Bike plan remains on a roll

CAMPO open house draws another crowd of cycling fans; no opposition has surfaced

Advisory bike lanes are established on Bolivar Street in Jefferson City, as shown in this Sept. 23, 2016 photo.
Advisory bike lanes are established on Bolivar Street in Jefferson City, as shown in this Sept. 23, 2016 photo.

If there is an anti-bike movement afoot in Jefferson City, it has yet to roll into the public discussion that has been spinning since an April 2015 public hearing about the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) bike plan.

The 17th meeting to examine the evolving Capital Area Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan drew a steady stream of happy pedalers to City Hall on Thursday. Consistent with the first 16 gatherings, no cynics or sourpusses showed up to oppose the steady stream of proponents who ambled through the three-hour exhibit.

"We've had over 300 individuals attend these meetings," said Alex Rotenberry, a CAMPO transportation planner. "In my 13 years of doing these things, I've never seen such an enthusiastic and positive group of people turn out for public meetings. Everyone we've seen and heard from has been positive. We knew we couldn't move this project forward without the enthusiasm of the public and we've validated that with these meetings, which clearly establish the viability of a biking and walking plan in the community."

The planning area includes Holts Summit, Jefferson City, Lake Mykee, St. Martins, Taos, Wardsville and other parts of Cole and Callway counties.

Katrina Williams, one of Rotenberry's colleagues on the CAMPO staff, attended a meeting of the St. Martins board of aldermen Wednesday night. She encountered a highly engaged public panel keen to see the plan implemented because of the stimulus it would provide for a system of safe walkways for children headed to the local elementary schools.

St. Martins is one of seven entities on the plan steering committee, joining Jefferson City, Cole County Public Works, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Highway Administration and the Missouri Bicyclist and Pedestrian Federation.

The plan is striving to bring safety, connectivity and mobility to the Jefferson City area. The drivers underneath those goals are improvements in health, the economy, the environment and accessibility. Paramount among the economic development factors, Rotenberry said, is enhanced tourism inextricably linked to the acceptance of Jefferson City as a recognized "bike town."

Given the total absence of negative comment, Rotenberry, Williams and teammate Sonny Sanders expect the proposal to be up for a vote before the CAMPO board of directors next Wednesday. Cole County Eastern District Commissioner Jeff Hoelscher is CAMPO chairman, but was not at the open house. An affirmative vote from the CAMPO board will trigger a request for support from the City Council and potential implementation of the plan in early 2017.

On the horizon, the CAMPO officials anticipate a unified thrust to achieve designation for Jefferson City as a Bike Friendly City. Columbia already holds such a distinction, Sanders pointed out. 

Biking Magazine has named Minneapolis, Portland, Boulder, Colorado, Seattle and Eugene, Oregon as the nation's top five bike towns. Kansas City is 33 and St. Louis is 38.

Related articles:

CAMPO plan for cyclists, pedestrians ready for trial spin in public Thursday (Oct. 11, 2016)

Cycling the downtown circuit (Aug. 8, 2016)

Cycling keeps riding forward thanks to more infrastructure and interest (June 29, 2016)

CAMPO seeks input on bike/pedestrian plan (June 26, 2016)