Steer Creek Trail, a short path that makes a big connection

For my Master’s Degree in Sustainable Transportation class project I’m researching short paths that provide key connections. I first thought of this concept when I lived in Kirksville and used the Steer Creek Trail to access the Kings Court subdivision. The first time I biked on Steer Creek Trail, I laughed out loud because the trail is nearly as wide as the dead-end road next to it and carries more traffic than that road! But at the north end of the trail is a bridge across Steer Creek, where the dead-end road ends.

“They could have saved some money,” I thought, “if they’d just put in the bridge and not bothered with the rest of the trail.”

The bridge is the key connection. Without the bridge across Steer Creek, the only way to get in or out of Kings Court is Baltimore St, a busy, high volume street. Even I avoided biking on Baltimore when I lived in Kirksville. In the absence of Steer Creek Trail, residents of Kings Court had to drive cars. There was only one mode choice.

I asked an old friend, retired Public Works Director John Buckwalter, about the history of Steer Creek Trail. It was completed in 2002 with funds from the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), a federal program administered through the Dept of Natural Resources (the same program that funded FLATS Phase 1). The bridge was a reclaimed bridge from a county road. Adair County replaced a county bridge near Yarrow through the MoDOT Off-System Bridge Replacement and Restoration (BRO) program. County crews left the old bridge by the stream and city crews disassembled it and loaded it onto trucks. They remodeled it to be narrower and built a new deck.

I love this story because it’s an example of how a federal program (RTP) combined with a state program (BRO) resulted in the local Steer Creek Trail. Sadly, RTP (now part of Transportation Enhancements) has been drastically reduced, and BRO ended even before the new MoDOT 325 System cuts. That is why it is so important for local citizens to be involved at all levels of government, local, state, and federal. An easy way to be involved is to join your local bike/ped advocacy organization (in Kirksville, FLATS), the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation, and the League of American Bicyclists. Federal and state programs have a big impact on local transportation options, often in ways we can’t predict.

Although we don’t have traffic counts for Steer Creek Trail, Mr. Buckwalter mentioned learning how much many residents depend on the trail when it was shut down briefly during repairs on the adjacent sanitary facility. Kings Court residents use Steer Creek Trail to bike to Hy-Vee, Truman State University, the public school, and downtown. Once the FLATS trail is completed connecting downtown Kirksville to Thousand Hills State Park, you will be able to bike to the park in less than an hour. Steer Creek Trail is itself a popular destination for fitness and leisure, with many people walking and jogging on it.

Long term plans in 2002 called for one-mile Steer Creek Trail to extend another half-mile to Hwy P, but no further progress has happened. However, for my class project, I’m proposing a 325-foot connector between Kings Rd and Meadow Ln. The subdivisions to the north of Kings Court are well connected to each other by quiet, residential streets. This short connector to Meadow Ln would open up access to Steer Creek Trail for literally hundreds of people.

Mr. Buckwalter was able to clear up the mystery of why Steer Creek Trail parallels Cottage Grove Ave, a narrow dead-end road hardly bigger than the trail itself. Back in the day, people cut through the neighborhood west of Cottage Grove Ave to avoid the stoplight at Illinois and Baltimore. Since then, two streets that used to connect to Cottage Grove Ave have been removed, and now there is almost no traffic on Cottage Grove Ave.

Eeyore– sad and gloomy like MoDOT– will soon cheer up on a bicycle.

A decade ago, MoDOT sent federal money back rather than spend it on bike/ped facilities. MoDOT killed the Complete Streets bill that had gained traction. MoDOT was The Enemy.

As the funding crisis loomed, MoDOT Director Pete Rahn bailed on his sinking ship and the new leadership looked for solutions to his legacy. Seeking allies in every corner, MoDOT suddenly understood the importance of bicycling and walking. I was excited and happy with the new MoDOT. There was a creative energy and a sense of bucking the trends that had gotten us into this mess. As I planned my career change into transportation, I wanted to be part of this changing MoDOT.

With the failure of Amendment 7, MoDOT has lost heart. Despair has replaced the excitement of overcoming challenges. MoDOT’s new mantra is “Save the Highways”, which doesn’t tug the heartstrings like “Save the Whales” or “Save the Rainforests”. There’s no talk at all of multimodal transportation or safety, as if paving a few sidewalks and adding some shoulders would ensure the doom of our precious highways.

MoDOT is once again sending federal dollars back (Transportation Alternatives Program) rather than spend them on bike/ped accommodations.

Our highway system is too big for our pocketbook. Innocent people and corporations will suffer hardship as we adapt to this reality. Last year, the challenge we faced was finding new money. We failed. Today, the challenge is to dramatically change how we operate so as to fit within a severely reduced budget.

It is still a challenge, a challenge that we can face with fear and trepidation or with excitement and adventure.

MoDOT proposes the Missouri 325 System, named for the $325 budget that is short of the $485 million needed to match federal tax dollars. Under the Missouri 325 System, 8000 miles of state highway are primary and 26,000 miles are supplementary. Primary roads will be maintained and repaired, but will receive no new capacity of any sort. Supplementary roads will receive bare minimum maintenance and no major repairs.

I don’t want to be part of this sad and gloomy MoDOT.

Instead, I’d like to see this message from MoDOT:

6000 miles of primary highway will be the safest and best highway we can make it, with adequate shoulders and sidewalks where relevant.
The remaining 28,000 miles will be supplementary and receive bare minimum maintenance and no major repairs.

This is subtly different from the Missouri 325 System message. The majority of roads that could benefit from sidewalks are in the supplementary system, and neither my plan nor the Missouri 325 System plan allows for sidewalks on those streets. In practice, the end result of my plan might be largely indistinguishable from the Missouri 325 System plan.

The difference is one of attitude. Let’s make the best of what we have. I hope that when I graduate next year, I’ll find an excited and energized organization who wants an excited and energetic transportation planner. Maybe MoDOT will have cheered up by then, but if not, there are plenty of cities and states facing funding shortfalls– and change– with courage and pride.

I just learned that MoDOT Director Dave Nichols announced his retirement. This makes me sad as we had developed a good working relationship with him and he was generally supportive of our efforts. I am hopeful that his successor will bring optimism back to MoDOT.