Your Opinion: More to do on Missouri Boulevard

Dear Editor:

As every driver, pedestrian and bicyclist who attempts to navigate Missouri Boulevard knows, it is not a safe street. Congratulations to the City Council and MoDOT for their cooperation on a sidewalk restoration project. Once completed pedestrians ability to walk safely will be dramatically improved.

A recently released report, Missouri Boulevard Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Transit Safety Assessment highlights many of the safety concerns that Jeffersonian's know all too well: the sidewalks are unsafe or non-existent; there are very few ways to cross the boulevard safely and the current crossings are poorly marked and too far apart; there are no stop lights between Dix and Stadium, leaving a long and dangerous stretch of roadway that encourages speeding and gives no safe way for pedestrians to cross.

Bicyclists have no assurance that they can ride on the boulevard safely. The road itself is not conducive to sharing the road with cyclists. There are not enough "share the road" signs. Information about the availability of the Greenway (which basically parallels the boulevard and could be a safe alternate route) is not evident nor are there sufficient access points to the Greenway. For citizens that ride the bus to work or to shop on Missouri Boulevard, the bus stops and shelters are nice, but getting to them or crossing the street for access to them is not easy and in some cases not really possible.

The safety assessment highlighted many of the problems for pedestrians, bikers and transit riders. There needs to be attention focused also on the safety of drivers. In a recent 10-day period, June 27-July 6, five vehicle accidents, with damage, were reported in the police report section of the paper.

It is time for Jefferson City and MoDOT, who share the responsibility for Missouri Boulevard, to move the safety of everyone who must encounter Missouri Boulevard to the top of the list. The sidewalk project is a good first step but there is much more to do.

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