Columbia Citizens Take to the Streets to Map Out New $25 Million Bicycle and Pedestrian Network

In July, 2005, Columbia was selected by the Federal Highway Administration to receive a $25 million Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program grant. The program, part of the 2005 federal transportation bill, aims to increase the frequency of bicycling and walking, decrease congestion and energy use, and promote better health and a cleaner environment in the four pilot communities.

As a pilot community, Columbia is responsible for effectively spending the $25 million on its pedestrian and bicycle network. Thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of an active living community partnership, community activists, and committed bicyclists and pedestrians, a comprehensive plan is being developed that identifies network priorities and meets the users' needs.

These groups gathered over several weekends at a local coffee shop to draft a Point of View document, an in-depth plan of pedestrian, bicycle and transit options for Columbia. The transportation network plan, or PedNet, is organized in a hub, spoke and wheel pattern. The hub, identified as downtown Columbia and the University of Missouri campus, anchors the center of the PedNet. From the hub, spokes feed outward to the edges of town along the best possible routes. Finally, the outward points of the spokes are connected by a beltway-like wheel route that completes the Columbia PedNet.

Finding the safest and most efficient routes is now the focus of a grassroots volunteer campaign. Utilizing a listserv of over 2,000 Columbia residents, volunteers were recruited to scout their local neighborhoods and identify potential spokes for the PedNet Point of View document. By incorporating the research and opinions of on-the-ground users, the document adds useful data about the barriers that these walkers and bikers face every day.

The completed PedNet plan will be presented to the city and an oversight committee for review. Using the detailed suggestions from the volunteers, researchers and professional infrastructure designers will survey the routes and develop the final plan for the pedestrian and bicycle network. In addition, several people involved with the original plan will sit on the oversight committee to ensure that the funding will be spent correctly.

The process has been both a top down and bottom up approach. With a plan informed by the users on the ground, an oversight committee including members of the local community, and professional transportation engineers, the Columbia PedNet is a model for effective and appropriate spending of federal bike/ped money. Next steps may include a charette by the transportation planners with vital stakeholder input and a public education campaign to inform people about Columbia's new transportation network.

The decision to award the $25 million -Motorized Transportation Pilot Program grant to Columbia came as a result of several key factors: Columbia's growing reputation with national advocacy groups as a hotbed of bike and pedestrian activism and infrastructure, its national recognition as an Active Living by Design Community Partnership, and the supportive leadership Columbia Mayor Darwin Hindman, Senator Kit Bond and many others. There are several key partners involved in this effort as well, including the City of Columbia, Columbia/Boone County Health Department, the University of Missouri, local schools, and Boone Hospital.

The PedNet Coalition has over 5,000 members dedicated to improving the quality of life in Columbia through the development of an integrated bicycling, wheeling, and pedestrian network. For more information, visit their website at http://www.pednet.org/welcome.html.

Resources

Columbia, MO Community Partnership Page

PedNet Point of View Document (pdf)