St. Louis Complete Streets Bill MOVES!

Caption: An example of a Complete Street in Portland, which safely integrates bus service, cars, a streetcar, bicycles, and pedestrian travel.

We are thrilled to announce that the St. Louis Complete Streets bill successfully passed out of committee this morning, which means that it will head to the full Board of Aldermen for a final vote - perhaps as early as next week.

Alderman Shane Cohn, the sponsor of the bill, introduced the bill to the committee members and presented a strong case for the importance of a Complete Streets policy for the City of St. Louis. Todd Waeltermann (the Director of the Streets Department) and John Kohler (an engineer in the Board of Public Service) both testified strongly in support of the bill. Trailnet staff member Phil Valko also testified on on behalf of the bill. The committee members held a great discussion about the importance of Complete Streets for the well-being of our City. The main discussion point was not "Should the bill pass?" but instead, "How can we make sure St. Louis implements the policy once it passes?" Trailnet is looking forward to continue working with city staff and elected officials to develop an implementation plan and take meaningful steps towards the realization of Complete Streets once the bill passes.

The bill picked up three additional co-sponsors today: Aldermen Jeffrey Boyd, Marlene Davis, and Ken Ortmann.

The full board still needs to vote on the bill in the weeks ahead -- if you have not already contacted your Alderman to ask for their support, please do so today!

Click here to see the current list of sponsors.

Toolkit Reprint! Now available for FREE

Now available for FREE!

We just reprinted the Healthy, Active & Vibrant Community Toolkit, and we want you to have a copy of it. We are now able to offer hard copies of the Toolkit for FREE. If you would like the Toolkit mailed to you, there will be a $3 shipping charge.

The Toolkit is full of case studies, action steps, and useful resources for individuals and decision-makers interested in transforming their community into a place that supports resident health, from cradle to cane. At its core, the Toolkit is focused on creating long-term solutions to address the obesity epidemic. However, we built on this core focus to provide you with a series of recommendations that not only combat obesity but at the same time create communities that foster the highest quality of life and independence for residents of all ages. The Toolkit is right in-line with First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative.

The Toolkit presents an exciting vision for the future of our communities—a future built around quality of life, health, vibrant local economies, and the environment.

Targeted information is provided for the following groups:

• Schools, Childcare, and After-Care
• Community Residents
• Design Practitioners
• Faith-Based Organizations and Institutions
• Healthcare Providers
• Local Governments & Community Organizations
• State and Federal Governments
• Workplaces

If you would like to order a Toolkit, please email phil@trailnet.org.

You can also download a pdf of the Toolkit online for FREE at:
http://trailnet.org/HAVC_Toolkit.php

**We are able to make the Toolkit available for free with the generous support and partnership of the Saint Louis University School of Public Health.

Complete Streets Bill Introduced in St. Louis!

Photo Credit: streetswiki.wikispaces.com

Trailnet’s April 30th Livable St. Louis Conference ended with a BANG! Alderman Shane Cohn announced to conference attendees that only a few hours earlier he had introduced a Complete Streets bill to the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. Within a few short hours the St. Louis Complete Streets bill had attracted 11 Aldermanic co-sponsors from nearly every corner of the City, including more than half of the Streets, Refuse, and Traffic Committee members – a great sign that the bill has strong support.

What is a Complete Streets policy?
Complete Streets is a new way to look at transportation. For over 60 years, American communities have been shaped almost exclusively by the automobile. In our zeal for cars, we forgot about people. Streets got wider, traffic moved faster, metropolitan regions sprawled out across former agricultural land, and in many cases we altogether stopped building even the most basic pedestrian facilities - sidewalks. Like all unhealthy relationships, our obsession with cars has gone a little too far -- many Americans are dependent on their cars whether they like it or not. In many American communities, children cannot walk to school, seniors cannot live independently, and local economies have disappeared as auto-centric strip malls and big-box stores have forced the little guys out of business.

Complete Streets challenges this old way of thinking by giving all types of transportation, including walking, biking, public transportation, and cars, equal importance when building and maintaining streets. Complete Streets create safe travel environments for seniors, people with disabilities, and children.

Trailnet has been working with City staff and elected officials for nearly two years to get the Complete Streets policy to this point. Now we need your help to make sure the bill passes and gets signed into law. If you are a resident of the City of St. Louis, please call or email your Alderman today to ask them to support the bill. Even if your Alderman is already a co-sponsor, we encourage you to call them and thank them for their support moving the bill forward. Here is a list of Aldermen who are signed on as co-sponsors:

-Freeman Bosley Sr.
-Jeffrey Boyd
-Gregory Carter
-Stephen Conway
-Marlene Davis
-Jennifer Florida
-Dionne Flowers
-Antonio French
-Lyda Krewson
-Samuel Moore
-Ken Ortmann
-President, Lewis Reed
-Craig Schmid
-Kacie Starr Triplett
-Frank Williamson
-Phyllis Young

To learn more about Complete Streets policies and why they are important for creating healthy, active, and vibrant communities, please visit the National Complete Streets Coalition.

To find contact information for your Alderman, visit the St. Louis Board of Aldermen online.

Cleveland Incentivising Local Food

Caption: Poached Egg and hollandiase sauce smothering local sweet potato, mushrooms, and peppers. Local Harvest Cafe on Morganford in South St. Louis serves up tasty dishes with local foods.

The City of Cleveland has instituted a policy to promote local foods, offering certified “local sustainable businesses” a 5 percent discount on city contracts.

Green City Blue Lake reports that the incentive will offer a “huge advantage” because most city contracts are decided by less than 5 percent.

The legislation, however, won’t apply to the largest consumer, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

Still, city officials hope the policy will help stimulate a “self-help economy” and promote sustainability.

The idea emerged out of Cleveland’s newly established Office of Sustainability and is linked to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Food Policy Coalition. Here is the St. Louis Region, the Healthy Youth Partnership is forming a food policy council with leadership from MU Extension, Congressman Russ Carnahan's office, Gateway Greening, St. Louis University, Trailnet, and many more partners.

Read the full story here:
http://www.gcbl.org/blog/marc-lefkowitz/cleveland-adopts-local-food-incentives

Cycling Innovation Comes to Long Beach

Every great city needs a healthy dose of innovation. Cities need the space to experiment and imagine as they strive to be the best they can be.

Right now the hub of Long Beach innovation has been bringing the best of bicycle facilities to Long Beach so that everyone-from kids to grandparents-has a safe and enjoyable bicycling environment.

From separated cycle tracks to whimsical bike parking, check out what Long beach is doing.


Courtesy of StreetFilms.org: