While many of our rides take folks down country roads, this urban adventure is routed through some of St. Louis’ most vibrant neighborhoods and moves at a different pace—better for ogling attractions and bumping elbows with fellow riders.
The ride starts and finishes at the Morgan Street Brewery, located at 721 North 2nd Street, in St. Louis. Riders will take off from there and bounce into Illinois for a short jaunt along the Mississippi River and through Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park, where the Gateway Geyser just might pop off a couple times.
Riders are then routed into the oldest African American incorporated town in the country—Brooklyn, Illinois. The route then features a private ride through the Bellefontaine Cemetery, where we’ll have a rest stop. Cyclists will enter the cemetery through the Amaranth Gate (closed to public) where a group of volunteers will share insider information on some of the location’s highlights.
After that, we’ll cross back into Missouri on the McKinley Bridge and pedal through historic city neighborhoods and parks.
Our second rest stop will be at the Penrose Park Velodrome—aptly named Mr. Bumpy Face. This is the chance to test your mettle and see how quickly you to can whip your wheels around St. Louis’ fast-paced cycling track.
Participants will tour some of the beautiful old neighborhoods of North City, the commerce of Euclid Avenue, find a rest stop at Hartford Coffee, and take a trip around the iconic Cathedral Basilica.
Finishing this urban tour at Morgan Street Brewery, riders can buy beer and food while sitting back and rehashing the highlights of the best city ride they’ve ever been a part of.
The full route is 40 miles. Shorter routes of 34 miles (along Cherokee Street) and 19 miles (through Lafayette Park) are also available. Registration at the event is from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. To preregister, visit trailnet.org.
Considerations for East-West Gateway Executive Director Search
Trailnet and NextSTL suggested some penetrating questions for the East-West Gateway Board to ask candidates for the council’s executive director position. Check out our memo below.
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Mark Kern, St. Clair County, EWG Board Chair
Alan Dunstan, Madison County
Francis Slay, City of St. Louis
Ken Waller, Jefferson County
Steve Ehlmann, St. Charles County
Terry Liefer, Monroe County
John Griesheimer, Franklin County
Steve Stenger, St. Louis County
FROM:
Ralph Pfremmer, Trailnet
Alex Ihnen, NextSTL
RE: East-West Gateway executive director search
We write as organization and opinion leaders with expertise in business development, urban planning and transportation. We are also partners and observers of East-West Gateway’s important work.
We understand a firm has recently been chosen to conduct a nationwide search for the top staff post of East-West Gateway’s executive director. Our purpose in writing is to express ideas that are relevant to your upcoming executive search process.
St. Louis is at a critical juncture. After years of economic and population stagnation, and the tough challenges and deep divisions we face brought to the forefront last August, we need a change of course. This is an important opportunity to hire an outstanding leader, collaborator, and expert to guide us in utilizing our assets to become a more prosperous region. We strongly believe the right candidate should possess the following expertise:
Demonstrated use of metropolitan planning organization (MPO) best practices;
Demonstrated commitment to collaboration and meaningful community engagement;
In-depth understanding of 21st century transportation and economic development challenges and opportunities;
Ability to create impactful and realistic regional initiatives; and
Leadership capabilities to engage and direct staff in fulfilling objectives and strategies identified in the OneSTL plan.
In order to vet the expertise of candidates, we ask you to consider incorporating the following questions into the interview process:
1) In 2013 East-West Gateway completed its Regional Plan for Sustainability, OneSTL. The plan was a $4.7 million investment by the federal government, and countless hours from partners. To increase sustainability in the region, and make the most of this investment, how will you guide the agency to win funds and foster collaboration to implement the plan?
2) In the 21st Century, we have seen a dramatic change in demand for land use and transportation options, as the millennial generation looks for more urban housing with multiple transportation choices, and the retiring baby boom generation is looking to downsize to more compact housing where walking and transit are convenient and accessible. How would you lead East West Gateway to make St. Louis a strong regional and global competitor as the market demands transportation choices and walkable communities?
3) The latest Long Range Plan does not prioritize funding for any major transit, bicycle, or pedestrian projects over the next 30 years. Meanwhile, our peer regions, including Kansas City and Nashville, are updating their transportation system for the 21st century by prioritizing transit and setting aside funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. As Executive Director of East West Gateway, what changes would you make to compete with our peers?
4) Since 1950, the region’s population has grown by 50% while the land use has grown by 400%. Now we are struggling to pay for the maintenance on all of the roads, parking lots, and sewers that serve our spread out population – we’ve rendered ourselves house-poor.How would you lead East West Gateway to address the challenges of our stagnating population and growing maintenance bills due to aging infrastructure? What could East-West Gateway do to encourage more economically productive land uses?
5) Historically, central cities have been dependent upon the rural areas surrounding them for food and raw materials, while the rural areas have been dependent upon the central cities as a market for their goods. Infrastructure investment and policy choices over the past 60 years have undermined already built places in favor of more spread out newer ones. How would you encourage discussion, collaboration, and understanding between the diverse interests of our region? How will you lead our region to ensure we have a strong, competitive central core?
6) Due to the high number of pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries, Missouri and Illinois are both on the Federal Highway Administration’s watch list, Focus Cities/States of Concern. Connected2045, the latest EWG long-range transportation plan, reports deaths and injuries in crashes cost the region $3.2 billion in 2013. What approaches could East-West Gateway take to influence and improve safety on the streets and highways of our region?
7) It is a fair assumption that federal, Missouri, and Illinois infrastructure funding levels will be limited for the foreseeable future. More than ever, high returns on our investments are critical. Small multi-modal improvements in neighborhoods are often the highest returning investments we can make. How would you approach the identification of projects large and small that create the highest return on investment for the EWG region?
8) Best practices for community engagement include involving residents from the beginning of any project and integrating engagement into existing community-hosted meetings, instead of creating new meetings. Please describe your experience implementing these community engagement best practices, and any others.
We offer these comments and ideas because regional progress requires that East-West Gateway have a strategic leader as executive director. We welcome your interest, seek to engage you and the region in this process, and wish you well in the executive search.
Trailnet welcomes new bicycle and pedestrian planner
The Plan4Health grant has brought excitement and new energy to Trailnet’s planning division by allowing us bring on some new talent. We’re excited to announce Grace Kyung has joined the Trailnet team as our new Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner. She comes to Trailnet from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where she earned master’s degrees in public health and urban planning from the University of Illinois.
Grace has a strong passion for active forms of transportation and is an avid bicycle commuter. Aside from being a cost-effective approach to city travel, Grace says she appreciates how riding gives her a lay of the land in St. Louis. She added that riding her bike around the city has given her a helpful lens with which to see various neighborhoods connect with locals. Grace hopes through working on the Plan4Health grant, she can help Trailnet demonstrate effective traffic calming approaches to increase the safety and health of the region’s communities.
Welcome Grace!
For more information about Plan4Health, please contact Grace Kyung at grace@trailnet.org or 314-436-1324 x 110.
Can I log my transit trips on Shift Your Commute?
Shift Your Commute is multi-modal! Any combination of biking, walking, or transit trips to or from work can be logged. For more information about Shift Your Commute, click here.
Charter Business Members
We thank the pioneer businesses listed below for stepping up to support Trailnet’s vision and programs. We are grateful to each of you for your investment in our work. Whether your business employs a few people or thousands, a Trailnet business membership benefits your employees, helps to encourage healthy living, and makes you visible to our large and engaged audience. Join the businesses listed below in helping to create a more vibrant, active region. For information about Business Membership, click here.
Washington University Office of Sustainability
Request for Proposals: Calm Streets Facilitation Consultant
Trailnet is seeking a facilitation consultant to bring the Calm Streets St. Louis project into its second phase–putting us on a path toward constructing low-stress, green, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. If you’re a seasoned facilitator with the ability to build organizational structures and workplans, solidify community visions, and advise on community outreach, take a look at our request for proposals below. You’ll find an explanation of theCalm Streets St. Louis program as well as a list of requested services and our evaluation criteria.
Trailnet, Missouri Department of Transportation, and Bi-State Development Agency advocate “Safe Roads for All” during National Bike to Work Day
Trailnet celebrated the St. Louis region’s 10th annual Bike to Work Day Friday, May 15. Sponsored by Great Rivers Greenway, Missouri American Water, and Saint Louis Bread Co., the event drew more than 560 cyclists dedicated to making biking a way of life in St. Louis. Sponsors, volunteers, and Trailnet staff hosted refueling stations throughout the area, offering coffee and bagels to all bike commuters. Bike to Work Day helps to build a sense of community, promotes environmentally-friendly modes of travel, and inspires people to maintain healthy, active lifestyles.
Maggie Crane, communications director for the Office of Mayor Francis Slay, drew applause from the audience when she announced St. Louis will include its first bike and pedestrian coordinator position in the city’s 2015-2016 budget. This is one step required to boost the region’s overall bike friendliness ranking, as evaluated by the League of American Bicyclists.
Ralph Pfremmer, Trailnet’s executive director, stressed the importance of installing bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to improve the health of local communities as well as the environment. “For the future, it’s critical that the expansion of well-designed bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure continue,” Pfremmer said. “By increasing safe and pleasant opportunities for walking and biking, we will build the confidence of our users and improve public health and the environment. These assets of our community will most certainly attract and retain talented young people and entrepreneurs, adding to the vitality and economic prosperity of our region.
The final Kirkwood Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan has been presented to City Council. You can view or download the plan here.
Trailnet would like thank the Planning Advisory Committee and all of the residents that helped shape the plan through their input and comments. The exemplary dedication of the residents, elected officials, and staff of Kirkwood strengthened the planning process.
Des Peres Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Draft Recommendations
Take some time to review the DRAFT recommendations for the plan below and tell us what you think! The planning team wants to hear what works and what doesn’t in order to make sure the plan is right for Des Peres.
Please contact Marielle Brown, Planning Manager, at marielle@trailnet.org or 314.436.1324 ext. 115 before Monday, June 15, with comments, questions, and recommendations.
You can talk with the planning team about the draft recommendations on Saturday, May 23, at a community walking tour. The planning team will visit communities throughout Des Peres to talk about the plan and answer questions.
Trailnet 2015 Survey: Help make walking and biking a way of life in St. Louis
For more than 26 years, Trailnet has focused on bringing about positive change in communities throughout the St. Louis region by encouraging healthy, active living. Please help us continue our efforts to get people moving and help our region build for better walking and biking by participating in this quick survey.
All responses to this survey are confidential and the results will be reported at a general level. This survey includes questions asking if you would like to get involved or receive more information. If you answer yes to these questions, we will also ask for your contact information so that we can connect you to opportunities and provide information.
Trailnet and the St. Louis Trek Bicycle Store will be taking more than 200 cyclists on a bi-state cycling adventure that routes participants past a geyser, a historic cemetery, St. Louis’ velodrome, and much more. Check out the latest additions to Great Rivers Greenway’s Bike St. Louis routes Sunday, August 9, during ourBike St. Louis City Tour.
Grace has a strong passion for active forms of transportation and is an avid bicycle commuter. Aside from being a cost-effective approach to city travel, Grace says she appreciates how riding gives her a lay of the land in St. Louis. She added that riding her bike around the city has given her a helpful lens with which to see various neighborhoods connect with locals. Grace hopes through working on the Plan4Health grant, she can help Trailnet demonstrate effective traffic calming approaches to increase the safety and health of the region’s communities.
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