Gateway Bike Plan Calls for 1,000 Miles of Lanes and Trails In and Near St. Louis

By Chad Garrison Tue., Dec. 13 2011 at 2:05 PM

Great Rivers Greenway yesterday released an online copy of its Gateway Bike Plan that calls for 1,011 miles of bike lanes, shared use lanes and other bicycle facilities throughout St. Louis, St. Louis County and urbanized areas of St. Charles County.

The plan is to be put into effect over the next twenty years. A hundred area municipalities participated in drafting the plan, as did the Missouri Department of Transportation, Metro, East-West Gateway Council of Governments and Trailnet.

"Connecting communities, promoting good health and providing transportation alternatives are just the beginning of creating a vibrant region," says Susan Trautman, executive director of Great Rivers Greenway. "The Gateway Bike Plan helps to foster the development of safer cycling routes,"

Let's hope so. In the meantime, it would just help if St. Louis motorists would be more willing to share a lane with bicyclists. That's just this bike commuter's opinion, anyway.

Maps and other documents for the plan can be downloaded at stlbikeplan.com.

Tags:

Gateway Bike Plan, Great Rivers Greenway, St. Louis biking

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Conservative Values

If we'd lower the amount of public subsidy that goes to maintain an antiquated preference for single-occupant automobile traffic, we'd have plenty of funds to pay for bike lanes, sidewalks, and improved transit options.

KIMBO

Urbanized areas of st. shucks? Like NEWTOWN?

ihtnep

Bike trails are fine, but it is essential that motorists understand they are not the only ones with the right of way. I live in Tokyo, and it is a great bicycle city. Everybody shares the road with few problems. I just try not to get in anyone's way, make sure I have blinking lights, and we get along.

Mike N.

At the same time, it's important for cyclists to realize the same thing; more often than not I see cyclists blowing stop signs and failing to signal turns. I think a lot of people who ride on the street don't understand that they need to follow all the same traffic laws as motorists. That being said, getting people out of their cars and onto bikes and making the city more bike-friendly is definately a good thing.

Douglas Duckworth

How will it be funded?

Aireensmith

I am glad to read the post you have posted! Thanks for the informative post!

Herbie Markwort

The STL Bike Plan is great and all, but it's worthless if regional governments don't step up, adopt, and implement it's ideas. E.g. St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic: As a matter of policy, we don't build dedicated bike lanes."