The Missouri Department of Transportation [MoDOT] manages the United States' 7th-largest highway network, yet the vast majority of those facilities do not support the needs of vulnerable road users, who are the roadway users such as walkers, bikers, wheelchair users, and transit riders that are most at-risk for traffic violence. Without a statewide mechanism to coordinate and develop active transportation projects, we are missing out on critical opportunities to transform our transportation system into one that meets the needs of all Missourians, regardless of how you travel.
Fortunately, MoDOT is set to update Missouri's long-range transportation planning document, and there may be no better opportunity than now to establish a system for statewide active transportation planning. And because MoDOT recognizes safety issues faced by vulnerable road users, a changing demand for more transportation options, and the quality of life gained by developing active transportation infrastructure, we are encouraged that MoDOT will seek solutions to meet the needs of all Missouri roadway users.
A statewide active transportation plan is a crucial guiding document that can support the development of a robust system of accessible transportation connections for communities of all sizes. Missouri is the most populous of 7 states lacking a specific plan for active transportation.
Why a Statewide Plan for 'Active Transportation'?
MoDOT's Long-Range Transportation Plan
Missouri's transportation system is informed by the long-range transportation plan [LRTP], most recently adopted by MoDOT in 2018.
The LRTP "sets the 25-year vision for the state’s transportation system and establishes goals and objectives," and affirms Missouri’s statewide transportation planning framework. Despite this, MoDOT projects are predominantly geared specifically towards road and bridge projects, and most active transportation and other multimodal projects are identified through our statewide planning framework as "unfunded needs."
A new LRTP is set to be updated by December 31st, 2025. In the new update, several aspects of MoDOT's 2018 LRTP justify further attention toward active transportation within our statewide planning framework:
MoDOT's goals of operation guide MoDOT through all aspects of their work when delivering projects to Missourians. In MoDOT's 2018 LRTP update, four existing goals were validated as important for MoDOT to retain, plus a new fifth goal:
Take care of the transportation system and services we enjoy today
Keep all travelers safe, no matter the mode of transportation
Invest in projects that spur economic growth and create jobs
Give Missourians better transportation choices
Improve reliability and reduce congestion on Missouri’s transportation system
These goals can be achieved through active transportation planning and investments. The United States Department of Transportation [USDOT] breaks down how active transportation projects support MoDOT's goals, with their 'Benefits of Active Transportation and Active Transportation Infrastructure' webpage.
Safety
Economic Activity
Outdoor Spaces
Equitable Access
Physical/Mental Health
Traffic Congestion
MoDOT's goal #4 as defined in the LRTP is to "Give Missourians better transportation choices." A statewide active transportation plan would specifically poise Missouri for better transportation choices. Freedom of movement through "Transportation choice" is key for the 1/3rd of Missourians without a driver's license, but without proper planning, there is little direction for how we get there.
During Missouri's 2018 LRTP update, MoDOT conducted a citizen's survey (LRTP Executive Summary, p. 16) that conveys Missourians' needs clearly:
There are several key takeaways from this survey:
Safety is of critical interest to Missourians, in a state where 'vulnerable road users' are increasingly more likely to face death and injury due to traffic violence.
Transportation choice remains a priority, and Missourians thought it was more important to be "seeking new revenue for other transportation options" than to be "expanding the transportation system (adding new lanes, building new roads and interchanges)."
Increased investments in transportation choice can address the new goal from the 2018 LRTP update, "Improve reliability and reduce congestion"
MoDOT's 2018 LRTP lays out these trends for our transportation future:
"Emerging trends include an aging population, increasing urbanization, a younger population that isn’t as interested in driving and advanced technology. These trends may combine in ways that significantly alter transportation needs. In addition, other trends likely to require evaluation of investment priorities include changing highway capacity needs, the expanding desire or need for a more robust multimodal transportation system, and the development of infrastructure required to sufficiently adapt to advancing technologies."
For Missouri to be prepared for our transportation future, we need to establish a Missouri transportation framework that invests in transportation funding for our future.
Benefits of Statewide Active Transportation Planning
A statewide active transportation plan would work in tandem with our long-range transportation plan, other MoDOT planning documents, and MoDOT's Engineering Policy Guide to address Missourians' needs for transportation choice.
Here are a ways a statewide active transportation plan can benefit our transportation system:
Opportunity with a Statewide Active Transportation Plan
One of MoDOT's primary goals is to "Keep all travelers safe, no matter the mode of transportation." MoDOT adopted a highway safety plan, Show Me Zero: Driving Missouri Toward Safer Roads [Missouri’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, 2021-2025], to tackle roadway safety in Missouri.
A key Show Me Zero recommendation is for local governments to "Adopt design standards that encourage alternate modes of travel and enhance safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and other non-motorized users" (p. 33). If local governments are directed to work on safety with enhanced infrastructure for vulnerable road users, MoDOT and its more than 34,000 miles of road–through school zones, by hospitals, and along business districts–must also follow these recommendations.
The Show Me Zero highway safety plan primarily identifies solutions to counteract dangerous driver behaviors. A statewide active transportation plan would solidify safer infrastructure design standards for vulnerable road users and incorporate these standards into our statewide transportation planning framework and funding distribution. Simply put, safer infrastructure options for vulnerable road users will save lives.
Safety improvements can also be made through policy recommendations. For example, if the statewide active transportation plan recommends a Complete Streets policy for implementation, a Complete Streets policy can guide MoDOT–as funding allows–for which situations to incorporate safer infrastructure design standards for vulnerable road users.
Current Status
Missouri's Show Me Zero plan primarily addresses behavior, with vulnerable road users as a specific target:
Missouri has a poor state of roadway safety, attributed most commonly to two factors:
Driver behavior: Missouri has relatively relaxed driver safety laws: no driver's education is required, open containers are permitted, and Missouri was the second-to-last state to outlaw distracted driving for all drivers in 2023.
Amount of travel: A recent report indicated Missouri drivers annually drive amongst the top five of all states in terms of the number of miles per capita. The high number of miles per capita traveled in Missouri can be attributed in part to the lack of alternative transportation options.
The safety for vulnerable road users in Missouri paints an even more grim picture, as our roadways are becoming increasingly less safe for vulnerable road users:
Show Me Zero recognizes that a "group warranting special attention in this plan is pedestrians and other non-motorized road users (e.g., bicycles, scooters). More than 100 of these users are killed each year in Missouri traffic crashes with speed, distraction and impairment being the primary causes" (p. 28).
Opportunity with a Statewide Active Transportation Plan
Local and regional jurisdictions are already developing their own active transportation plans and networks within their regions; a statewide active transportation plan would unify those efforts in several ways. Statewide active transportation plans inform communities of long-term active transportation priorities, and achievable goals are outlined that local jurisdictions can build into their own projects. This means that each community can follow established guidelines rather than 'reinvent the wheel' for each project, which allows for better cost savings and avoids the risk that projects would need to be retrofitted to different state standards after projects are built.
States with active transportation plans often develop a visionary map to inform future transportation planning goals. A map for Missouri can define a more geographically equitable active transportation system, reaching rural areas that often only have MoDOT highways without shoulders. Undeveloped MoDOT right-of-way and former rail lines can be identified to be repurposed for trail development and can also be incorporated into a visionary map for future active transportation development.
Current Status
Missouri is full of endless political divisions that vie for and parcel out our transportation dollars: our thousands of municipalities and unincorporated areas, our 114 counties and the independent city of St. Louis, Missouri's 19 regional planning commissions and 10 metropolitan planning organizations, and MoDOT's 7 regional districts. Our current transportation planning framework focuses on a bottom-up approach, which is intended to allow small communities make MoDOT aware of their needs, rather than the state dictating what gets built and what doesn't in these communities. In this sense, our transportation planning framework accommodates local representation in transportation funding decisions across the state.
A challenge with this system is that without the education and available funding that road and bridge projects receive, active transportation projects are not built evenly across our state. Communities without the means to hire planning staff or are unaware of opportunities are unable to advocate at the same level as those with well-established active transportation programs. Furthermore, many trail connections between different jurisdictions are never built because those jurisdictions often do not have the means to coordinate and align efforts to establish active transportation connections.
Trails of statewide importance need the larger-scale cooperation and resources of the state to support the development of these projects, or these gaps less likely to be filled.
Opportunity with a Statewide Active Transportation Plan
A statewide active transportation plan can set targets for expanding dedicated funding available for projects that enhance transportation choice. It can also outline a vision for establishing funding specifically dedicated for multimodal projects, which many states utilize such as with Tennessee's Multimodal Access Grant and Indiana's Next Level Trails program. Because Missouri lacks state-supported dedicated funding specifically for active transportation projects, communities rely on federal programs for the bulk of active transportation funding, the most popular source being the Transportation Alternatives Program [TAP].
With a statewide active transportation plan, a guide can be established to ensure MoDOT's funding distributions with general road and bridge projects also include active transportation infrastructure safety interventions. The responsibility of funding for projects can also be clearly defined between jurisdictions locally, regionally, and statewide, which could remove confusion and potential inaction for incorporating these types of safety interventions.
The majority of state funding supports traditional road and bridge projects. Other funding made available to MoDOT also often skews towards these traditional projects, such as the single lane-widening project 'Improve I-70,' where nearly $3 billion was made available in 2023 from Missouri's surplus budget by our state legislature. Meanwhile, in 2023 only $118 million was made available for all of MoDOT's Multimodal programs [Aviation, Transit, Rail, Freight, and Waterways], and most of that funding came from federal sources.
In total, Missouri's 30+ transit systems receive only approximately $11 million in appropriations annually from our state legislature for operations. Bicycle and pedestrian projects receive no direct funding from our state, as these projects are not explicitly a part of MoDOT's Multimodal program. There is a gap here, as there also is no dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects through our 'State Roads and Bridges' program unless special allowances are made on a project-by-project basis. Usually, these projects also require maintenance agreements where communities agree to pay for upkeep even if they are built as part of a MoDOT project.
There are indications that MoDOT is interested in expanding their existing funding structure to enhance funding access to rural and disadvantaged communities. In 2023, MoDOT improved funding access for the Transportation Alternatives Program. As part of MoDOT's recent update on TAP scoring criteria for project selection, MoDOT redistributed the scoring criteria to more heavily weigh projects that address safety issues, increase connectivity, reduce financial barriers, and incorporate public involvement.
What Our Neighbors Are Accomplishing
The vast majority of US states implemented statewide active transportation plans to help guide state Departments of Transportation through all steps of the active transportation process. All of Missouri's neighbors either have a version of a statewide plan in use or in development. As more federal attention and funding shifts towards interventions that increase traffic safety and promote physical activity, the forethought of our neighbors may lead to greater benefits for them over the long term.
Here are some examples of what our neighbors achieved:
Year adopted: First comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian plan in 2018; Iowa Statewide Recreational Trails Plan first adopted in 1990
Desired active transportation connections to Missouri:
Mississippi River Trail: parallels the eastern border of the state (p. 62, 110)
Lewis and Clark Trail (LCT)/USBR 55: follows the Missouri River from Sioux City south to the Missouri Border (p. 110, 120)
US Bicycle Route 51 (p. 123)
What are Iowa's Goals? (p. 5):
Improve the policies and practices for the ongoing development of the Iowa bicycle and pedestrian system and program...Central to this objective is the development and adoption of a Complete Streets policy.
Expand the intercity and intracity bicycle network by providing guidance for the completion of national trail segments...and establishing additional US Bicycle Routes.
Facilitate implementation of the plan by including a funding toolbox, enhancing design guidelines used by Iowa DOT and local agencies, and making recommendations for program priorities.
Year adopted: Update adopted in 2o23; first enacted in 1995
Desired active transportation connections to Missouri:
American Discovery Trail: Flint Hills Trail and connections in Kansas City area to Missouri trails, including Katy Trail State Park network (Kansas Bicycle Map 2023-2025)
Kansas supports a statewide active transportation system that promotes “user health, safety, and mobility options for accessing recreation, jobs, and amenities.” The ATP builds upon a variety of previous planning efforts...to establish statewide priorities, policies, programs, and improvements that KDOT and local jurisdictions can utilize to help people of all ages and abilities feel safer and more comfortable using active modes. This ATP will help modernize the state and local transportation networks, accommodate demand for more transportation choices, and provide a variety of safety, health, environmental, and economic benefits.
Learn more via these webinars from the Kansas Department of Transportation:
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MO Complete Streets [MOCS]
MRT is working with Missouri Complete Streets [MOCS] Advisory Committee, an initiative sponsored by the Department of Health and Senior Services [DHSS], to develop a broad range of support for statewide active transportation planning. One of the four primary objectives identified by MOCS is to establish a statewide active transportation plan.
MRT recently shared about the need for statewide active transportation planning with MOCS.
Related Missouri Planning Projects
MRT is also tracking other Missouri statewide planning efforts, including several that specifically identify the need for an integrated framework for active transportation planning in Missouri:
A statewide active transportation plan is a specific recommendation to address "Objective 1: Decrease percentage of adults who reported no physical activity or exercise outside of work in the past 30 days from 25.3 (2021) to 22.8% by Jan. 1, 2027" (p. 34). This measure will address objective 1: "Engage in policy development and advocacy to elevate the priority of physical activity in public health practice, policy and research. -> Participate in development of a statewide active transportation plan."
An initial stakeholder engagement event revealed that transportation was a major factor in increasing access to Missouri's State Park system, and planning for more active transportation access would be an important initiative to undertake. Active transportation is already a primary component that links communities within Katy Trail State Park and Rock Island Trail State Park.
Master Plan on Aging (MO Department of Health and Senior Services) [in progress, release expected in 2025]
The transportation subcommittee recommended a statewide active transportation plan in the initial development phase of the Master Plan on Aging. Additional public comment will refine these recommendations.
MRT won't be able to advocate for a statewide active transportation plan alone. Stay tuned as we share more information later this year about how you can get involved.
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