Tucker Boulevard between Chouteau Ave. and Washington Ave. is one step closer to seeing improvements recommended by Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan. This 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, and a number of family foundations who are making this effort possible.
Creating a more people-centered Tucker is a primary recommendation of the Connecting St. Louis Plan. The plan recommends transforming the corridor to provide better downtown access for people on bikes and on foot. It also seeks to add bus stop improvements for the five bus routes on this corridor.
Trailnet funded a preliminary engineering study to bring this project closer to construction. It includes curb protected bike lanes on the West side of the street with floating bus islands, pedestrian refuge islands, crosswalk signal upgrades, and high-visibility crosswalks along the near-mile long section of Tucker.
This will make Tucker a more safe and pleasant place for those not in an automobile. It will also provide a safe and protected way for people on bikes to get over the rail yards to the south. The rail yards have been identified as a stressful and dangerous barrier to people getting into and out of downtown by numerous studies including the Downtown Multi-Modal Plan and Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis plan. There is More to come, but this corridor is close to being transformed into a safer and more pleasant place for everyone. The next step is fundraising for the 20 percent match construction funds required for the City of St. Louis to apply for Federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds if they become available later this year. Stay tuned!
Trailnet Champion: Jeff Powell
Jeff Powell has been teaching kids about active transportation for 31 years. Jeff supports Walk/Bike to School days at Fairway Elementary School. Trailnet introduced the Walking School Bus to Fairway Elementary more than 10 years ago and worked with Jeff to help hundreds of kids walk and bike to school, teeing them up for a lifetime of active transportation. Alongside being a P.E. Teacher, Jeff also teaches mountain biking summer camps. Keep reading for a Q & A with Jeff about all his awesome work!
“Being an elementary PE teacher is my passion. Teaching kids to ride is just another avenue to share this passion.”
How did you become connected with Trailnet?
It was way back in 2004 when our school, Fairway Elementary, had just opened. I met Mandy Brady from Trailnet and learned about the program. Since Fairway Elementary was built in the middle of several neighborhoods, it was the perfect opportunity to teach the kids and families safe routes to school. I talked one of the PTO reps into being the school’s parent/teacher liaison for the event. Her name is Rebecca Timm and she worked wonders helping get other parents involved. Conveniently, Rebecca is also my sister. She had two kids of her own attending Fairway at the time, easy pickings. Trailnet was able to provide many suggestions, guidelines for the Walking School Bus Champions, and gave us connections to get our school moving forward safely. On October 7, 2005 we held the first Walk/Bike to School Day at Fairway. It still exists through our PTO. The first three years had unexpected attendance, 82%, 89%, and 92%! We still average about 90% each year.
What work have you done, or are currently doing, to advance walking and biking in St. Louis?
As a teacher, I support our PTO by promoting the school’s Walk/Bike to School Day each year in all of our PE classes. Along with this day, we teach street/neighborhood safety as part of our school’s Health curriculum. This includes walking and biking on the sidewalks, traveling in groups, obeying all traffic signs, stranger safety, and using your senses to be aware of your surroundings. To encourage the kids to ride and walk to school, I too frequently ride my bike to school since I lived in the same neighborhood. They get a kick of how I push a button, the doors open, and I ride down the hall right to the gym office.
Here in St. Louis I am a member of GORC, Gateway Off-Road Cyclists. Through them I found the chance to support their trail work as they “contribute a great deal of experience in designing safe, sustainable, multi-use trails.”
Can you tell us about your involvement in Bike Camps?
The first mountain club I sponsored was in 1991 at Parkway West High School. It was called the Parkway Wheels West mountain bike club as we were supported by the Wheels West bicycle shop. We would do rides together and it enabled the high schoolers a chance to try cross country mountain bike racing. In 1995, we took our first guys trip to Crested Butte Colorado. I’m still friends with several of them to this day. I have been teaching kids to mountain bike for well over 11 years starting with the district’s Community Education program. Being an elementary PE teacher is my passion. Teaching kids to ride is just another avenue to share this passion. The interest in this type of class has grown immensely over the years beyond that one annual summer camp. What started with three elementary kids and one PE teacher has become Wheels UP, LLC. Now with Cody Jones, we have instructed hundreds of young riders to discover the pure joy of mountain biking. Over the past 2 years this has come to include adults of all ages too. Our Youth camps are tailored out of the foundation of BICP based skills and lessons. We specifically cater our lessons to be safe while pushing skill progressions to help each rider achieve the soundest fundamental riding base. We offer different level rides to accommodate from a 1st time off-road rider to an experienced advanced skill clinics. We ride bikes, have a blast, learn bike-handling skills, and most importantly learn to be safe on a bike. You can find out more at WheelsUpmtb.com or follow us on Facebook.
Can you tell us about the Walking School Bus and the PTO at your school?
We call it “Walk/Bike to School Day.” Each year, our PTO sets this up as an all school function. It normally occurs on or near the International Walk to School date. As the flyer reads, “The idea is for students, parents, and friends to walk to school together with a purpose – to promote health, safety, physical activity and concern for the environment!” We also organize a BikeTrain to show how to safely ride bicycles to school. We PE teachers meet the kids and parents to lead them in a really long Bike Train of 30-60 participants.
What do you see as some of St. Louis’ biggest barriers to safer walking and biking?
Having a safe space to ride our bikes without interfering with others or having them risk our safety. We can work past these barriers by educating local communities on safety from both the cyclist’s and driver’s perspectives.
Do you have a preferred form of active transportation (biking, walking, transit, etc)?
I ride my bike to school most days. Mainly because it energizes me in a positive direction each day.
What keeps you at it?
Easy, my students. On the way to school I ride past five bus stops which gives us a chance to smile, say hi, and sometimes ride together.
In your opinion, what makes a city or region thrive?
The ability to find a common thread in the community. Find that common factor, finance it, build it, and they will come out to enjoy it. Kind of like that saying, if you build it, they will come.
What do you do for fun?
For fun? Easy answer, ride my bikes and teach kids. Mainly I stick to mountain biking here in Wildwood all year round. When we have a snow day at school it’s a play day for me and my Fat Bike. I really like going on bike trips to Colorado each summer with my buddies and more recently monthly trips to Northwest Arkansas. When the trails are wet riding the roads of Wildwood and hiking are the go to alternatives. When the weather gets warmer, I like to share the fun by leading weekly rides with kids through Wheels UP.
What do you do for work?
I teach Physical Education and Health in the Rockwood School District. This is my 27th year in the Rockwood School District, and 31st year in Education.
Any final thoughts or words?
Finding ways to get our kids outside and moving is critical to helping them become healthy, successful adults. The habits they develop now can and will lead them in a direction conducive to a happy life. Play Hard, Play Often, Be Happy.
Distracted Driving Laws are a Must-Have for Missouri
“It’s completely preventable.”
That’s a quote from MODOT’s Jon Nelson, talking about distracted driving deaths. Nelson was featured in a Post Dispatch story from last January about lawmakers’ efforts to pass a distracted driving ban.
Most traffic deaths are preventable, but deaths from distracted driving are preventable. That’s why passing a strong distracted driving law is vital.
Last year, 118 people were killed while walking by people driving in Missouri—the highest in 10 years. Despite a reduction in traffic deaths, distracted driving is a leading cause in crashes, and Missouri is one of only two states without meaningful distracted driving legislation.
This is a public health crisis. If 118 Missourians were killed by a new contagious illness it would be headline news, and authorities would act. Instead, those deaths are simply the cost of using our phones while driving.
While different state legislation has been introduced, varying in scope and detail, it is vital that Missouri lawmakers pass meaningful distracted driving legislation.
Trailnet supports banning drivers from using a smartphone or similar device while driving, including talking and texting, but still allowing voice-only or hands-free use; GPS navigation; calling 911 or roadside assistance. We also support the reasonable use of these devices for emergency personnel.
Convenience should never override safety. Until meaningful distracted driving legislation is passed in Missouri, it is still legal for people to drive down the highway or by a local school while staring at their phones.
-Cindy Mense, Trailnet CEO
Workzone Mobility Ordinance | St. Louis City
Last week, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen approved legislation to update how the city handles construction sites and their impact on sidewalks and bike lanes.
Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia sponsored the proposal that gives the city’s streets department more authority to keep sidewalks open and guidance to developers creating safe accommodations in the case of construction impacting sidewalks or bike lanes. These accommodations can include: covered sidewalks, fencing, scaffolding, and other safety improvements.
We support this change as an important step to prioritize the needs of people who walk, use wheelchairs or ride bikes. Our sidewalks belong to everyone and should safely remain open during construction.
We look forward to working with the streets department on incorporating some of our priorities into these changes, including: minimum sidewalk widths, bike lane accommodations, specific considerations for people with visual impairments or people who use wheelchairs, and appropriate lighting requirements.
The legislation also updates the permit fee structure creating a higher-fee for developers that want to close sidewalks on major roads and around downtown. The increased fees will allow the streets department to hire two additional inspectors to enforce the ordinance and an additional plan reviewer to give guidance to developers on creating safe and continuous temporary connections for non-automobile transportation users during construction.
St. Louis County Bike Reforms
St. Louis County is on the verge of prioritizing the safety of people on bikes, and other vulnerable road users through a change to the county traffic rules.
The proposed legislation prioritizes people’s safety and judgement when using lanes, creates a 3-foot passing rule, clearly spells out when people are allowed to ride side by side, creates protections for vulnerable road users, and extends rules for bikes to apply to e-bikes.
This week, the St. Louis County Council is set to vote on County Bill 385, introduced by Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway, which updates the county’s outdated rules on how people on bikes can use roads in the county.
Our streets belong to everyone and everyone should be free to safely use them. We are confident that these policies are an important step towards safer streets.
The original proposal was amended to include input from Trailnet and other advocates. We wish this went further by including similar language prioritizing the judgement of people on scooters, skateboards, rollerblades, and other wheeled mobility devices as well as other updates on e-bike rules. Likewise, laws are no replacement for road-design changes and infrastructure improvements, Trailnet supports this as a necessary and timely step to improve the law.
The current version of the legislation reforms the county traffic code by:
Prioritizing people’s safety and judgement
Currently, the county has a one-size-fits-none approach, requiring bike traffic to stay as far to the right as “practicable” with no exemptions. If taken by the letter of the law, this means, riding in the gutter, in the door zone or on the shoulder. People riding bikes any other way could be cited for violating traffic law.
The proposal gives people on bikes more flexibility under the law to use their judgment. It lays out different exceptions that more closely matches how people actually interact safely on the road.
It creates a default for people on bikes to ride in the same direction as traffic and to stay to the right side of the right-most lane. However, it prioritizes people’s safety and judgement when laying out conditions where people can use the full lane, shoulder, or change lanes to:
Avoid debris or other hazards
Avoid vehicles turning in right-turn only lanes
If the road is too narrow for bikes and cars to share the same lane
Preparing to make left turns
Passing slower traffic
Avoid other unsafe conditions
If people follow these rules and obey other traffic laws, they would not violate rules against impeding traffic.
3-foot Passing
It also adds a 3-foot passing law for people in cars when overtaking people on bikes. It requires people driving to:
Change lanes to pass, if there is a passing lane.
If there is no passing lane, people driving must still give the person on the bike 3 feet of space while passing.
It allows people driving to safely cross over the middle lane, even in no-passing zones, in order to give 3 feet to the person in the bike.
Riding Abreast
The legislation would also update the law to allow people on bikes to ride side by side on the street, which was prohibited under the old ordinance.
People may ride abreast if:
They don’t significantly impede other traffic
They are riding on the shoulder, bike lane, or bike path
The right most lane of traffic is too narrow to be safely shared between a person on a bike and a car
Vulnerable Road Users
The bill also defines Vulnerable Road Users including:
People walking
People using wheelchairs
People riding bikes and using scooters, skateboards, roller skates, etc.
People working on the roadway: construction workers, first responders
People walking pets
People in animal-drawn vehicles
People on mopeds or motorcycles
People driving farm equipment
The proposed ordinance also prohibits people driving in a “careless or distracted manner” if it causes injury to a vulnerable road user. This creates a penalty for distracted driving if it causes a crash, hurting a vulnerable road user. This falls short of an overall distracted driving ban, since state law currently prevents local governments from passing their own distracted driving traffic rules. This reality prevents counties and cities from exercising local control, blocking them from addressing this dangerous behavior.
E-Bikes
This bill also extends rules governing bikes to include e-bikes and motorized bikes. This is a somewhat imperfect approach, because it uses engine cylinder size and horsepower as criteria, which doesn’t necessarily capture the differences of an e-bike motor. However, its way of dealing with top-speed that mostly fits in line with state and federal approaches for e-bikes.
In an ideal situation we would like to see St. Louis County and the State of Missouri adopt the three class E-Bike system being used in twenty two other states.
Trailnet Classics | Message from the rides manager
Thank you to everyone who has reached out to us about the 2020 Trailnet Classics ride calendar.
We have received a lot of direct and indirect feedback about our changes to the rides. I want to acknowledge and accommodate people’s thoughts on the changes. Based on this feedback we are making adjustments to the start times of these rides.
Your input makes our events better and I appreciate it. I want these rides to be safe, fun, and memorable experiences for our riders, partners, and the communities who graciously welcome us.
We believe that bikes are not just a great way to get around but an even greater tool to bring folks together and build community. These rides support our work to advocate for safer streets for everyone and allow us to better engage these host cities and neighborhoods with our work.
Beginning in 2019, Trailnet started reviewing its distance rides to look at improving safety and rider experience. Coming into this position, my main focus was to build on the existing success of these rides, bring additional experience, and wider industry standards to the process, and give our members and riders a great experience.
Our overarching goal is to improve the safety and the community-building aspects of these rides without changing the core of these events: high-quality supported bike rides that build an appreciation and awareness for cycling.
Group Starts
Switching from a scattered start to a group start has been the change that has drawn the most attention and is the biggest change from previous years.
I understand this is a major change, and I appreciate the concerns people have shared over the shift to more-structured rides.
Changing registration and start times- Based on rider input, we are creating a second, earlier start time of our rides to address concerns of summer temperatures.
We will have two group starts. Riders can choose to depart in either a 7:30 or 8:30 A.M group start.
At both starts we will encourage riders to be mindful of their own ability and comfort level when positioning themselves in the staging area. Group start etiquette and safety will also be covered in the rider briefing.
We may make additional changes based on potential severe weather conditions, with appropriate notification time before the rides.
We are still committed to the benefits a group start offers:
Each start will have a police escort for the beginning section (10-12 mph. for approx. 1 mile) of each ride, to increase visibility and safety. People will be able to set their own pace after the escort has lead riders safely onto the course.
A rider briefing on the route and road conditions will allow more-consistent communications.
The set start time will also improve the responsiveness of SAG and first aid support by having a clearer understanding of riders’ positions along each route.
The group start times shorten the volunteer shifts we ask including registration, rest stops, driving SAG vehicles, and managing traffic.
The set start times will help create a greater sense of community between riders of all experience levels. It allows more people to connect and socialize over coffee before the ride.
The group start addresses the concerns of people who feel safer riding in groups.
These changes also allow us to better work with municipal agencies on the timing of our rides as part of the permitting and insurance process. We need to operate within the agreements and expectations of the host communities and their agencies.
We are confident these benefits as well as day-of safety measures outweigh the potential challenges of a group start.
I want to keep hearing your thoughts and appreciate the chance to talk through these changes. Please shoot me an email or give me a call.
Matt Hartman
Rides Manager
matt@trailnet.org
314-828-2196
Trailnet Classics: Group Starts
We believe that bikes are not just a great way to get around but an even greater tool to bring folks together and build community. These rides support our work to advocate for safer streets for everyone and allow us to better engage these host cities and neighborhoods with our work.
Our overarching goal is to improve the safety and the community-building aspects of these rides without changing the core of these events: high-quality supported bike rides that build an appreciation and awareness for cycling.
Group Starts
We will have two group starts. Riders can choose to depart in either a 7:30 or 8:30 A.M group start.
At both starts we will encourage riders to be mindful of their own ability and comfort level when positioning themselves in the staging area. Group start etiquette and safety will also be covered in the rider briefing.
We may make additional changes based on potential severe weather conditions, with appropriate notification time before the rides.
We are still committed to the benefits a group start offers:
Each start will have a police escort for the beginning section (10-12 mph. for approx. 1 mile) of each ride, to increase visibility and safety. People will be able to set their own pace after the escort has lead riders safely onto the course.
A rider briefing on the route and road conditions will allow more-consistent communications.
The set start time will also improve the responsiveness of SAG and first aid support by having a clearer understanding of riders’ positions along each route.
The group start times shorten the volunteer shifts we ask including registration, rest stops, driving SAG vehicles, and managing traffic.
The set start times will help create a greater sense of community between riders of all experience levels. It allows more people to connect and socialize over coffee before the ride.
The group start addresses the concerns of people who feel safer riding in groups.
We are confident these benefits as well as day-of safety measures will give our riders a safe, high-quality ride experience.
Trailnet Champion: Erika Enstrom
Meet Erika Enstrom, our first Trailnet Champion of 2020! Erika has been close to the Trailnet community for a long time and recently joined our board. She’s passionate about improving active transportation in St. Louis for the benefits it provides to the environment and for the physical health of everyone in the region. We’re excited about her community-driven approach to advocating for safer streets for all!
Erika said she believes Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan will encourage people to more deeply connect to their communities and enable more walking and bicycling in the region. Her passion for safer, more comfortable streets is bolstered by her joy of walking. She prefers exploring the city on foot, she said, because she can easily put her daughter in the stroller and enjoy all the region has to offer.
“One of the biggest barriers to advancing walking and biking in St. Louis is that the city is so spread out and it seems daunting to think that there is the option to walk or bike from where you live to work or to sporting events or other community events,” Erika said. “That’s what makes the Connecting St. Louis plan so great. It helps bridge the gap between your everyday community and other communities and really demonstrates that biking throughout the city really is possible.”
Erika is ready to push for a paradigm that values the importance, convenience, and benefits of walking and biking. She said that while connecting such a spread-out city is a challenge, another barrier is in changing the mentality of people in our communities.
“People’s immediate thought is to hop into their cars to move from point A to point B,” Erika said. “By adding infrastructure in the communities and making sure that we have advocates in each of those communities to help push the movement, we can help change that mentality.”
When Erika isn’t advocating for better streets for all, she works in public accounting. She spends her spare time running, biking, enjoying good weather, and playing the cello.
“I am super excited about the trajectory that Trailnet is going in and look forward to helping move the organization along in the future,” Erika said.
We’re so happy she’s on our team!
Support Two Acts For Better Walking and Biking
We’d like you to help us ring in the new year by urging our local representatives to support more biking and walking projects. In just two minutes, you can start off 2020 as an advocate!
Trailnet CEO Cindy Mense sent letters to congress last week urging representatives to support and cosponsor two acts. The Complete Streets Act would set aside federal transportation funds for safe street projects and require states and local governments to create design standards that incorporate the needs of all road users when developing infrastructure projects. The Transportation Alternatives Enhancement Act would increase the share of federal funds used on biking and walking networks and allow states and communities to use that money for local bikeways and sidewalk improvements.
We kicked off the new year with a panel discussion led by Trailnet CEO Cindy Mense in conversation with leaders who understand the keys to creating a transportation network that’s fit for all. More than 40 advocates joined us to talk about what a more active transportation system will look like.
Mike Weiss, owner of Big Shark Bicycle Company and Big Shark Events, talked about how safety on the streets impacts bike shops, the people who ride bikes, and how he’s getting kids on bikes. Scott Ogilvie, Transportation Policy Planner with the City of St. Louis, shared what St. Louis is doing to improve safety for people on bikes, including policy updates and the latest on new infrastructure. Ann Falker, BJC, Clinical Nurse Specialist, expert cyclist and daily bike commuter, discussed her experience riding on the streets of St. Louis. Trailnet’s Director of Policy Taylor March talked about the most effective methods for building safer streets and the barriers to funding them.
Safety was the theme of the night, but panelists made clear that with safe streets, come better communities. Ann Falker helped attendees understand that Complete Streets (streets meant for all users) are connected to the overall health of our community. She said Complete Streets keeps families in our cities by giving them places to “walk, hop, skip, and bike” in their neighborhoods.
Scott Ogilvie spoke about the barriers to improving St. Louis streets for all users, noting that while there is a lot more willingness across the region to make streets safer, there are two main hindrances: government fragmentation and the ability to pay for projects.
“The limitation to change is no longer the desire of city departments, it’s funding,” Ogilvie said. “We’re headed in in the right direction.”
Trainet Policy Director Taylor March also spoke about funding for safer streets, noting transportation funding does little to support those who walk and bike. “Only one percent of U.S. Transportation funding goes toward walking and biking,” March said. “But those users experience significant levels of injuries and fatalities.”
Panelists also discussed the divisive Slay Balls that have appeared at city intersections over the past few years. Despite the controversy, studies have shown these barriers have caused a decrease in crashes.
Another controversial subject of the night was red light cameras. On the topic of why cities employ the use of red light cameras, Ogilvie said, “They are ideally used to reduce injuries and fatalities for all users… after red light cameras were overturned by the Missouri Supreme Court, pedestrian fatalities doubled in St Louis.”
Driving laws also came up during the discussion. Panelists agreed Missouri needs laws to prohibit texting and driving. Currently, Missouri is one of only two states that allow texting while driving.
Panelists also talked about how investing in safer streets is an important part of fighting global climate change. Mike Weiss touched on how, outside of catering to those who walk, use mobility devices, or bike, updated infrastructure supports Ebikes and scooters, both of which are increasing in popularity and don’t require the use of a car.
Cindy Mense outlined three key takeaways after moderating the event:
St. Louis has momentum and we have potential when we work together to meet the needs of all users
We are making progress in streets designs, traffic control measures and attitudes are changing
There is legislation at every level that needs your voice- join us and demand safer streets for all
Tucker Boulevard between Chouteau Ave. and Washington Ave. is one step closer to seeing improvements recommended by Trailnet’s Connecting St. Louis Plan. This 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, and a number of family foundations who are making this effort possible.
What work have you done, or are currently doing, to advance walking and biking in St. Louis?
Meet Erika Enstrom, our first Trailnet Champion of 2020! Erika has been close to the Trailnet community for a long time and recently joined our board. She’s passionate about improving active transportation in St. Louis for the benefits it provides to the environment and for the physical health of everyone in the region. We’re excited about her community-driven approach to advocating for safer streets for all!
We’d like you to help us ring in the new year by urging our local representatives to support more biking and walking projects. In just two minutes, you can start off 2020 as an advocate!
We kicked off the new year with a panel discussion led by Trailnet CEO Cindy Mense in conversation with leaders who understand the keys to creating a transportation network that’s fit for all. More than 40 advocates joined us to talk about what a more active transportation system will look like.
Scott Ogilvie spoke about the barriers to improving St. Louis streets for all users, noting that while there is a lot more willingness across the region to make streets safer, there are two main hindrances: government fragmentation and the ability to pay for projects.
Driving laws also came up during the discussion. Panelists agreed Missouri needs laws to prohibit texting and driving. Currently, Missouri is one of only two states that allow texting while driving.