Advocacy Alerts

Send an email message in support of these issues in as little as two minutes:

Advocacy:

Paseo Bridge Bike/Ped Access: MoDOT is building a new quarter billion dollar bridge in the heart of Kansas City. It could provide the first safe bicycle/pedestrian crossing of the Missouri River near downtown Kansas City. We've been working on this for years and now it's going to move or die forever in the next month or so.

Advocacy:

Hwy 45 Bike/Ped Access: MoDOT is building a new highway through Parkville, Missouri. Guess what--their plans for accommodating bicycling and walking are inadequate, plus they forgot to include any funding for them.

Advocacy:

Bicycling License Plate: Many other states have 'Share the Road with Bicycles' license plates. Why not Missouri, too? In 1 minute you can show your support.

[UPDATE 22 JUNE 2004: This alert has now expired. Gov. Holden is planning to sign this bill today. See details here. Thanks to all who contacted the governor in support of this bill!]

What happened
You all probably know by now that our bicycle legislation was on the MO House calendar but didn't quite make it to the top before the session ended. The one bright spot, though, was that on the very last day of the session SB 810, which MoBikeFed also supports, passed the House by a vote of 140-0.

SB810 gives a degree of immunity from civil liability claims to property owners adjoining trails like the Katy Trail. This helps immensely in defusing property owner opposition to such trails.

Please note that, besides rail-trails like the Katy, this would apply to single-track trails, levee trails, and other trails that are part of a greenway system or trail network. It applies equally to paved and unpaved trails.

Now, however, Governor Holden may veto SB810. Bill supporters believe it will take hundreds of letters on the Governor's desk to avoid the possibility of veto.

What you can do (in about 2 minutes if you use email)
Contact Governor Holden with this message:

Trails like the Katy Trail [or insert your favorite trail here] are an important health, recreational, and economic resource in Missouri. Please support SB 810, which will remove impediments to creating additional trails like the Katy Trail in Missouri.

Contact information

Governor Bob Holden
Missouri Capitol Building, Room 216
PO Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0720

Telephone: (573) 751-3222
FAX: (573) 751-1495

Email: mogov@mail.state.mo.us

Complete SB810 text.

Click on comments (at the end of this message) for details and a sample letter from the Missouri Park and Recreation Association.
permanent link to article: "19 MAY 2004 [Expired]: Trails Bill Crisis--Letters Needed to Avoid Veto"
posted by Brent Hugh at 5/18/2004 11:28:00 PM |comment on this article

[UPDATE 12 May 2004: Even though the public meeting is past, please consider writing, calling, or emaiiling Olathe City about this important project--see the link below for contact info.]

When: Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Time: Anytime between 5:30 PM-7:30 PM
Where: Olathe City Hall, 100 E. Santa Fe (Kansas City area)
Reason: New Lone Elm Road & I-35 Interchange
Public Open House

WHY?

§ WE NEED YOUR HELP! Approximately 6 concerned bicyclists attended the first public meeting for the Lone Elm Interchange but our comments have not been addressed.
§ YOU need to speak up so your tax dollars reflect you interest and provide you with a safe transportation system.
§ Lone Elm Road is a popular cycling corridor and has been documented as such in the Johnson & Wyandotte County Bicycle Transportation Plan.
§ With the opening of the new Lone Elm Park and this new interchange, it will be a more dangerous corridor without your voice.

For more information go to: http://www.olatheks.org/Lone_Elm_Interchange

Many more voices are needed at this public open house format meeting to raise the importance of cycling issues and ensure our concerns are addressed. The City of Olathe, their consultants and KDOT must hear the needs of bicyclists if this new interchange is to be designed to safely accommodate on-road bicyclist. Comments may also be submitted to the City of Olathe at www.olatheks.org via Contact Us.

ON-ROAD BICYCLE ACCOMMODATION IS NOT BEING PROPOSED ON THIS CRITICAL I-35 CROSSING.

ONLY YOU CAN CHANGE THE FUTURE ON APRIL 21st!

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR SAFETY IN THE HANDS OF OTHERS
or
ASSUME OTHERS WILL SPEAK FOR YOU!

THE HARD FACTS

§ Lone Elm Road is frequent and popular route for many on-road bicyclists.
§ Newly opened Lone Elm Park, with its softball and soccer fields, has
significantly increased automobile traffic already.
§ Addition of this interchange will further increase traffic volumes.
§ In 20 years car and truck traffic projections are expected to quadruple.
§ Bicyclists deserve a safe roadway system.

WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?

Current roadway design:

§ Does not include wide outside lanes
§ Does not include bike lanes
§ Provides one multi-purpose trail on one side.
§ Projected traffic volumes warrant on-road bicycle specific accommodations.

WHAT'S THE BICYCLE FRIENDLY SOLUTION?

§ Express your concerns for your safety needs on Wednesday, April 21.
§ Ask for extra wide lanes for two-way shared auto and bicycle use in both directions in Phase 1.
§ Ask for 5' bike lanes in both directions as part of Phase 2 and the final
design.

YOUR FUTURE

With your input the Lone Elm Interchange can be a model facility for the Kansas City metro region, illustrating how automobile and full bicycle
accommodation can be accomplished. A model facility would provide a safe, friendly traveling environment for all motorists, on-road bicyclists and recreational trail users.

ACT NOW TO PRESERVE THIS BICYCLING CORRIDOR FOR THE FUTURE!

"A safe road for bicyclists is a safe road for all"
Dale Crawford, JCBC Advocacy Chair
www.jcbikeclub.org permanent link to article: "20 APR 2004: Cyclist support needed for improving Lone Elm Interchange (Olathe, KS)"
posted by Brent Hugh at 5/12/2004 01:05:00 AM |comment on this article

[UPDATE 17 MAY 2004: This alert has now expired. SB710 was placed on the House Calendar and made its way from about 36th position to about 20th position by the time the session ended. Unfortunately it never made it to the top of the calendar for a vote in the Missouri House. MoBikeFed is planning to try again next year, perhaps with a different strategy.]

What happened
SB 710 was passed by the MO Senate a few weeks ago. It was given a DO PASS recommendation from the Missouri House Transportation Committee last week. Finally, SB 710 is on the House calendar and had it's 3rd reading Thursday. But time is short--the legislative session ends next Friday, May 14th. (See details below.)

What you can do to help in 2 easy steps
1. Write/call house leadership, asking them to "Please support SB 710, child safety seat legislation handled by Rep. Dusenberg, and help it move forward to a vote in the House." Contacts:

Catherine Hanaway, Speaker, (573) 751-8510, fax 573-522-1972
chanaway@services.state.mo.us

Rod Jetton, Speaker Pro Tem, (573) 751-5912, fax 573-526-9804
Rod.Jetton@house.mo.gov

Jason Crowell, Majority Floor Ldr, (573) 751-2459, fax 573-651-9090
Jason.Crowell@house.mo.gov

2. Send a separate message thanking these four people for their support of the bike/ped/motorcycle provisions of SB710:

Larry.Crawford@house.mo.gov
Phone: 573-751-2134 Fax: 573-526-3994
(Chair of House Transportation Committee)

Gary.Dusenberg@house.mo.gov
Phone: 573-751-1487
(Handler/sponsor of SB710 in the House)

Jon Dolan
Phone: (573) 751-4964 Fax: (573) 751-9754
Email: http://www.senate.state.mo.us/email/mail_request.htm
(Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee)

Wayne Goode:
Phone: (573) 751-2420
Email: http://www.senate.state.mo.us/email/mail_request.htm
(Sponsor of SB 710)

Mailing address for all of the above is:
Senator or Representative X
201 West Capitol Avenue
Jefferson City MO 65101

Details
As I reported earlier, it is true the that the bike/ped/motorcycle provisions were stripped from the House version of SB 710. However, this is not as disastrous as it seems at first glance. Not just the bike/ped/motorcycle provisions, but *ALL* potentially controversial provisions were stripped from the House version of the bill, because sponsors felt it was the *only* way the bill could move forward in the House.

The atmosphere in the Missouri House is very volatile this year.

However, our sponsors and supporters in both the House and the Senate feel hopeful that at least some of the most important and least controversial bike/ped/motorcycle provisions will be added back when the House and the Senate reconcile their conflicting versions of SB 710 in conference committee.

Two things are important at this point:

1. SB 710 must pass the House. Even though the House version has no bike/ped/motorcycle provisions, passing the "stripped" SB 710 is the only way our bike/ped/motorcycle provisions have any hope of passing this year.

2. Conference committee members need to know, in a low-pressure, low-key sort of way, that there is plenty of constituent support for the bike/ped/motorcycle provisions. Conference committee members will likely include Crawford and Dusenberg (House), Dolan, Goode, and Bray (Senate), and possibly some others. permanent link to article: "7 MAY 2004 [Expired]: Last chance to help bike/ped legislation move forward"
posted by Brent Hugh at 5/07/2004 03:58:00 PM |comment on this article