Keep those wheels rolling through the cold! Bike, walk, or take transit to work and log your miles on shiftyourcommute.com. The program will keep track of your car-free trips, calories burned, and carbon emissions saved. Commuters who log the most car-free miles during the month of February will be entered to win some rad Trailnet gear.
This year also brings the Winter Limbo competition. Those who log biking commutes on the coldest day(s) of the winter will be entered to win a long sleeve jersey from Retro Image Apparel.
Tell your friends and colleagues and help us build a community around active lifestyles!
February’s Shift Your Commute Challenge is sponsored by BMO Harris Bank.
Take the September Challenge!
The September Challenge is here! Ride your bike to work, walk, or take public transit and log your car-free miles on Shift Your Commute. This free, web-based program automatically calculates calories burned and carbon emissions saved. Every trip makes a difference – for your health, for the environment, and for regional planning. Trailnet uses data generated from Shift Your Commute to plan projects that improve opportunities for active transportation throughout the region. Prizes will be awarded for individuals and teams who log the most car-free miles during the month of September.
A: Calm Streets are residential streets transformed to reduce speeding and provide safety for everyone traveling there. On Calm Streets, traffic calming measures are used to reduce cut-through traffic and the volume and speed of motorized vehicles; increase space for landscaping and managing stormwater; and increase comfort for those walking and biking.
Q: Where will Calm Streets be built?
A: The Calm Streets project is a partnership with the City of St. Louis and other partners to see Calm Streets built within the city. The City of St. Louis offers many opportunities for building Calm Streets because of its grid street network. However, other jurisdictions in the region can build Calm Streets.
Calm Streets will be created on streets in the City of St. Louis classified as “local” that are often residential/neighborhood streets. They typically have posted speed limits of 25 mph and less than 2,000 vehicles per day. Calm Streets will not be built on streets that are snow routes; have steep roadway grades of 8% or higher; have a high concentration of busses; or present difficulty for emergency service vehicles.
Q: When will Calm Streets be built?
A: The City of St. Louis has one Calm Street on Des Peres Ave. We do not know when more Calm Streets will be built. In the shorter term the City is working to build pilot Calm Streets. The partnership is working to secure funds to plan a citywide Calm Streets network that would become part of the Bike St. Louis network.
Q: Who will build Calm Streets?
A: Calm Streets will be built on City of St. Louis streets and the City is therefore responsible for construction.
Q: Would a Calm Streets network be separate from the Bike St. Louis network?
A: There is currently one Calm Street, Des Peres Ave., and it is part of the Bike St. Louis network. Future Calm Streets would be added to the Bike St. Louis network.
Q: How will the construction and maintenance costs of Calm Streets be funded?
A: Bikeway construction and maintenance costs are often covered by a variety of funding streams. Calm Streets construction could be funded by federal Transportation Improvement Program grants, one-half cent ward capital funding, or other public/private sources. The Calm Streets Project Committee is working with the City of St. Louis to develop a plan for covering maintenance costs based on best practices from other cities.
Find out more details about The Calm Streets Project here.
St. Louis businesses receive national recognition from League of American Bicyclists, Trailnet ranked among most Bicycle Friendly Businesses in U.S.
Using an awards system based on engineering, education, encouragement, evaluation and planning, the League of American Bicyclists recognizes the bicycle-friendly efforts of more than 800 businesses from across the nation. Bicycle Friendly Businesses foster a sense of community and promote wellness and sustainability in the workplace. Trailnet’s TravelGreen program seeks to increase the number of Bicycle Friendly Business in St. Louis. Bicycle Friendly Businesses enhance the quality of life for our residents and shows support for initiatives that raise the city’s Bronze bicycle-friendly status.
In May, Spoked Couriers, Microgrid Energy, Saint Louis Zoo, and Wells Fargo Advisors attended Trailnet on Tap: The Business of Biking to learn how to apply Bicycle Friendly Business status. At this event, Trailnet and guest speakers covered strategies to create a more bike friendly business and encourage car-free commuting among colleagues. Trailnet also presents lunch and learn sessions to the St. Louis businesses on Trailnet’s Shift Your Commute program to boost participation among employees.
Trailnet is thrilled to share this announcement and congratulates the four new St. Louis businesses on becoming leaders in the community. The Saint Louis Zoo is one of only two zoos in the nation to receive the honor and Spoked Couriers received a gold level status on their first application! Looking to the future, Trailnet seeks to build a network of Bicycle Friendly Businesses supporting and promoting our healthy, active initiative throughout the region.
Bicycle Friendly Businesses in the St. Louis region:
Gender equity, biking, and walking – a successful Arch Women event!
Despite the stormy weather, 37 people came out to learn about gender equity, biking, and walking. Atomic Cowboy created a warm and inviting space for us, with snacks and beer abound to offer reprieve from the chilly rain.
Trailnet’s TravelGreen Coordinator Molly Pearson opened the evening by discussing findings by the League of American Bicyclists’ Women Bike initiative, focusing on the Five Cs – Comfort, Convenience, Consumer Products, Confidence, and Community.
Urban designer Courtney Cushard discussed her expanding women’s group The Monthly Cycle. Faye Paige Edwards of GirlTrek addressed access to physical activity among women of color. Lastly, educator Leah Patriarco examined how street harassment affects if/how/when women choose to bike, walk, or take public transit.
Check out the slides below! Want to know more, or be put in touch with one of the presenters? Email Molly Pearson at molly@trailnet.org.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for a FUN women’s cycling event, check out The Diva Cup, hosted by The Monthly Cycle. Get your ticket now!
THANK YOU to all who came out for Arch Women: A Pedal-Powered Movement! Stay tuned for more to come.
Improving the Pedestrian Experience Workshop
Trailnet brought speakers from across the Midwest to participate in Streets for Everyone: Improving the Pedestrian Experience. The workshop, funded by the Laclede Group Foundation, was attended by sixty-five local professionals, including transportation planners, elected officials, academics, and public works employees. Discussions focused on how to design and build walkable communities and attempt to integrate a pedestrian perspective to help create a more walkable St. Louis. There is heightened concern for pedestrian safety in St. Louis because of recent statistics reflecting risks to pedestrians in the City: between 2006-2010, the City of St. Louis reported 1,800 pedestrian‐related motor vehicle crashes. These numbers have put St. Louis on the Federal Highway Adminstration’s list of Focus Cities, which identifies cities with the highest rates of pedestrian fatalities and severe crashes. The City of St. Louis, the Federal Highway Administration, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and other partners have drafted a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP) to help guide the region on how to reduce pedestrian related crashes in the City.
Where do we go from here?
Trailnet is excited to begin this dialogue around making the City attractive and safe for pedestrians and we hope that you will join us in this campaign. Working with local and regional partners, Trailnet will host a Walk Summit in 2015. The Walk Summit will serve as a call to action for community members, activists and organizers, elected officials, engineers, and transportation professionals to integrate the pedestrian perspective into their work and call for safe solutions to roadways that rank most dangerous for walkers. Adopting the PSAP will be an important first step in creating more pedestrian friendly roads in St. Louis.
How you can help
Be part of the effort to create a more walkable St. Louis by collecting data on pedestrian activity. Stand up and count as a volunteer at the 3rd Annual Bicycle and Pedestrian Counts next week.
Bike Count Data
Thank you to our volunteers who helped us count cyclists and pedestrians at 103 locations throughout the St. Louis Metro region this past September. Collecting such extensive data can be a real challenge, and it would not have been possible without them. We have summited the data to the National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project.
Despite the dangerously high temperatures, significant increases were observed at several locations.
Keep those wheels rolling through the cold! Bike, walk, or take transit to work and log your miles on shiftyourcommute.com. The program will keep track of your car-free trips, calories burned, and carbon emissions saved. Commuters who log the most car-free miles during the month of February will be entered to win some rad Trailnet gear. 
