Louis in June, 2019 by rehabilitating an old, run-down building adjacent to Grant’s Trail in Oakland. From our location, we meet and talk to cyclists and trail users every day. We have greatly expanded the cycling community by putting people back on bikes that had for one reason or another gotten away from cycling. We have gently introduced the St Louis cycling community to electric bikes which are now widely used for commuting, leisure riding, trail riding and for the all around enjoyment of bicycling.
J: Speak briefly about the E-Bike that you are contributing to Trailnet’s upcoming raffle (winner to be announced at the 2023 Paving the Way Soiree)
B: The bike we have donated to Trailnet this year is a Pedego Avenue. Since this model was introduced a year ago, it has become the number one selling Pedego Electric bike. The Avenue utilizes a “hybrid style” frame that is familiar to everyone and is a great bike for riding and commuting on streets and paved trails. It is quality-designed, lightweight and balanced. Like all Pedego Electric Bikes, it comes with a 5 year warranty that includes the electrical components. Everyone loves this bike.
Trailnet Board Recommends Strategic Use of Funding
St. Louis, MO – The Board of Directors of Trailnet support the following statement:
The Trailnet Board commends Mayor Tishaura Jones for proposing that the City commit $40 million to a comprehensive, city-wide street plan. We recommend the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and the Board of Aldermen pass this much-needed legislation with the provision that a portion of those funds be spent on a Vision Zero Action Plan and a media campaign to encourage responsible driving.
We also call on other organizations and individuals to get behind both initiatives and send letters and emails to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and the Board of Aldermen. Together, we may make our streets safer for all.
Former Director of The City of St. Louis Civil Rights Enforcement Agency joins our growing team!
As Policy Catalyst, Charles will lead Trailnet’s strategic policy and advocacy agenda through coalition-building, community outreach and government relations.
Charles began his career in non-profits, working in services for the unhoused in Baltimore, Maryland. After two years with Catholic Charities in Baltimore, he moved to work with the Illinois Department of Public Aid, where he oversaw federal and state grants for services for the unhoused. Eventually, he moved back to his home state of Missouri, where he worked for the Missouri Housing Development Commission as a proponent for low-income housing tax credit development for six years.
When Mayor Francis Slay was elected in 2001, he called on Charles to work as an advisor in his administration, where he was responsible for developing and implementing the overall neighborhood, ethnic and religious outreach plan for the City. During his time in City Hall, Charles worked with three mayors—as special advisor, Director of Public Safety, and for the last eight years, as the Director of the Civil Rights Enforcement Agency (CREA), enforcing federal, state and local fair housing, equal employment opportunity and public accommodation laws, rules and regulations, “a job I truly loved,” said Charles.
Charles will start with Trailnet in late June. As our new Policy Catalyst, he has one overarching goal:
“Listen. Listen to what the community is saying. Look at how our policies, procedures and practices can impact the needs of those various communities. Whether it’s black folks feeling underserved by public transit; Whether it’s the LGBTQIA+ community feeling afraid to walk in certain areas at night; Whether signage in our region adequately serves folks who speak English as a second language. The one thing I want to be able to accomplish is to listen to folks and address their needs.”
Charles currently lives downtown, a short walk from the Trailnet offices.
“I live downtown, in part, because I wanted access to public transit. Public transportation is a big deal for me, so I’m excited to see how my passion for transit can factor into this work.”
He also enjoys hiking, and he says he’s getting into biking.
“I’m in walking shape—I walk about 6.7 miles every couple of days through Forest Park—but that doesn’t mean I’m in biking shape. So I’m working on that,” he said with a smile.
We’re excited to have someone with Charles’s passion and experience join our team. Welcome!
Trailnet’s 2019 Movers & Shakers Gala Brings Advocates Together
Trailnet Announces Transportation Policies as Priority at Annual Gala
Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate active transportation at Trailnet’s biggest fundraiser of the year! With your help, we are advancing walking and biking in St. Louis.
Throughout the night, our expert speakers described Trailnet’s heightened priority to increase safety for people who walk, bike, or use public transportation. Scroll down for more information about the event and make sure to check out the slideshow below!
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Trailnet, on Wednesday, November 6, announced its heightened priority to increase safety for people who walk, bike, or use public transportation.
City of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson said enhanced, multi-modal transportation systems have shown to improve quality of life in cities that have taken steps to prioritize people over cars, adding St. Louis is poised for this type of effort.
“When it’s safe and easy to walk, bike and use public transit, those are great places to live,” Krewson said. “That’s what I want for St. Louis.”
Krewson added making St. Louis streets more accommodating can have a positive ripple effect on the region’s general public health.
“One of the highest transportation priorities that we have is the safety of people walking,” Krewson said.
Scott Ogilvie, Transportation Policy Planner with the City of St. Louis’ Urban Design Agency, was the keynote speaker for the event. Ogilvie spoke about how city streets weren’t always as car centric as they are today, noting there was a time when streets operated more as public spaces.
Ogilvie spoke about the upcoming Louisiana Calm Streets project, which is a direct result of Trailnet’s effort to educate local leaders on enhanced street design that prioritizes people over cars. Ogilvie said the project will use designs that slow down traffic. Part of this strategy uses landscaping to physically separate people from cars.
“One mile of Louisiana Avenue, in the first phase, will be re-envisioned as a slow street where people can be comfortable and safe using the street for more than just transportation,” Ogilvie said. “This project grew directly out of a trip Trailnet organized to Portland for elected officials, residents, and city staff in 2015.”
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page also spoke at the event, describing Trailnet’s involvement in connecting people to the city and county through planning for bicycling and walking infrastructure.
“Decisions we make today have a lasting impact,” Page said. “If we are able to make those decisions in ways that support sustainability efforts for the region, they become an even greater achievement still.”
Ogilvie closed by saying that the pursuit of calmer, safer streets is on everyone.
“My job is to ask for more. But I need that to be all of our jobs,” Ogilvie said. “We all need to ask for more. Walking is essential. To engineer away our ability to walk is to steal away part of our humanity… Number one is slow down the cars. Number two: allocate more space for people-reallocate space away from the automobile and to people. And number three: put things closer together. When things are close together, you decrease the need for transportation in the first place, and make life a lot easier if you don’t, can’t, or don’t feel like using a car.”
Jason Hall, CEO and Co-Founder of Arch to Park, and Justin Kern, a medical researcher at Washington University School of Medicine, served as co-chairs at the Gala. Hall spoke about how proper transportation infrastructure can help St. Louis grow.
“Bike and pedestrian infrastructure like what Trailnet has envisioned is critical to making the City a growing place, a more equitable place, and help those organizations attract the talent they need to be successful,” Hall said.
Trailnet has a 30-year track record of advocating for better walking and bicycling in St. Louis. Trailnet educates civic leaders and public works staff who make decisions about street design and street purpose. The organization helps communities plan safer street networks.
CEO Ralph Pfremmer reflects on three decades of Active Living while looking ahead
For me, the middle of January always marks the halfway point of St. Louis’ winter doldrums. I was reminded of this one recent morning, waking up to zero-degree weather, feeling the sting of windchill on my face. As I travel the streets downtown, I am warmed by the fact that I still see bicyclists braving their way to work despite the cold! They are not waiting for the spring thaw to commit to a healthy, active lifestyle.
Inside our offices, with heaters plugged in, we are off to a great start to 2018 and you can feel the energy among the team members. This year is unique! This year is so much more significant than years past. This year marks Trailnet’s 30th anniversary and there is so much to look forward to. Whether consciously or not, we all start the new year thinking about healthy resolutions. Trailnet has resolved to make the healthy choice the easy choice. We want to make it safe and comfortable to walk and bike to the places you want to go. We think the best way to celebrate 30 years of making walking and biking better in St. Louis is to make significant improvements in community connectivity now, in 2018, while setting the stage for 30 years from now!
We embark on our 30th year with the tremendous momentum that your support is giving us. Take a look at Our Impact featured in the January/February newsletter, and if you haven’t yet, join us and count yourself among the people who are taking to the streets for healthy, active living. Join the fun.
Looking back, it’s really quite remarkable what Trailnet has achieved: so many people supporting our organization and so many diverse partners ready and willing to collaborate for change. Having started as a group of recreational bicycle enthusiasts, Trailnet has grown and evolved into—among other things—a very significant regional planning and advocacy organization. It goes without saying that Trailnet now exists as an important civic organization centered on improving the way we live in St. Louis, leveraging our past while staying committed to the platform of walking, bicycling and active living for all St. Louisans.
Trailnet’s staff and board of directors invite you to attend the kickoff of our 30th anniversary at our special event on Friday, February 9. Trailnet supporters, Cindy and John Lynch, will be our hosts at their unique venue, Break Room Concerts at Show Me Cables in Chesterfield. Seating is limited, so hurry to get your spot. Please join us as we kick off the new year and officially put an end to the winter doldrums!
So let’s look forward to having a fantastic year together. Get involved by participating in our events. Come to Beans, Bikes, and Brews on Saturday, March 10, when we announce all of our Bicycle Fun Club and Community Rides. Consider coming to one of our Peloton events. However you choose to participate, we promise you the opportunity to share your voice. We want to hear your Trailnet story. We’d like to know about how things have changed for you since Trailnet started and what your desires are for a region filled with so much promise as you enjoy a commitment to a healthy, active lifestyle.
The forecast for walking and biking is good, the weather is about to change. What better reason to challenge ourselves to renew our commitment to healthy, active living? It’s my hope that we all strengthen our commitment to ourselves and to the work that Trailnet is doing. Let’s join arm-in-arm as we propel St. Louis forward!
Wendy Campbell and her kids have been riding bicycles for a long time. As a resident of north city, Wendy would drop her then two-year old daughter at daycare and commute to her job, where she parked the bike in her office. “It was a really nice purple bike with a baby seat on the back. I would ride everywhere and the baby loved it. People looked at me like I was a parade float,” she recalls.
There are lots of things that Wendy loves about riding a bike: the benefits of getting exercise, the ability to directly experience her surroundings, and the chance to easily engage with people that she encounters. In 2010, Wendy and her family moved to the Dutchtown neighborhood, where she enjoys riding to “take in the beautiful architecture, the jewels, the little pocket parks, and seeing people I know in the neighborhood,” she says.
Having visited other cities with well-developed biking infrastructure, Wendy feels that Trailnet’s vision to connect St. Louis is greatly needed and long overdue. She looks forward to a network of “safe, protected bikeways that will get us anywhere we need to go and give people a chance to get out of their cars, saving money on gas and enjoying lots of health benefits.”
Wendy also predicts that the network “will create a domino effect. The more people see other people on bikes, the more familiar and possible it will seem. People who don’t have cars will be able to put their bikes on buses or MetroLink and get to their destinations. One of the best things about it is that it will put more people out on the streets and that will help to make our streets safer.”
Wendy Campbell knows a lot about what makes communities work, and is involved in her south city neighborhood in many ways. Shortly after moving to the area, she became a Block Captain, providing information and resources to neighbors, and welcoming newcomers to the community. She has worked with her local elementary school, Froebel Literacy Academy, as a crossing guard and den mother of a Cub Scout troup.
As one of Trailnet’s original Walk Bike Ambassadors, Wendy has helped to identify ways that safety can be improved in her area for walkers and bikers, and was a critical neighborhood advocate for a traffic calming demonstration near Marquette Park. She was elected 20th Ward Committeewoman in 2016 and works closely with her alderman, Cara Spencer, to promote the interests of her constituents.
Wendy’s generous and outgoing personality suit her perfectly for these many community roles, and also for her job as a Parking Enforcement Officer. She describes her job as “the perfect job. I get to walk a lot and meet and talk to people all day. Even if I won the lottery I wouldn’t quit my job!” After receiving her first paycheck last winter, Wendy bought toiletries and hand warmers, put them into zip lock bags and gave the bags to homeless people downtown, her first location as a parking officer.
Between her family, her many roles in the Dutchtown community, and her job, Wendy doesn’t have much time to stand still. She acknowledges that “new stuff excites me. You might have uncertainties and anxiety at first, but that’s followed by the rush of mastering a new thing.” She adds that “I don’t feel useful unless I’m doing something. That’s what makes me come alive.”
Wendy Campbell hopes that her enthusiasm and her willingness to work for her neighborhood will spread to her kids and to others in the community. That enthusiasm is one of the qualities that drew her to her fiancé, Byron Brown, who also serves as a Block Captain in the Dutchtown neighborhood. The couple shares an appreciation for their rich and diverse neighborhood and the belief that “if we agree to look out for each other, it makes this ride on planet earth a little better for everyone.”
Ann Crowe took up bicycling while living in Washington, D.C., where an extensive network of cycling paths made commuting by bike a convenient way to incorporate exercise into her daily routine. Ann moved to St. Louis to be closer to family and to pursue work in engineering. After deciding to make a career change, Ann began volunteering at Trailnet rides and fundraising events while completing her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Her volunteer activities allow her to “meet many new people and see different parts of the city and surrounding areas,” she says.
Ann’s volunteer experience introduced her to a “warm and welcoming community,” and she believes that a “shared love of biking provides common ground” for people that participate in Trailnet events. Ann’s husband Vance now joins her on many of the weekend rides, which she credits with giving him “the same confidence and passion for cycling and health” that is so important to her.
As a physical therapist, Ann understands the critical importance of regular exercise for maintaining health and recovering from injury. She notes the abundance of research supporting the positive impact of exercise on mood and overall health, and sees evidence of these effects at Trailnet events. “It only takes a morning at a Trailnet ride to see this come to life in the laughter, support and friendships created through group exercise,” she says.
Even with many years of experience as a bike commuter and recreational cyclist, Ann is aware that for many people concerns about safety may mean that they don’t bike or walk if no specific infrastructure exists. She is committed to building a community where more people have access to the benefits of active transportation. “Having a network of safe and connected bikeways and sidewalks will make biking and walking easier and available to more people,” she says. She also predicts that “as more people use the bikeways and sidewalks, they will feel personally invested in supporting the growth of this network.”
In addition to volunteering time to Trailnet, Ann and Vance are Trailnet Peloton members, providing financial support for the protected bikeway vision. They strongly believe in “dedicating personal efforts and resources to build infrastructure that empowers communities.”
Ann and Vance also feel that positive change will come to St. Louis only if individuals take the initiative. “Whatever challenges we face, the best way to identify problems and solutions is to get personally involved, seeing the community by biking on the roads and paths, meeting our neighbors, visiting and supporting local businesses. Trailnet gives us the opportunity to come together as individuals and make our city healthier and more interesting, with access and opportunity for everyone to enjoy a more active lifestyle.”
Trailnet and the Missouri Chapter of the American Planning Association will be hosting a webinar on tactical urbanism on Thursday, March 2nd at 10am. The webinar will provide information about cross-sector collaboration and how it can have an impact on the built environment. Trailnet will also be sharing their success from the Plan4Health project. Learn more at Planners4Health. Register here.
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.
There are lots of things that Wendy loves about riding a bike: the benefits of getting exercise, the ability to directly experience her surroundings, and the chance to easily engage with people that she encounters. In 2010, Wendy and her family moved to the Dutchtown neighborhood, where she enjoys riding to “take in the beautiful architecture, the jewels, the little pocket parks, and seeing people I know in the neighborhood,” she says.
Wendy Campbell knows a lot about what makes communities work, and is involved in her south city neighborhood in many ways. Shortly after moving to the area, she became a Block Captain, providing information and resources to neighbors, and welcoming newcomers to the community. She has worked with her local elementary school, Froebel Literacy Academy, as a crossing guard and den mother of a Cub Scout troup.
Wendy’s generous and outgoing personality suit her perfectly for these many community roles, and also for her job as a Parking Enforcement Officer. She describes her job as “the perfect job. I get to walk a lot and meet and talk to people all day. Even if I won the lottery I wouldn’t quit my job!” After receiving her first paycheck last winter, Wendy bought toiletries and hand warmers, put them into zip lock bags and gave the bags to homeless people downtown, her first location as a parking officer.
Hang out with friends, enjoy some time in the countryside, and help us out all at the same time!
Ann’s volunteer experience introduced her to a “warm and welcoming community,” and she believes that a “shared love of biking provides common ground” for people that participate in Trailnet events. Ann’s husband Vance now joins her on many of the weekend rides, which she credits with giving him “the same confidence and passion for cycling and health” that is so important to her.
