Bike lanes pedal into Holts Summit

Bike lanes are connecting cyclists to cities across Cole and Callaway counties.

The painting of sharrows - or shared-lane markings - began Thursday in Holts Summit, expanding Healthy Schools and Healthy Communities' efforts to empower cyclists through shared bike lanes.

Ashley Varner, Healthy Schools Healthy Communities coordinator at Capital Region Medical Center, has worked with local government entities over the past two years to get bike lanes on roads throughout the city.

Now, cyclists have the opportunity to safely share the roads with other motorists, and Varner has brought that same opportunity a little farther north to Holts Summit.

"The bike lanes further promote awareness and safety, emphasizing that cyclists are motorists too and have the right of way when they are on the road," Varner said. "Over the past two years, I've seen a continued growth of cyclists, and we have an amazing resource of the Katy Trail right between Jefferson City and Holts Summit."

The bike lines were painted on South Summit Drive as far north as the Route OO exit, starting where Cole and Callaway counties' lines meet and ending at the old North City Limits. Each of the sharrows are painted approximately 500 feet apart.

"There are kids cycling to and from school and people coming in off of the Katy Trail, and not to even mention the pedestrian trail in Jefferson City," Varner said. "This is a multi-mobile activity piece connecting Jefferson City to Holts Summit through cycling. It also connects the entire state to Holts Summit because the Katy Trail goes east to west across the state and now people can come in off that exit and help the economy of our community as well."