News from MO Bike Fed

REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS THIS MONTH!
1. Not Guilty verdict in the Gaunt double fatality case a "call to action":
http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/gaunt-case-call-to-action-for-cyclists.php
2. Missouri’s Primary Elections Tuesday, August 5th—please vote!
3. Tour of Missouri still needs 1000 more volunteers—sign up here:
http://mobikefed.org/tourofmissouri/2008/07/tour-of-missouri-still-needs-1000-more.php
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MISSOURI BICYCLE FEDERATION NEWS, MAY 2008 - IN THIS ISSUE
0. Executive Director's Note
1. Not Guilty Verdict in Gaunt Double Fatality Case
2. Kansas City to go "from worst to first" in bicycling
3. New bicycle club formed in Maryville
4. Tacks placed on road at Show-Me Games--and now RAGBRAI
5. GetAbout Columbia settles on priority project list 6. Funding for Chain of Rocks Bridge under discussion
7. St. Joseph adds 4 miles of new trails
8. St. Louis adds 150 new miles of bike trails and on-street routes
9. Cape Girardeau to post 265 Share the Road signs
10. Kansas City adopts groundbreaking Climate Protection Plan with bike/ped elements
11. Springfield 1/8 cent transportation tax includes bicycling & walking, vote Tuesday
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S NOTE
I’ll be honest.
The verdict in the Gaunt trial stunned me.
Two bicyclists, riding on a popular bicycle route, doing exactly what they should, perfect visibility, wide road, plenty of room to go around.
But the motorist doesn’t.
And hits them.
And kills two valued members of our community.
And then is acquitted--of all charges.
That’s hard for me to understand.
Could any good could come out of such a terrible situation?
I’ve been thinking about that quite a lot this month. There is absolutely nothing that can replace the precious lives of Sierra and Larry Gaunt.
But is there *anything* good that can come out of this terrible situation?

* The prosecutor *did* bring charges--serious charges of involuntary manslaughter. The driver faced up to 14 years in prison. He faced serious charges and serious jeopardy. And as part of the bail agreement, his driving privileges were suspended for over 6 months. So many times police and prosecutors are reluctant to bring these charges. But here are police and prosecutors who did what they should--treating a serious situation in a serious way.

* We have known for years that Missouri traffic law has a serious flaw--no middle ground for bad, dangerous drivers between a slap-on-the-wrist traffic fine and hard prison time. The traffic fine does nothing to change their behavior and we have long argued that juries are generally unwilling to put drivers in prison for their driving, no matter how bad or reckless.

Now we have dramatic proof that this is right, and some real changes need to happen. We’ve been working to address this for years. This verdict will help us change our law for the better and do a better job of keeping bad, dangerous drivers off the road.

* The Gaunt family has pledged to help us change the law. And they are powerful allies.
These changes can’t come too soon--because I’m sure you’ve noticed just as I have: the spike in gas prices has brought out so many more people bicycling and walking in Missouri. Some have estimated as much as 2-4 times as much walking and bicycling in their communities this spring and summer, compared with previous years.

Despite that, injuries for bicycling and walking in Missouri are going down, not up!
I asked MoDOT and the Highway Patrol for a mid-year update on those figures, and both walking and bicycling injuries are well below their usual levels for this time of year. The figures are certainly not above their previous levels--which one might expect with a greatly increased amount of walking and bicycling.

We’ll see if that holds up for the entire year.

But it looks like a trend noticed across many different cities and countries is now being seen right here in Missouri: more people walking and bicycling makes drivers more aware of pedestrians and bicyclists, and that makes the roads safer for everyone.

Hope to see you on the road or on the trail!
--Brent
director@mobikefed.org

P.S. THANK YOU and a big shout-out to our NEW email newsletter editor, Karta Purkh Khalsa. As you can see, he's done a great job in summarizing all the most important news this month!

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1. NOT GUILTY VERDICT IN GAUNT DOUBLE FATALITY CASE

The jury in the Gaunt double fatality case returned a verdict of "not guilty" in the case in which William Johnson was charged with two counts of manslaughter.
Prosecutors maintained that Johnson was driving 54 MPH in a 45 MPH zone and saw the bicyclists at least 12 seconds before hitting them. Rather than moving into the adjoining lane, which was empty, he drifted onto the shoulder.
Johnson claimed that the bicyclists swerved over in front of him, and although he saw bicyclists in the area frequently (he lives near the area the collision took place, and it is one of the most popular bicycle routes in the metro area), he didn't move over when he saw a bicyclist because that wasn't his driving style.

For the complete story please go to the links below.
http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/more-details-about-gaunt-double.php
http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/gaunt-case-call-to-action-for-cyclists.php
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2. KANSAS CITY TO GO FROM 'WORST TO FIRST' IN BICYCLING

Kansas City's Fox 4 News had a follow-up today on a recent incident where a driver allegedly followed two bicyclists, bumped them with his vehicle, and then assaulted one of the bicyclists.
The driver was charged with assault and the trial will be held in Kansas City, Missouri's, Municipal Court Monday. Bicyclists from the metro area are planning to attend in support.
The report goes into some detail about the current state of affairs for bicyclists in the Kansas City Metro area. KCMO Mayor Mark Funkhauser is interviewed, acknowledging that there are problems but also outlining the city's current moves to address those problems.
In Funkhauser's words, Kansas City is planning to go "from worst to first"
in bicycling.

http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/kansas-city-to-go-from-worst-to-first.php
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3. NEW BICYCLE CLUB FORMED IN MARYVILLE
According to a Maryville Daily Forum: There is a new organization of bicyclists in Maryville, MO. So seeing 20 or more bicyclists riding along
71 Highway may not be such a strange phenomenon at all.
http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/new-bicycle-club-formed-in-maryville.php
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4. TACKS PLACED ON ROAD AT SHOW-ME GAMES AND ON IOWA’S RAGBRAI.

Someone--apparently purposefully--placed tacks on the road to flatten bicycle racers' tires at the recent Show-Me Games held in Callaway County, Missouri.
Now dozens of riders are reporting tacks thrown on the ride during a stage of RAGBRAI held in Story County, Iowa. Law enforcement officials believe those tacks were placed on purpose as well.
http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/tacks-placed-on-road-at-show-me-games.php
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5. GETABOUT COLUMBIA SETTLES ON PRIORITY PROJECT LIST

At a public hearing Tuesday night, Columbia, MO, city council members heard public testimony and narrowed down a list of projects that will received funding through the federal Non-motorized Pilot Project.
The project is designed to give four cities/regions around the country a funding boost for bicycle/pedestrian projects, proving that such an effort can be a realistic part of addressing the nation's transportation, congestion, emissions, and energy problems.

http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/getabout-columbia-settles-on-priority.php
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6. FUNDING FOR CHAIN OF ROCKS BRIDGE UNDER DISCUSSION

TrailNet has been in discussion with the city of Madison over ongoing funding needed to keep the Chain of Rocks Bridge open. According to an article in the Granite City Press-Record:
http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/funding-for-chain-of-rocks-bridge-under.php

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7. ST JOSEPH ADDS 4 MILES OF NEW TRAILS

With three more sections of St. Joseph’s hiking and biking trail system set to open later this summer, things are looking up for recreational bicyclists and those trying to save money.
"We’ve seen commuter cycling go up, like, 1,000 percent," said Sean Force, owner of Forces of Nature Cycling & Outdoors. "Before, it would have been for exercise, but now we actually see those trails becoming more of a link across the city for people going to and from work."

http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/st-joseph-adds-4-miles-of-new-trails.php
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8. ST LOUIS ADDS 150 NEW MILES OF BIKE TRAILS AND ON-STREET ROUTES

Great Rivers Greenway District recently announced the opening of over 150 new miles of trails and on-street bicycle routes--including the fact that St. Louis is only the third city in the world to convert an elevated railroad trestle to a multi-use trail. The trestle connects to the new McKinley Bridge Bikeway, which creates another great bicycle and pedestrian link across the Mississippi River near downtown St. Louis.

http://mobikefed.org/2008/06/st-louis-adds-150-new-miles-of-bike.php
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9. CAPE GIRARDEAU TO POST 265 SHARE THE ROAD SIGNS

On July 21, $20,000 in funds for bike awareness signs was approved by the Cape Girardeau City Council. The plan calls for 265 signs that say "Share the Road" to be placed near the main thoroughfares in the city.
"The idea was to come up with a way for bicyclists to have a safe way to get around Cape," said Eric Redinger, who helped write the plan's language.

http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/cape-girardeau-to-post-265-share-road.php
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10. KANSAS CITY ADOPTS GROUNDBREAKING CLIMATE PROTECTION PLAN WITH BIKE/PED ELEMENTS

The City Council of Kansas City, Missouri, adopted a groundbreaking Climate Protection Plan this week. Thanks to the advocacy of MoBikeFed working together with local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups and clubs, the plan will include some important bicycle and pedestrian elements:
* Commit to following the requirements for bicycle/pedestrian access in new and altered infrastructure.
* "Complete Streets" policy that all new construction and repair is considerate of a range of complementary uses, including transit, pedestrians & bicyclists
* 1% of all transportation infrastructure expenditures for bicycling; increase bicycling from 0.4% of all trips to 5.4% of all trips
* 2% of all transportation infrastructure expenditures for walking; increase walking from 3.9% of all trips to 8.9% of all trips

http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/kansas-city-adopts-groundbreaking.php
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11. SPRINGFIELD 1/8 CENT TRANSPORTATION TAX INCLUDES BICYCLING & WALKING

Springfield has proposed a renewal of its current 1/8 cent transportation tax. The vote will be held during the regular Missouri primary election next Tuesday, August 5th, 2008.
For the first time, the ballot language for the Springfield tax renewal includes some language about funding bicycle and pedestrian projects.
If you live in Springfield, please be sure to get out and vote on this important issue Tuesday, August 5th.

More info:
http://mobikefed.org/2008/07/for-first-time-springfile-18-cent.php
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The Missouri Bicycle Federation is a coalition of bicycling, walking, running, and trails organizations representing over 15,000 Missourians and speaking for the 2 million Missourians who bicycle regularly and the 5.8 million who walk.
The Missouri Bicycle Federation is working to realize its vision of active transportation in Missouri by creating a world-class bicycle and pedestrian network in Missouri, building a movement around walking and bicycling, encouraging more walking and bicycling, and increasing safety for all road users.

www.MoBikeFed.org/vision
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Dr. Brent Hugh, LCI #1335 Director@MoBikeFed.org
Executive Director --- Missouri Bicycle Federation
www.MoBikeFed.org 816-695-6736
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