Missouri Bicycle News

Senator Kit Bond's office announced today that as part of the TEA-21 renewal bill soon to pass both chambers of Congress, four communities were chosen to receive funding to complete an entire, interconnected network of sidewalks and trails. The four cities are an experiment to see if making the whole city bicyclable and walkable will have tangible benefits in lowering congestion and pollution.

One of the three cities selected for this experiment is Columbia, Missouri.

Columbia will receive $25 million in federal funds that will be used to complete their already planned system of sidewalks, paths, bikeways, and pedways. Columbia also recently approved a major update to the major street plan to make all streets more walkable and bicyclable.

It couldn't have happened to a nicer city--Columbia is already one of the most bicyclable, walkable cities in Missouri.

Columbia already has tremendous public support for bicycling and walking, an active, influential advocacy group, and a very supportive mayor.

If anyone can make a success of this, Columbia can!

The following articles have information about this project along with moredetails of the TEA-21 renewal bill that will soon pass, and which will set federal transportation policy for the next several years:

• Associated Press article (KCStar, registration required).
  
• Senator Kit Bond's Press Release.
  
• Columbia Missourian article about the Columbia bike/ped project
  

Related:

News: Trail between Columbia and Centralia in central Missouri proposed

News: Columbia MO bike-ped pilot program in the news

permanent link to article: "Columbia, MO, to receive $25 million to become bicycleable, walkable community"
posted by Brent Hugh at 7/29/2005 12:07:13 AM |comment on this article