Run or Walk for Haiti Tomorrow

An active lifestyle provides lots of benefits for us and our communities. Tomorrow, your run or walk can go even further and help support relief efforts in Haiti. Join the St. Louis Walk/Run for Haiti tomorrow in Forest Park. Registration is from 8:00 am to 8:55 am; the walk/run starts at 9:00am.

Participants can walk or run any distance of your choice. However, there will be a 3.5 and 7-mile loop. The 7-mile loop is symbolic to the magnitude of the earthquake. There will be volunteers holding up signs at every mile, so that walkers and runners get an approximation of their distance.

There's no set donation amount to participate in the walk/run. All proceeds go to the American Red Cross.

Visit the official website for more information.

Advance St. Louis on April 6!

Caption: High-speed rail announcement press conference

on January 28, 2010 at the Greyhound bus terminal.

On April 6, 2010, St. Louis County will get the opportunity to advance the region by passing a one-half of one percent sales tax to restore, operate, and expand MetroLink, MetroBus, disabled and senior public transportation.

This opportunity to support our public transportation has come at an important moment. The region will be receiving a high speed rail connection to Chicago and upgrades will be made to the Kansas City connections. We need Metro service to be restored and enhanced to allow for a seamless and efficient connection to the new high speed rail. We won't have high speed rail tomorrow but today is the day to start building the foundation to put St. Louis in the position to reclaim it's Gateway crown.

At the press conference this afternoon, Ed Montgomery, the White House Executive Director for Auto Communities and Workers, stressed that a high speed rail system will help get cars off the road, reduce oil dependence and emissions, create jobs, and revolutionize our transportation system.

So why does Trailnet care about light rail and high speed rail? Plain and simple, they support walking and biking as viable modes of transportation. Without viable regional and cross-state public transportation systems, it is nearly impossible to break the car habit. In addition to public transit, we also need good street-scale urban design (sidewalks, mixed-use districts, crosswalks, etc.) and community-scale urban design (neighborhoods that connect to one-another and to mixed-use centers) to create a walkable / bikeable region.

Our transportation system is inextricably linked to our competitiveness in the region and our quality of life. A strong Metro system will provide vital transportation options that give residents more choices to get around while providing opportunities for physical activity, improving air quality, and more community connections. A strong Metro system can also save us money--read Nini Harris' Post-Dispatch commentary on public transit and cost savings.

What can you do to get Prop A--Advance St. Louis passed on April 6? There will be lots of volunteer opportunities in the next couple of weeks but for starters you can donate to the campaign and help make phone calls at the SEIU Dialer Center. Information below. The contact is Kim Cella at Citizens for Modern Transit. kcella@cmt-stl.org

The SEIU Dialer Center

5585 Pershing Ave Suite 130

St. Louis, MO 63112

(Just a block from the Forest Park Metrolink Station)

Tuesdays 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Thursdays 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Saturdays 10:30 pm - 1:30 pm

Sundays 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm

St. Louis - Chicago Receives Highspeed Rail Funding

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Hot off the presses: The St. Louis to Chicago connection was awarded $1.1 billion dollars to develop a highspeed rail corridor. The St. Louis to Kansas City connection will receive an additional $31 million to upgrade rail lines to improve the route.

Ed Montgomery, White House Executive Director for Auto Communities and Workers is hosting a press conference right now at the new St. Louis multi-modal station. He seems like an ironic choice considering the project is a rail project...

More in the Post-Dispatch: http://tinyurl.com/y9tq3l8

Screening of FRESH - January 28th

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The Healthy Youth Partnership and Fair Shares CSA are hosting a screening of the movie FRESH this Thursday night, January 28th, 6:30pm @ the Schlafly Bottleworks.

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

Among several main characters, FRESH features urban farmer and activist, Will Allen, the recipient of MacArthur’s 2008 Genius Award; sustainable farmer and entrepreneur, Joel Salatin, made famous by Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma; and supermarket owner, David Ball, challenging our Wal-Mart dominated economy.

FRESH is 72 minutes long and the screening starts at 6:30pm. There is a $5 suggested donation to attend the event. The Schlafly Bottleworks is located in Maplewood at 7260 Southwest Avenue. Click HERE for a map.

STL Bike Plan: Get Involved with the Citizen Advisory Committee!

Caption: The St. Louis Bike Master Plan is in the works -
what do you have to say?

St. Louis region's Bicycle Master Plan (BMP) is underway and aims to develop on-road and multi-use trails for bicycle use, making the region more connected and conducive to active lifestyles. The BMP is a collaborative effort led by our friends at the Great Rivers Greenway District (GRG) and includes St. Louis City and County, St. Charles County, municipalities, Missouri Department of Transportation, Metro, the St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation, and, yours truly, Trailnet.

What can you do? Apply to be a part of the Citizens' Advisory Committee (CAC) to help GRG and the partnership create an implementable plan that will promote biking as a safe and enjoyable mode of transportation in the St. Louis region. The BMP is still in its first phase of collecting data and outlining objectives, and public input will be absolutely critical for the success of this phase.

Apply to be a part of the CAC here; the deadline for submission is Friday, February 19, 2010.

Learn more about the St. Louis Bike Plan online at: http://stlbikeplan.com/

Regional Food Summit

Caption: A bird's eye view of a supermarket. Is it food or just expensive marketing wrapped around food-like substances?

Have you read Fast Food Nation or The Omnivore's Dilemma? Have you seen King Corn, Food Inc., or Fresh? Do you wish it was easier to find fresh, healthy, and affordable foods in St. Louis? Do you want to work to combat the obesity epidemic? Do you want to meet like-minded people?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you need to attend the St. Louis Regional Food Summit on March 4th. The Regional Food Summit will feature breakout sessions on food access issues, production and distribution, healthy retail, and farm to school programs. Mark Winne, author of Closing the Food Gap and long-time director of the Hartford Food System, will be the keynote speaker. The event is being hosted by The Healthy Youth Partnership (HYP), a St. Louis regional partnership of organizations that works to eliminate youth obesity through collaborations that promote healthy eating and active living. Trailnet is a proud HYP partner.

This should be a great event! Early Bird registration is only $25 for the full day. There is also an evening reception, March 3 hosted at the Piper Palm House in Tower Grove Park.

St. Louis Regional Food Summit
March 4
8am - 4pm
Location: TBA

For more information and to register online, CLICK HERE.

Missouri: Now a Member of the SRTS Network

Missouri is one of nineteen states that was just awarded a grant to create a state-wide Safe Routes to School (SRTS) network. The Missouri SRTS network will work to increase the number of kids walking and bicycling to school by promoting the behavior of walking and biking AND working to improve walking and biking infrastructure and the policies that support such infrastructure. Trailnet is a proud member of the SRTS network, which is being coordinated by the Missouri Foundation for Bicycling and Walking.

To learn more about this great effort and how you can get involved, visit:
http://mobikefed.org/node/3742