In each of our monthly newsletters, Trailnet features a member of our community who is working toward Trailnet’s vision of Streets for All. Bill Coppel is our February 2025 Trailnet Champion!
A member of our Board of Directors from 2018 to 2024, Bill Coppel has been an incredible advocate for Trailnet, and St. Louis in general. During his time on Trailnet’s board, he served as the head of the nominations committee — a fitting position for a people-person and connector like Bill. He also served as board mentor to Cindy Mense, Trailnet’s CEO. He’s served as the Chief Client Growth Officer at TradePMP for the past two years, and earned his MBA from Washington University. An east coast native, he’s lived in St. Louis for 17 years, raising two children with his wife, Kathy. He’s always kept a busy professional schedule, but has made time for causes and organizations he believes in, such as KidSmart and the Missouri History Museum, and of course, Trailnet.
An avid cyclist, Bill has biked all over St. Louis and beyond with his family. In listening to him to talk about his adventures, his love of the area is evident. “We have cycled every inch of St. Louis from the north, farthest north side, all the way to the deepest south side of the city, to the western border, and, of course, to the river,” said Bill. “So we know every one of those neighborhoods, each one of them. And that’s another remarkable thing about St. Louis, is every neighborhood is very distinctive, and has its own personality.”
It was through the cycling community that Bill first heard of Trailnet. He joined the board not just because he wants safe streets for everyone, but also because of how safe streets can elevate a city. “Cities should be safe for non-vehicular transportation, whether you’re walking, cycling, or running — all of those things I think are incredibly important — but just as important is the fact that a city has to be inviting,” Bill said. “It has to be a safe city. It’s got to have opportunity, and what we’re doing with streets is helping to revitalize this city, and making it an attractive destination for companies, businesses, and people wanting to move here.”
Trailnet has benefited greatly from Bill’s wisdom as he helped shape and guide many of our campaigns. “I think a lot of the work we’ve done on calming streets, in the neighborhoods within the city for traffic calming, putting in bike lanes, putting in pedestrian crosswalks, and particularly in school areas — it’s great. We’ve been involved with doing all of that and more. I’m really proud of the work Trailnet has done.”
We’re deeply grateful for Bill’s time on our board, and are inspired by his advocacy for safer streets, and St. Louis overall.
In each of our monthly newsletters, Trailnet features a member of our community who is working toward Trailnet’s vision of Streets for All. In November 2024, we featured Ryan Hanlon.
Ryan Hanlon is our Trailnet Champion of November! If you haven’t met Ryan before, he is the owner and creative director at Route 3 Films. Route 3 Films has been in business since 2013 and creates content for schools, nonprofits, and small businesses. In his free time, he enjoys tinkering with vintage race cars with his son and father. They are currently restoring a 1980 Jeep CJ5 most of which he plans to use for ice cream runs with his daughter. He loves to mountain bike and climb, camp, and hike with his family and friends.
Ryan is an avid lover of the outdoors and began his volunteering journey with the Ozark Trail Association as a trail crew leader, donor and consultant in 2008. He now serves many groups including the Infrastructure Committee of the Holly Hills Small Business District as chairman and The Friends of Carondelet Park as a board member. He recently created a coalition to spearhead the first and only mountain bike trail in the city of St. Louis which was completed on November 9th in Carondelet Park. The trail will be a hub for practices and racing events for the South City Otters. Ryan believes the trail to be perfect for entry level or intermediate riders and that it is also a great place to walk in the woods for a “city” hike. The trail measures about 1 mile.
Ryan began working with Trailnet when the Holly Hills Infrastructure sub-committee began its work to calm the traffic in their Small Business District. He has been working closely with Trailnet planners Bryce Monser and Erich Hellmer on the project to examine each street, determine its challenges, and seek solutions. “St. Louis is blessed to have Trailnet right here to help us make smart, modern, and safe choices as we work to make our city the best place it can be,” said Ryan. This project is entering its final stages and the team plans to begin implementing their solutions in 2025.
Trailnet’s work is important to Ryan as he has seen, while traveling, what other cities have done to create safe spaces for pedestrians and cyclists, while still helping motorists. His goal in working with Trailnet is “to keep traffic flowing safely and slightly slower in Holly Hills but make sure the pedestrian and the cyclist are safe and welcomed”. Ryan loves St. Louis and its architecture and wants to maintain that. He believes we can come up with creative ideas to maintain that but making our streets safer for everyone. “I believe that Trailnet has not only safety top of mind but creating solutions that flow with the sense of place in the neighborhoods and streets they serve”, said Ryan. We have loved working with Ryan, and are excited to see what the future holds!
