Trailnet Selects Community Champions to Advance Network of Protected Bikeways

Trailnet has selected five community champions to help usher forth our bold vision: connecting St. Louis with a network of on-street protected bikeways and sidewalks. These champions will act as expert informants on what their communities need for equitable transportation and be liaisons between our office and St. Louis neighborhoods. Together, we will transform our wonderful city by connecting neighborhoods, cultural districts, and business centers.

Here’s a bit about where they’re coming from:

Ronald Jones

As a St. Louis native, my investment in my community is immeasurable. I have had both the pleasure and misfortune of watching inner-city St. Louis flourish and decline. It’s this observation that has matured me to take an active role in stabilizing and rebuilding this city I call home. My most recent efforts include my diligent work with Neighborhood Leadership Fellows which is being headed by Dwayne James and Claire Wolff.

As a leadership fellow it has been my pleasure to partner with representatives from various struggling wards and aid them in implementing new and strategic ways to improve the quality of life of those who live in the Promise Zones.

I am a proud resident of JeffVanderLou, which sits in the 4th Ward and very instrumental keeping my neighbors informed on what’s taking place in our neighborhood. Having a bike trail go through Fairground Park and the North Grand Corridor will be an excellent way for the people within the community to get back to cycling and on the road to good health.

I am currently a supervisor at St. Louis Job Corps and responsible for 60 young adults in my residence hall who I mentor daily. Neighborhood Leadership Fellows has been an excellent training ground and I have welcomed every lesson, but just as every student must leave the classroom and venture out into the real world. I know my time has come to take that leap of faith from thought to action. Once we understand that the problem with St. Louis is “Everyone’s Problem” only then can we begin the healing process and move toward a better St. Louis.

Ramona Scott

I have lived by choice in north St. Louis all my life. I’m very invested and interested in the inclusion, engagement and improvement of North St. Louis. I commuted by bike for over seven years. When I first won a cool bike I reached out to Trailnet to learn more about cycling and have been connected ever since.

I have served on many Trailnet Advisory Boards to insure that African American and North St. Louis Citizens are represented. I’m also apart of the Bike Share Advisory Board. Often I’m asked whether I want St. Louis to become like Seattle. I say, “No. It will be better and with an STL flavor!”

Sara Levin

As a resident of the southern part of Fox Park for the last 10 years, I have seen a tremendous amount of positive change in the area. I have a strong commitment to improving the safety and fellowship of our south city neighborhoods. I am currently the Chair for the Fox Park Safety Committee and served the last three years on the board as Sergeant at Arms. I created the Call it Like a Cop Workshop, where our neighborhood liaison officer and I teach residents to be more comfortable calling in unwanted behavior and problem properties. We educate residents on how our city services operate and how their voice matters. Communication and empowering residents in the community works to build safer communities.

Making our streets safer comes from engagement like block parties and community events in empty spaces. When we foster communication among residents, we get to know each other better and therefore look out for each other more. I also believe that we need positive, innovative traffic calming that thinks beyond closing streets or installing speed bumps.

I am currently planning to paint and plant the recently placed Schoemel pots at the end of our one-way street. Together with my neighbors, we will beautify the street while bringing attention to the traffic calming initiative. When neighbors come together to do a project like this, even a small one, they build relationships and a sense of pride in the neighborhood – and keep each other safe.

Wendy Campbell

As a former Walk Bike Ambassador, Champion and forever volunteer of Trailnet, I will continue where I left off–informing the city about Trailnet’s mission, membership, and vision. I’m very involved in the south St. Louis and have created relationships with city officials, schools officials, business and community leaders, residents and children. As a crossing guard and block captain I am in constant contact with parents, pedestrians, drivers and students.

I enjoy telling people about Trailnet.  When I ask a cyclist if they know about Trailnet and they respond “no,” that’s when I put my recruiter hat on. I’m excited to continue being a part of a project that will affect people’s lives and update the city in such a positive way.  To see this project thorough and watch it grow is something my children and I can say we had a hand in and for residents to say ” I remember when they started that project, I had some verbal input at a few meetings.” That’s a good feeling for anyone involved.

Angela Mayes

My vision for a safer St. Louis includes activating or restarting established and proven methods that foster pride and involvement of residents such as block units, block parties, neighborhood watches, and promoting activities that local neighborhood associations are sponsoring. I would love to see police officers walk the beat to get to really know residents like in years past.

Being a Trailnet Community Champion goes hand in hand with my Americorps VISTA year of service. My duties this year are to attend neighborhood meetings and engage with the community to set up partnerships. I am also a resident of the Jeff Vander Lou neighborhood. I have great connections and love to meet and reach out to potential new connections.

Letter from the CEO, Ralph Pfremmer

These are exciting times for Trailnet and the entire region. As a grassroots advocacy organization, we have a 30-year history of pushing the envelope to make it safe and easy to bike and walk for transportation.

In February, we announced our bicycle and pedestrian study corridors: our Connecting St. Louis Vision. Through a multi-year process, we determined the optimum streets for a cohesive network. Our goal is to make cycling and walking a practical means of moving about the city while encouraging creative placemaking to build community. We are uniquely positioned to leverage the special people and places in our community.

Our Connecting St. Louis Vision will support a St. Louis where outcomes are not determined by race, zip code, or class. In terms of community outreach, design, destinations, routes, affordability, and land-use policy, the planning process has sought decisions that support a more just community. As our plan nears completion, we need your input. During April we have three more Connecting St. Louis community engagement opportunities. Click here to view the corridor map and open house locations.

As I reflect on the impressive work of my team, I am incredibly proud. The spirit of our 30th year, pays homage to our history, but is always looking forward. Looking back at our roots as trail-builders, it should come as no surprise that we want to see our plans and those of others come to fruition and get implemented. We will publish the final “Connecting St. Louis” master plan in June and when we do, we will need Trailnet Champions.

We cannot take our plan from paper to implementation without support. Please spread the word, and if you can, become a member. Click here to take and share our survey. Interested in becoming a social media brand ambassador, email lindsay@trailnet.org.

As always, I thank our members and stakeholders for your unwavering support.

Trailnet wraps up Florissant’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan

Since 2007, Trailnet has helped more than 35 communities develop plans for safe walking and biking. We secured federal funds to cover 80 percent of the cost for communities to plan for these changes. Most recently, Trailnet worked with the City of Florissant. Previous partners included diverse municipalities such as: Ferguson, the City of St. Charles, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Woodson Terrace, St. John, and Overland. Each of these municipalities applied to be part of Trailnet’s program and contributed up to 20 percent of the cost.

This spring Trailnet will present the bicycle and pedestrian plan to the City of Florissant, MO. The Florissant plan recommends starting with a few easy-to-accomplish improvements for the first year of implementation focused on pedestrian accessibility in Florissant. These include wayfinding and connections between parks and the Sunset Greenway, more walking and biking trails within parks, and sidewalk installation. The plan also recommends traffic calming measures to slow cars and improve bicycle and pedestrian safety. Once Florissant adopts the plan, residents should see incremental improvements for walking and biking as federal funding becomes available. Municipalities who have these comprehensive plans are more competitive when applying for federal funding.  

If your community would like Trailnet to help you envision better streets, contact us at Planning@trailnet.org.

Trailnet Champion – Bob Lewis

Bob Lewis is Trailnet’s newest board member, but his involvement in helping us build for better walking and biking stretches back more than 20 years. Bob said he hopes to continue to use his expertise in city planning and urban development to advance Trailnet’s vision to build a network of protected bikeways and sidewalks connecting St. Louisans to the places they love.

“I was initially connected with Trailnet in the early days and primarily did pro bono consulting work to help with fundraising 20 years ago,” he said. “I’ve been a bike rider from age seven onward, so I thought, ‘hey, that’s something we need around here, so I got involved’.”

A city planner by education and blood, as well as an urban biker, Bob says he’s particularly intrigued with the planning process for protected bicycle routes. He advised Trailnet in the early phases of its vision for a network of protected bikeways, being one of the first to advise a primary focus on north-south connections. Bob added he’s excited to see the process through and help guide its installation.

“Most of my riding for years has been commuting. From home to my office is seven miles and I get to do that a few days a week,” Bob said. “I’m quite familiar with riding the streets of St. Louis. I’m one who will look out to 2050 and think about where this will lead us.”

St. Louis has a lot more road capacity than it has cars, providing an opportunity to build on-street bicycle infrastructure, Bob said, adding that dropping a lane from a multi-lane street is an easy way to add a bicycle path.

In Bob’s experience, cities with improved bicycle infrastructure also see improvements in general safety across multiple modes of transportation. By putting in more protected bikeways, he said, a developed culture of urban biking will follow, as well as more vibrant neighborhoods.

“What it brings to the city is a lot more active living, but also a lot more housing occupancy in already-developed areas,” Bob said. “St. Louis is a developed city, but we have too much vacant and underutilized real estate. Adapting to a multi-modal transportation culture will encourage redevelopment and building re-occupancy using existing infrastructure without further urban sprawl.”  

Though retired, Bob keeps busy both on his bike and through improving access to bicycling in St. Louis. Alongside consulting for Trailnet, Bob worked on the business and citizen committee that helped to develop a strategic plan for bike share in St. Louis. The city of St. Louis is now implementing the plan, he said.

Bob also fills his time with woodworking; fixing cabinets, building furniture, and other projects. He frequently makes runs to the hardware store on his bicycle.

“I’ve always thought of biking as a means to accomplish something else. It’s a means of transportation, not just recreation,” Bob said. “For the most part, I like to squeeze in a ride for utility. I would love to see more people doing the same thing.”

Communications and Marketing Manager

Communications and Marketing Manager 2018

Guest Opinion – Trailnet Intern Reflects on Racial Equity Workshop

Sarah presents what students shared about how they would improve walkability during a St. Louis Public School Health Fair.

On the second day of a two-week internship, I attended Trailnet’s racial equity training. Walking in, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had barely met the Trailnet team, and now I was going to sit in on a training meeting about race. All I had were questions. Was equity a typo for equality? Was this one of those “check the box: we’re getting our diversity quota in” type of meetings? Was this a meeting where no one was engaged and just listens? Was this one of those workshops where people discuss issues in the comfy office chairs and then forget about them as soon as they exit the room?

The answer I soon learned was, “No to all of the above.” I’m glad I got to participate this meeting. As an outsider, I was able to consider my own notions of the problems we face with inequality—the problems that I don’t know how to address.

I’m not very familiar with discussing the topic of race. It’s easier to talk about ethics and respecting the views of other cultures before discussing race. Race is a volatile issue and it rocks the boat. I learned Trailnet is willing to rock that boat.

What I saw is that Trailnet is a group of visionaries. The organization challenges itself to identify equity gaps and offer reasonable, workable solutions. They examine all the angles critically, then offer up feasible solutions that are both financially responsible and sustainable. Trailnet seeks to find problems and then solve them. I watched the staff look within the organization and wrestle its own challenges with inequality. How are you supposed to work to elevate equity when the money mostly comes from rich, white men? Trailnet is actively looking for solutions, and that speaks a lot of this organization.

From this meeting, I gained a greater understanding of how race can influence the systems within companies and organizations. How we speak about helping the “under-served” when we may be treating symptoms more than the cause.

When I see racial inequality in my own life—in the world around me—I see symptoms of larger systemic issues. I see proposed solutions, but they don’t attack the cause. They can solve a bit of the problem if people banded together, but it isn’t the true solution. Trailnet is an organization that wants to address the systemic inequality and racism in our community. That gives me hope; that there are people out there who want to solve this problem, who want to get their hands dirty and consider options that aren’t the easy, traditional way. Who are willing to stop doing it “the way it’s always been done” in order to solve the real problem that exists. It’s refreshing and encouraging to see that Trailnet is willing to begin a conversation to solve a problem that has been with us for far too long.

– Sarah Becker

Trailnet Champions – Michelle Thomas and Keaton Hanson

Michelle Thomas and Keaton Hanson never seem to stop moving. They’ve been bicycling for transportation and recreation as long as they can remember. For them, leading active lifestyles isn’t just about staying in shape, but is part of a larger philosophy guiding their daily lives. Better still, they’re both long-time Trailnet supporters.

In December, Michelle did a Trailnet photoshoot to help us better capture and communicate what it looks like to walk and bike in St. Louis. She initially acquainted herself with the organization during a photoshoot five years ago, then again during one of our Breakfast for Bikers events. Keaton has been aware of Trailnet since he was in middle school and they both participate in the occasional Trailnet ride.

Keaton views St. Louis as, “a city woven together with many independently unique neighborhoods.” He added, “One of the things that makes the Hill special is all the residents truly want and are happy to live here. Walkability and community are two highlights of the neighborhood.”

Asked about Trailnet’s vision, Keaton said, “I love the idea of livable healthy communities. I believe it is very important to live close to everything you do, be it work and pleasure. The vision is very inclusive of all types of people from different diversities and abilities. This is so important to build strong communities not just for cyclists but for everyone as a whole. The more we relinquish our motor vehicles the stronger our relationships with each other and nature will become.”

Michelle and Keaton value activity for more than just the physical benefits, both describing bicycling as a reflective, abstract exercise.

“There is just something about cycling that is freeing and meditative,” Michelle said. “It’s like life—you go really hard up a hill then coast down. It’s the never-ending cycle.”

Keaton shares a similar approach to being on a bicycle. “I keep riding because it makes me feel so good,” Keaton said. “I ride to keep my body in shape, and my mind clear. Cycling heightens my awareness, I have seen so many incredible things because I am on my bike.”

Bicycling for this couple goes beyond competition, originating in their youth when getting a bicycle meant complete freedom.

“I’ve been cycling for as long as I can remember,” Michelle said. “I guess I started around eight years old. I grew up on a farm, so the nearest neighbor was a mile away. My bike was my only mode of transportation as a kid. If I wanted to go to the pool in the summer, I’d jump on my bike and ride two miles down the gravel road.”

Their hunger for activity doesn’t stop at the bike, or yoga, or traveling, or any number of recreational activities that keep their minds and bodies healthy. When they’re not engaged in physical activity, they help promote it through professional photography.

“I feel the need to be constantly moving and engaged, so I also do photography under my Instagram @michelle_yogogirls for Lululemon, Trailnet, Yoga Six, SoiLL, and other fitness brands as my alternative creative outlet,” Michelle said. “Keaton and I take every chance we get to travel also. Last year I traveled to Portland, Oregon, Tulum, Mexico, New York, Florida, California, and Iceland. Next year I’m planning on Switzerland and Amsterdam.”

Michelle is a partner, executive creative director, and photographer at Origin Agency (which she started with partners Julie Wood and Lance Thomas). Keaton is an art director at Ansira Marketing. It appears their momentum is on track to keep building—both participating in and promoting active living and pedal-powered transportation.

“I’ve always had an excessive amount of energy,” Michelle said. “In my youth I ran, did tumbling, rode bikes, climbed trees, jumped off roofs. Wait… I still do all that stuff.”

Our Impact – Record Giving Numbers are a Win for St. Louis

In 2017, we saw a 32% increase in individual donations through membership to Trailnet, making it a record-breaking year! We’d like to thank everyone who joined or renewed in December and give a special thank you shout-out to the anonymous family foundation that sparked giving with their dollar-for-dollar challenge. Not only is this increase in donations a win for Trailnet, but the funds we raised are critical for the implementation of our vision for protected bikeways and improved sidewalks. This also means more energy to advocate for better walking and biking, more resources to teach adults and youth practical skills that make walking and biking easier, and an elevated commitment to plans for streets that reflect best practices for encouraging safe connections for biking and walking. Check out our website to learn about our wins in Advocacy, Education, and Planning.

We’re off to a great start in 2018! We recently attended the Mississippi Valley Bike + OutdoorExpo and it was one of the best ever. With the record attendance, hundreds of people stopped by our booth and from those we signed up 16 new Trailnet members and two renewals! We also drew Michael Browning, a two-year Trailnet member, as the winner of the Niner gravel bike from our Winter Membership Drive. Thanks to Bike Surgeon for donating the bicycle! On top of that, we had free drawings for a case of Urban Chestnut beer, and an entry to this year’s Ride the Rivers Century!