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.

There have been quite a lot of recent letters to the editor in the KCStar about the Katy Trail connection. However, they have almost all been arguing about, did the Katy railroad really come to KC or not? Here are some recent letters give you the flavor: 1, 2.

These letters give those of us who support the Katy Trail Connection a perfect opportunity to respond with another letter.

Of course you can write whatever you like, but it would be natural to write a response be along the lines of, "we don't care what you CALL it, but we WANT it." And maybe briefly discuss just one benefit (tourism, health, fun, community obesity, high gas prices, whatever).

Send letters to letters@kcstar.com and include full name, city, and phone number.

Letters from outside the Kansas City area would be welcome--especially if they say how the Katy Trail Connection in KC might impact YOUR community (say, Clinton, Sedalia, Columbia, St. Louis, or another community that would now be connected to Kansas City via the Katy Trail).

We need to put pressure not only on our government officials but also the officials of the large corporations who own sections of the proposed Katy Trail Connection corridor (Union Pacific and AmerenUE).

Letters to the editor are a great way to do that. permanent link to article: "23 MAR 2005: Katy Trail Connection letters to editor needed"
posted by Brent Hugh at 3/23/2005 03:09:00 PM |comment on this article

[UPDATE 23 MARCH 2005: The bill passed out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation. It will come to a vote before the full Missouri Senate about March 29th. News story here. Update here.]

Missouri Bicyclists,

The big day has finally come! We are going to have a hearing on the bicycle safety bill that we have been working on for THREE YEARS in the Missouri legislature.

The hearing is Wednesday starting at 1PM in the Missouri Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Local Government Committee.

You could really help out by contacting members of the committee. I have listed them below, sorted by area. If you happen to live in a Senator's district (or even nearby), hearing from YOU, a constituent, would really make a huge difference.

Message (in your own words):

"Please support SB 372. It will help make the roads safer for bicyclists, pedestrians, and
motorists. It will help Missouri's economy by helping make Missouri more attractive to bicycle tourism."

You can email any Missouri senator here (just choose the name on the web form).

MEMBERS OF THE SENATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE:

Greater St. Louis area

John Greisheimer, Chair, (573) 751-3678, Franklin, Warren, and west St. Louis county

Harry Kennedy, (573) 751-2126, Parts of St. Louis County and St. Louis City

Greater Kansas City Area

Chris Koster, (573) 751-1430, Counties of Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon

Charles Wheeler, (573) 751-2788, Part of Jackson County

Yvonne Wilson, (573) 751-9758, Part of Jackson County

Branson area

Larry Taylor, Vice Chair, (573) 751-9806, Counties of Barry, Lawrence, McDonald, Ozark, Stone and Taney

Cape Girardeau area

Jason Crowell, (573) 751-2459, Counties of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott

Farmington area

Kevin Engler (bill sponsor), (573) 751-3455, Carter, Iron, Reynolds, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Washington and Part of Jefferson County

Jefferson City area

Carl Vogel, (573) 751-2076, Callaway, Cole, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan

Write any senator:

Senator's name
State Capitol Building
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101

Email a senator.

More contact info for all committee members(including fax #).

Bill Details:
The Senate Economic Development Committee will be particularly interested in how our bill may help tourism & economic development in Missouri. Here is how:

• With the Katy Trail and no less than four nationally recognized cross-country bicycle routes passing through Missouri, we have the potential to be a major force in the national bicycle tourism industry
  
  
• According to a recent study, bicycle tourism in Wisconsin represents 4-7% of Wisconsin's overall tourism income. With the Katy Trail and 5 cross-country routes (as many or more than any other state) Missouri has the potential to do this well or better. Yet we don't, because . . .
  
  
• Missouri has developed a reputation among cross-country bicyclists who use these nationally publicized routes, as the worst and most unfriendly state for bicycling along those routes.
  
  
• The legislation breaks no new ground at all, but simply brings Missouri "up to code" with what other states are already doing--making it clear that motorists cannot block a bicycle lane or pass unsafely, that bicyclists can ride on the shoulder (strangely enough, unclear in current MO law!), updating the definition of a bicycle.
  
  
• These safety provisions will be a good start in educating Missouri motorists to drive more safely around bicyclists. Motorists in other states do it, so can we.

The four cross country trails that pass through Missouri are:

TransAmerica route
Lewis & Clark route (Adventure Cycling)
Mississippi River Trail
American Discovery Trail

Full Bill text, summaries, legislative history, etc. on the Missouri Senate web site.
permanent link to article: "7 MAR 2005: Hearing on Bicycle Bill in MO Senate this week!"
posted by Brent Hugh at 3/07/2005 10:28:00 PM |comment on this article