MARC News

Transportation committee makes bicycle/pedestrian crossing recommendations

Oct. 30, 2006

The Total Transportation Policy Committee (TTPC) met on Tuesday, October 24, 2006, and considered recommendations from the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and MARC’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) concerning the "Bicycle/Pedestrian Missouri River Crossing Feasibility Study." MoDOT was directed by the Federal Highway Administration to respond to community feedback by making a commitment to a bicycle/pedestrian crossing in the final Environmental Impact Statement for the new Paseo Crossing. MoDOT and MARC sponsored a feasibility study to examine several bridges in the area around the Paseo Crossing.

The TTPC reached a unanimous decision to approve the BPAC recommendations with two revisions. The following motions passed unanimously and will be sent to the MARC Board on October 31, 2006 as follows.

  1. “We recommend that high quality, safe, practical and appropriate bicycle pedestrian accommodations be on or adjacent to the Paseo from Front Street to 16th Street, and that this be explicitly included in the RFP/RFQ for design.
  2. We recognize that the Heart of America Bridge is currently an option for bicycle/pedestrian access across the Missouri River and needs significant improvements to increase the safety of all users; and therefore we recommend the necessary improvements be made as soon as practicable by MoDOT.
  3. MARC and MoDOT will work cooperatively with other appropriate stakeholders to further explore some of the crossings evaluated in this study as well as others.”

While MARC’s role in projects using state and federal funds does mean that it is involved in the planning and approval process for the project, it also has an advisory role to provide feedback from the community about its wishes for transportation facilities. MARC will continue to work closely with MoDOT to achieve a solution that is both economically viable and meets the needs of the region’s citizens, especially those who wish to see an increase in bicycling and walking facilities that make it easier to travel across major barriers like the Missouri River and throughout the region.

More information on the I-29/I-35 project may be found on the MoDOT Web site.


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