Trailnet receives $40k grant for Jefferson County walk-bike strategy
Trailnet will begin developing a walking and biking strategy for Crystal City, Festus, and Herculaneum in Jefferson County. These efforts will help the communities prioritize infrastructure upgrades, programs and policies to improve access for people walking and biking.
Trailnet will provide support, training, and community engagement resources for the three communities. The goal of the work is to identify future projects for the three communities and provide ongoing technical assistance to advance improvements and identify future funding.
This work is possible thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Jefferson Foundation.
The Jefferson Foundation provides support for charitable and educational activities that promote individual and community health and well-being in Jefferson County. The foundation was formed in 2013 when Mercy Health System acquired Jefferson Regional Medical Center (now Mercy Hospital Jefferson) in Crystal City. Since 2014, the foundation has awarded 1,141 grants for a total of about $52.1 million.
St. Louis City retains Silver Bicycle Friendly Community status. Here’s how it can improve
The League of American Bicyclists is a non-profit organization that represents the bicyclist movement to create safer roads, stronger communities, and a more bicycle friendly America. The League published their spring 2021, Bicycle Friendly Community ranking. The ranking provides advocates and cities with assistance to build places more welcoming to people who bike.
St. Louis maintained its silver status as a Bike Friendly Community! Trailnet is proud of the work St. Louis has done in recent years, but we’re excited to keep working with the City become more bike friendly.
6 Key Steps to Becoming a More Bike Friendly City:
The City needs to continue to expand and improve low-stress biking and walking network in every neighborhood in STL to support people of all ages and skills getting on bikes. This includes work to continue implementing Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan, upgrading more of the city’s painted bike lanes to protected cycle tracks, and increasing traffic calming.
The City and St. Louis Public Schools should continue to expand bicycle safety education. Bike safety should be taught in schools, such as the Safe Route to School programming, for students of all ages. The City should work to ensure that schools and surrounding neighborhoods are safe and convenient for biking and walking. Likewise, Organize a city-wide wide to School event every Fall and Spring. This should include outreach to parents and could include fun competitions and encouragement to get more kids on bikes.
The City should Adopt a target level of bicycle use. Currently Trailnet operates the region’s bike-walk counts and census data shows less than 1% of people commute by bike. The City should adopt a goal and plan to increase the number of people biking to work.
The city should adopt a comprehensive road safety plan and pursue policies to reduce traffic crashes and deaths for all road users
St. Louis should re-implement a bike share system as a convenient, cost effective, and healthy way of encouraging locals and visitors to make short trips by biking. It would also make biking more accessible to all and bridge the gap between public transit and destinations
Meet the Regulators Cycling Club
The amazing group decked out in neon yellow and blue jerseys who’ve shown up in force for our last two rides!We appreciate their support and work in the community to share the joys of cycling.
The Regulators Cycling Club originally started in 2012, as a small group of men cycling on Madison County Transit Trails. The club had the intention of meeting to exercise and enjoy fun, outdoor recreational activities. These rides and trails provided the Regulators a safe haven, and it allowed riders the ability to learn how to cycle and encourage other people biking to accompany them on their group rides.
For the next three years, the Regulators met every Saturday morning to ride 50 miles on the trails. As these rides progressed, the Regulators grew and began participating in larger charity events and group rides, local and abroad.
In 2016, the “Regulators Cycling Club” name was officially born. The name came about and was befitting as the one cyclist repeatedly played, “Regulate” by Warren G and Nate Dogg, as the group’s theme song on every ride. The vote was unanimous, and thus began the group’s adventure into becoming stronger cyclists, by incorporating road cycling and group riding at all levels.
The Regulators have been riding together for 9 years and transformed from a small group of men cycling to welcoming all cyclists regardless gender and/or race. The group strongly focuses on promoting cycling, health, and visibility to the Black communities.
The club continues to grow in membership and recognizes that women and minorities are underrepresented in many bike advocacy efforts. The Regulators are driven to grow in the community and partner with many groups and rides in the Missouri and Illinois area!
Federal funds for core transportation projects move forward
Yesterday, five regional projects for improved walking, biking, and transit (core transportation) cleared an important hurdle on their way towards construction.
These projects are sponsored by our partners at the City of St. Louis, Great Rivers Greenway and Metro Transit.
The projects were approved by a transportation-focused committee of the East West Gateway Council of Governments, and are a key step before a final vote by the full EWG board on August 25, 2021.
The projects in St. Louis City include:
Funding to replace the Compton Ave. Bridge, including a cycle track (aka protected Bike lane) plus sidewalk and crosswalk upgrades
A city-led effort to build a cycle track on South Broadway between River Des Peres Greenway and Dover St. at Bellerive Park
Accessibility, lighting, and canopy improvements at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Metro Station
A segment of the Brickline Greenway from Sarah St. To Grand St.
Great River Greenway also received funding for an extension of the St. Vincent Greenway from Werley Ave. to St. Charles Rock Road in St. Louis County.
Additional funding was awarded to Metro for 18 new call-a-ride vans for seniors and people with disabilities as well as 20 new buses which will be hitting the streets in the next few years.
Congratulations to our partners on this key step and the strides towards bringing more core transportation projects to the region. All of these projects are included in competitive federal transportation funds administered by East West Gateway. Learn more about these funds on the EWG website.
Advocacy Action: Help update U.S. road standards for safer streets
An 800+ page federal document that has cemented unsafe road designs in our communities is being updated.
You can help make our streets safer by weighing in on the process. Trailnet and national partner organizations are calling on U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to overhaul the document to prioritize safety for people walking and biking.
This spring the Federal Highway Administration is reviewing an enormous document called the MUTCD (Manual on Traffic Control Devices). This manual provides traffic engineers with regulations and guidance for items like signage, markings, and roadway design for all U.S. roads.
For the first time in 10 years, the MUTCD is up for review. Now is a great opportunity for the public to weigh in and help fix a document that fails to address everyday street safety. Regulations in the MUTCD consistently undermine the safety for people walking and biking while prioritizing convenience for people driving cars.
This failure is evident in how our current road design standards continue to create an environment that is unsafe for people walking and biking. In St. Louis County and St. Louis City, total deaths (walking, biking, and driving) have been steadily rising since 2010, with over 170 deaths in 2020, the highest in that 10-year period.
Priority Areas in need of Immediate Fixing: Trailnet agrees with other likeminded organizations like NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials), America Walks, and The League of American Bicyclists. Together we agree that in order to prioritize safety for people walking and biking, a complete overhaul and rewrite of the MUTCD is desperately needed.
This rewrite must address key priorities like:
The 85th Percentile Rule: The MUTCD advises traffic professionals to use an outdated metric called the 85th percentile rule. This rule sets speed limits at the speed where most people (85% of drivers) drive normally. Meaning that based on the size and type of road and given normal flows of traffic 85% of people drive below that set speed limit. This creates a cycle where each time speed limits are reviewed they are progressively increased. We know from NACTO’s City Limits document that “relying on [this type of] system focused on driver behavior, rather than a defined safety target to set speed limits, significantly limits the ability to reduce traffic deaths.” This “Rule” should no longer exist and should be phased out of the MUTCD.
Pedestrian Signal Requirements: The MUTCD does not require pedestrian-specific crossing signals to be installed at existing or new traffic lights. It instead relies on measures like previous pedestrian deaths and the number of people crossing to warrant new pedestrian signals. Additionally, the MUTCD doesn’t allow other factors such as: expected pedestrian traffic or the number of people who drive to cross busy streets instead of walking to justify adding signals for people walking. Currently, for a signalized pedestrian crossing to be added to a school, the MUTCD requires that there already be 20 children willing to risk their lives at crossing the street in an hour, before a signal can be added to protect them.
Crosswalks Guidelines: The MUTCD severely lack proactive safety regulation covering the installation and use of crosswalks. For a new signalized crosswalk to be installed, a location must have 93 people cross the street per hour or have had 4 or more pedestrians crashes in a 3-year period. The MUTCD also does not allow for colorful crosswalks within the roadway, even though high visibility crosswalks have been proven to enhance pedestrian safety, while also contributing to neighborhood vibrancy.
General Lack of Standards for Pedestrian Safety: Throughout the MUTCD there are several sections that mention pedestrian safety measures. However, a lot of those measures are not a federal regulation, but mere guidance that is not legally required for traffic professionals to adhere to.
Regulations that Deter Important Bike/Ped/Transit Projects: Within the MUTCD there are several regulations that can potentially deter things like bike lanes and bus rapid transit projects. For example, there are specific design requirements for bike lanes that cross driveways and certain intersections. Bus rapid transit projects often require expansive and expensive traffic studies that delay these types of projects, which prohibits cities from making strides to expand their public transit networks.
It should be mentioned that a majority of these comments and areas for improvement are shared among organizations like NACTO, America Walks, Trailnet and other similar biking and walking advocacy organizations. The fact that many national organizations have shared similar criticisms to this document shows the weight in how several regulations and standards impact the safety of people walking and biking on our streets. For more information on other MUTCD comments from those other organizations, we suggest these resources:
Trailnet is also realistic in the fact that a complete overhaul and rewrite of this document will take time to create and approve, and we believe that many of the current proposed amendments, are better than continuing with the 2009 version. As such we have crafted some specific suggestions to these amendments that could be incorporated while a full overhaul of this document is undertaken. You can read our specific immediate suggestions here, with the perspective that a full overhaul is still very much needed.
People’s lives and safety are jeopardized by the current document. While the proposed amendments make things marginally better, FHWA and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg should act with conviction and expediency to overhaul this document. Every minute wasted subjects our most vulnerable road users to the faulty logic within this document that prioritizes the convenience of people driving over the lives of people walking, biking, and trying to cross the street.
Below is a comment template that you can copy, paste, and input into the Federal Register’s comment portal. Feel free to customize this letter with some of the specific advocacy pushes that are important to you.
RE: Serious concerns about the MUTCD in its current form
Dear Acting Administrator Pollack and Secretary Buttigieg,
As a supporter of Trailnet, and a person who _________, I am commenting to elevate certain concerns about the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Here in St. Louis we have seen an increase in traffic fatalities and crashes over the last 10 years and federal standards and guidelines (like those in the MUTCD) have done little to regulate how roadways should be designed to promote bicycle and pedestrian safety, and in many cases have actively worked against it. These fatality rates are not unique to St. Louis, these trends are being seen across the United States and other like minded advocates like myself welcome an MUTCD that works for all road users, not just those using a motorized vehicle.
Documents like the MUTCD perpetuate out-of-date street design guidance and absurd regulations that prioritize the efficiency of moving traffic over the safety of people walking and biking. I join Trailnet and other transportation advocacy groups like America Walks, NACTO, and the League of American Bicyclists, to ask that the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices be completely rewritten with a focus on enhancing pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Specifically, revisions to the MUTCD need to focus on:
Prioritizing safety over speed. This means relying less on the 85th percentile rule and more on safety for all road users.
Standards that put the safety of people walking first on signalization and markings at intersections. This includes requirements for crosswalks and pedestrian signals at all intersections, relaxing regulations on colored crosswalks, and increasing the time pedestrian signals last, among other things.
Supporting pedestrian, bicycle, and transit projects that improve mobility for those users,in a way that doesn’t delay project timing, incur unnecessary costs, or deter these projects in general.
In conjunction with Trailnet and many others, I formally ask that the Federal Highway Administration rewrite the MUTCD in a way that prioritizes safety for people walking and biking, and allows traffic engineers and professionals to effectively plan and design roadways that encourage people to use core transportation options like walking, biking, and the use of public transportation.
Thank you,
[your name]
Tucker Bike-Walk-Bus project moves towards construction, receives $1.1 M grant
A .9 mile cycle track is coming to downtown St. Louis. Today, the Tucker Bike-Walk-Bus improvement project received a $1.1M federal construction grant clearing the way for construction.
The project is sponsored by the City of St. Louis and was developed by Trailnet along with community partners. It includes a .9 mile cycle track (protected bike lane), bus stop upgrades, and crosswalk improvements.
The improvements along Tucker Blvd. stretch between Chouteau Ave. and Washington Ave., crossing the Mill Creek railyard and connecting into downtown. This North-South route creates a more-accessible, less-stressful, and safer connection into downtown.
The two-way cycle track and numerous intersection safety improvements along the corridor will create a safer connection for people walking, biking, and taking the bus. These improvements include bus islands, pedestrian refuge islands, Americans with Disabilities Act improvements, crosswalk signal upgrades, and high-visibility crosswalks along this .9 mile stretch of Tucker Blvd.
These plans prioritized Tucker Blvd. as a safe, low-stress connection over the rail yard downtown. The rail yard is major barrier for people on bike and on foot in the region. Tucker was selected over other route options based on resident input, the width of the bridge, connection to public resources, access to public housing, the lack of interstate ramps, among other factors.
This construction project is one of several moving forward in St. Louis City that that prioritize people walking and biking.
These projects include: – The Tower Grove Connector – another partnership between Trailnet and the City – Replacing the Compton St. bridge to include a cycle track – A cycle track along 20th St. and 22nd St. aligning with Project Connect linking north city and the central corridor – Great Rivers Greenway’s Brickline Greenway Project
GRANT DETAILS The federal funding for this project comes from the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) by the US Department of Transportation. TAP funds are competitive grants aimed at supporting smaller bike, pedestrian, and other community-based projects. The funding was awarded by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG). EWG is responsible for transportation funding, in an eight county area in Missouri and Illinois.
WHAT’S A CYCLE TRACK? A cycle track is a protected bike lane that physically separates bike traffic from car traffic and people walking. Cycle tracks can come in different variations (one-way vs. two-way) and can use different methods of separating bikes from sidewalks and the street (curbs, raised lanes, planters, etc.) Cycle tracks provide important separated space for people of all ages and abilities to bike.
This project will feature a two-way cycle track on the west side of Tucker Blvd., with curbs separating bike traffic from car traffic and the sidewalk. Detailed plans are available here.
NEXT STEPS This project will now move forward, with construction planned for 2023.
This progress is thanks to the generous support of partners including the City of St. Louis, The Downtown St. Louis Community Improvement District, People for Bikes, Alderman Jack Coatar, a number of family foundations, area businesses, as well as Trailnet members and supporters like you.
Weigh in: Tucker Blvd. Bike-Walk-Bus public comments
Updated Jan. 29, 2021
Public Comments are open for a .9 mile cycle track construction project on Tucker Blvd. downtown.
You can add your support or input for this project. This is a competitive grant, so the more people who add their support the more likely it is to get funding.
LEAVE A COMMENT (two options)
OPTION 1 Click here, scroll down, select “ST LOUIS,” then click on “TUCKER BOULEVARD CYCLE TRACK” and follow the instructions.
Paste “Comment on TIP 207165-22 TUCKER BOULEVARD CYCLE TRACK” into the subject line. Then leave you comment making sure to state where you live, if you use the corridor and if you support the project.
PROJECT DETAILS This month, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) advanced a $1.1 million federal construction application for biking, walking, and bus stop improvements on Tucker Blvd. between Chouteau Ave. and Washington Ave. The public comment period for this project is from Jan. 29 through Feb. 26.
The project is sponsored by the City of St. Louis and was developed by Trailnet and community partners. This key route is one step closer to seeing a protected bike lane and other improvements recommended by Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan.
Tucker was identified during the 2016-2018 Connecting St. Louis community engagement and planning effort as a potential safe low-stress connection over the rail yard downtown. This rail yard is major barrier for people on bike and on foot in the region. It has been identified in numerous studies including the Downtown Multi-Modal Plan and Connecting St. Louis. Tucker was selected over other options based on resident input, the width of the bridge, the lack of interstate ramps, and other factors.
The proposed two-way, cycle track and numerous intersection safety improvements along the corridor will create a safer connection for people walking, biking, and taking the bus. These include bus islands, pedestrian refuge islands, crosswalk signal upgrades, and high-visibility crosswalks along this .9 mile stretch of Tucker.
WHAT’S A CYCLE TRACK? A cycle track is a protected bike lane that physically separates bike traffic from car traffic and people walking. Cycle tracks can come in different variations (one-way vs. two-way) and can use different methods of separating bikes from sidewalks and the street (curbs, raised lanes, planters, etc.) Cycle tracks provide important separated space for people of all ages and abilities to bike.
Trailnet in partnership with others funded a preliminary engineering study — completed in March 2020 — to bring this project closer to construction.
The City submitted an application for funding through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) under the US Department of Transportation. This is a competitive grant aimed at supporting smaller bike, pedestrian and other community-based projects. The next step will be a vote from EWG’s board to approve this recommendation.
This progress is thanks to the generous support of members and supporters like you, partners including The City of St. Louis, Downtown STL, People for Bikes, Alderman Jack Coatar, a number of family foundations, and area businesses who are making this effort possible.
2020 City of St. Louis Crash Report
As we move into a new year, it’s vital to take a look back at the real impact of traffic violence in St. Louis City. This 2020 crash report, created by Trailnet, highlights areas of major concern for the safety of people walking and biking.
Overall 5,672 people were injured or killed in crashes in the city last year. Of those, 19 people were killed and 205 were injured while walking, and 51 people were injured while biking.
These crashes are not evenly distributed. Traffic violence follows many of the ongoing patterns of systemic racism and segregation with 74% of pedestrian deaths and 64% of fatal car crashes occurring on the north side. In St. Louis it is more dangerous to walk or drive in predominantly Black neighborhoods.
The speed and type of road plays a major role in these crashes. More than one-third all crashes affecting people on foot took place on only six streets, all of which have posted speeds above 30mph.
Along with examining the problem of traffic violence, the report lays out solutions. These solutions, when used by elected officials and governmental leaders, have the potential to save lives. Click the image to the right to see the full document.
During the first meeting of 2021, Trailnet’s board of directors approved seven principles to guide the organization’s advocacy and policy work. These policy principles were developed based on Trailnet’s Mission and Values, as well as the past policy work of the organization.
The purpose of the principles are to: 1) frame and communicate the organization’s motivating beliefs on legislation and regulations, as well as 2) lay out criteria to ensure consistent advocacy within the scope of our mission.
Policy Principles
Trailnet’s guiding principles and priorities for city, county and state policy are to:
Improve safety for people using core transportation: biking, walking, and public transit
Prioritize financially sustainable funding that supports core transportation
Advance racially-equitable transportation practices and increase equitable access to core transportation
Reduce transportation’s negative contribution to personal health outcomes, local environmental impacts and global climate change
Increase public and neighborhood-level engagement in transportation projects and policy decisions
Support fair enforcement of traffic laws that protect vulnerable road users
Support affordable, sustainable, and maintainable transportation-focused housing and economic development
NOTE: We use the term “walking” to encompass anyone who is primarily using the sidewalk to get around. By this, we mean people: on foot, in manual wheelchairs, in powerchairs, and using other mobility aids.
Principles and Explanations
Improve safety for people using core transportation: biking, walking, and public transit
Biking, walking, and public transit are at the heart of our history, mission, and vision as an organization. Advocating for and promoting safety of these core transportation modes are a key to a healthy, sustainable, and equitable future of the St. Louis community. When we say “walking” we also mean people who use wheelchairs or other mobility devices.
Prioritize financially sustainable funding that supports core transportation
We support an overall increase in funding toward core transportation infrastructure but that funding needs to be geared towards realistic long-term considerations of maintenance and predicted use. Core transportation is already significantly underfunded compared to car-focused projects and we do not support overall increases in transportation funding that perpetuates this status quo.
Advance racially-equitable transportation practices and increase equitable access to core transportation
We are committed to advancing racial equity and are focused on improving the mobility of Black, indigenous, and other people of color. Racially-equitable transportation practices must be present in all levels and phases. We believe that core transportation infrastructure should be fairly designed and built to address the needs of underserved communities; whether that is based on race, disability, gender, income level, or other factors. Transportation policies should counteract existing inequities and prioritize justice.
Reduce transportation’s negative contributions to personal health outcomes, local environmental impacts and global climate change
Car-centered transportation contributes to less-healthy lifestyles, reduces local air quality, and is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. Shifting to a low-carbon transportation system built around walking, biking, and public transit fights climate change, improves the local environment, and supports healthy, active lifestyles.
Increase public and neighborhood-level engagement in transportation projects and policy decisions
We believe that communities, neighborhoods, and the people who inhabit them possess the knowledge, experience, and capacity for decision making. As residents they are the experts on their communities, and they stand to benefit or lose the most from project decisions. We believe decision makers should listen to and elevate the voices of individuals in these communities, and we do not support projects that bypass community input.
Support fair enforcement of traffic laws that protect vulnerable road users
We support the review of traffic laws related to safety for people walking and biking. Fair enforcement should reduce traffic law infractions and specifically address behaviors that put vulnerable road users including but not limited to the disabled, elderly, children, people walking, and people biking at risk of injury or death.
Support affordable, equitable, sustainable, and maintainable transportation- focused housing and economic development
Transportation policy does not exist in a vacuum. In order to support mobility and enable a shift to core-transportation we support economic development and housing policies that promote the density, equity, and sustainability that makes core transportation most effective. We believe projects should account for maintenance cost and avoid disruption to existing communities.
Tucker Blvd. Bike-Walk-Bus Construction Update
Updated Jan. 8, 2021
This week, the East-West Gateway Council of Governments (EWG) advanced a $1.1 million federal construction application for biking, walking, and bus stop improvements on Tucker Blvd. between Chouteau Ave. and Washington Ave.
The project is sponsored by the City of St. Louis and was developed by Trailnet and community partners. This key route is one step closer to seeing a protected bike lane and other improvements recommended by Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan.
On Wednesday, the EWG staff recommended this project for funding, an important step in advance of a final vote from the EWG board.
The rail lines south of downtown are a major barrier for people on bike and on foot in the region. They have been identified in numerous studies including the Downtown Multi-Modal Plan and Connecting St. Louis.
The proposed two-way, curb-protected bike lane and numerous intersection safety improvements along the corridor will create a safer connection for people walking, biking, and taking the bus. These include bus islands, pedestrian refuge islands, crosswalk signal upgrades, and high-visibility crosswalks along this .9 mile stretch of Tucker.
Trailnet in partnership with others funded a preliminary engineering study — completed in March 2020 — to bring this project closer to construction.
The City submitted an application for funding through the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) under the US Department of Transportation. This is a competitive grant aimed at supporting smaller bike, pedestrian and other community-based projects. The next step will be a vote from EWG’s board to approve this recommendation.
This progress is thanks to the generous support of members and supporters like you, partners including The City of St. Louis, Downtown STL, People for Bikes, Alderman Jack Coatar, a number of family foundations, and area businesses who are making this effort possible.
During the first meeting of 2021, Trailnet’s board of directors approved seven principles to guide the organization’s advocacy and policy work. These policy principles were developed based on