Today's run

Weather: Too warm for February 3. I think we humans broke the weather.

Traffic: None @ 5:30am

Time: ~50 minutes

My running partner was unavailable (zzzzzzzzzzzz....) so I set out solo on the almost seven mile loop from my house, around Stephens Lake Park and back. It was clear when I started out but now as the morning sky comes into focus more after sunrise there is a solid cloud cover. Sharon Ray told us to expect rain all day today.

I feel strong as the marathon gets closer. The Sedalia Half Marathon may be calling as a warm up next month. I love the quiet of the morning punctuated by only a few bird songs, malfunctioning droning street lights and the sound of me breathing. Deeply and evenly. I run for exercise yes but also for the solitude and the space. My best thoughts come to me when I am on a run. I may not recall them when I get home and on with my day, but there is a certain clarity I enjoy after a solid workout.

Today's run

Weather: 40 at 5:15am

Traffic: None

Time: ~45 minutes

My running partner and I are back on. He has been out of the loop for running with me the last few weeks. Mike said that if we were dating I would have broken up with him by now. I returned with that I merely would have said that I was taking a break to get my stuff straight.Either way, I like running with someone else. Knowing that my running partner is waiting for me at 5:15am to run 7 miles is a motivator.

Today's run

Distance: 13.41 miles. A half-marathon and some change.

Time: 115 minutes

Weather/time: 45F at 5:00pm.

Traffic: Moderate. It is Sunday when people like to get in their cars and, you know, go for a Sunday drive.

Since north Columbia remains vague to me I thought I'd build a run around covering the length of Smiley Lane. Smiley is an East-West arterial road (I am guessing) that traverses the far north side of town. The north side with its low-density housing and big yards and general identity-lessness. The sidewalks in this zone were more or less constant (there is a significant gaps from Providence west a block or so.) The pedestrian situation at the Vandiver/Oakland Gravel/Paris Road intersection needs some help.

Immediately after the run I am sore with little left. It is hard to think about how this was a half-marathon and the race I signed up for is two of those.

I had images from the movie I started watching last night and finished this morning. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a 1962 British story about an independent-minded guy who gets hisself into a home for troubled boys thanks to a crime he does when he needs cash money to support the family now that his Dad has died. He runs not to please his Governor at the home but himself. I recommend it. The heroes girlfriend was played by an actress named Topsy Jane. Really. Let me know if you want to see it you can borrow my copy if you can't find one at your local Salvation Army thrift score like I did.

Today's run

Distance: 7 miles

Time: ~60 minutes

Weather/time: 34F at 4:30pm.

Traffic: None on the trails, thank you. Lots on the streets so I avoided those.

For this afternoon's run I did a loop on the MKT and the County House Branch Trail. Columbia's newest trail is a wonderful needed route that helps get runners and bicyclists from southwest Columbia across that dreaded highway that cuts through our neighborhoods (read: Stadium Blvd.) It is so named for the former Boone County Poor House or the County House. I am not sure where this structure exactly is, but I am committed to finding out. The creek so named for the former County House or Poor Farm runs behind my house.

With the opening of the County House Branch Trail there is a great run that pushing it I can do in an hour or thereabouts. I see geese, deer, birds, humans and their dogs. They see me. The trail is being discovered slowly by more and more humans but for the most part I had it to myself yesterday afternoon. I pushed and completed my 7 miles in under an hour, which is great because I only had one hour in which to run.

80 training days left until St. Louis Marathon.

Today's Run

Distance: 12.5 miles

Time: ~90 minutes. Maybe more.

Weather/time: 32F at 8:15am.

Traffic: Light.

One of the times I most love running is when there is some special weather happening AND no one else is out. I don't mind fellow runners and bicyclists in spandex, but too many cars on the road harshes my mellow, as they say. This morning was perfect running weather. Right at freeezing, overcast skies and patches of fog. When I turned South on Paris Road I was immersed in a swath of fog that made trees disappear into clouds at four feet. The air was heavy with moisture but no rain fell.

I ramped up from 10 to 12 miles for my longest run of the season. That small bump up and I feel like I am in new territory again. There is a big difference between going for a long run that takes an hour or so and being out for closer to two hours. Three hours. My truly long runs these days are more about taking a tour by foot of a lot of Columbia than about an aerobic activity. And I love it. I get to rediscover the unique things about my town. I saw the horses out at Stephen's College Equestrian Center eating their grasses. I ran on the new crosswalks and sidewalks along Rangeline near Vandiver that are in use (and not just by me.) I experienced spots with cryptic gaps in the sidewalk near seemingly high pedestrian traffic spots while amazing six-foot wide sidewalks are in place elsewhere where little ped activity exists.

I saw that and so much more on my run. Or as the Zambian enthusiastically yelled out to me a few years ago "You are trotting!"

See you in the streets,

Trevor

Today's run

Distance: 5.67 miles

Time: Not sure. Watch still lost.

Weather/time: 30F at 5:00pm.

Traffic: Thick as a Brick.

There is no such thing as a bad run. If I ever get hit by a car or bit by a bigg dog maybe I'll change my tune. but those things I will not let happen. With my running partner out of town it becomes more important to motivate myself. With Mike on vacation there is no one expecting me to meet at some crazy early hour or after work to get in a run. There is no one to ask if we can dial it up a bit on a run. (He never asks me to slow up the pace, which tells me who is getting pushed in these workouts and who is the pusher.)

Yesterday I told myself I was going to run. I was going to get out and push myself. The early morning hours came and went. I think I woke up at 7:00am. No run then. After work and before last night's meeting I got it in. I want to run under 3:30 at the St. Louis marathon. That race happens in circa 89 days. To be best prepared, I need to run a range of runs. I need to sleep eight hours and eat good food. But maybe most importantly I need to keep promises to others and to myself. To step out the door and take a run.

Crawl to the Finish

Today's run

Distance: 9.66 miles

Time: Not sure. Watch still lost.

Weather/time: 30F at 9:00am.

Traffic: Light and lovely.

Within a mile of home on my long run for the week my right Achille's tendon started to protest. Actually, the protest started sooner. It wasn't until the intersection of Sanford and Ash (the old neighborhood) that the discomfort was so great that I was reduced to walking the last mile of the way home. Too much exertion in the cold is my best guess. I saw several other runners with that look in their eyes that they too had Spring marathons on the brain.

Several hours later I am relaxing with the paining area elevated and resting on a chilled ice pack.

Today's runDistance: 5.38 miles

Time: 40 minutes.

Weather/time: 40F at 5:20pm.

Traffic: Rush hour. Ugh! Cars everywhere. The best I can say is I lived to tell.

This route is my most run route. You might say it is my favorite route. You might say that. I gravitate to running these sidewalks of Columbia's near-southwest for a simple reason: there are generally long blocks with little to no cross-traffic. Once I get west of Stadium traffic all the way to Rollins @ Fairview is almost a non-issue. Few drivers choose to leave the arterial streets to navigate neighborhood streets. I guess all drivers are headed to some big box store or wherever people go in their cars between 5:00 and 6:00pm. A similar cross-traffic-free segment of this run extends from Rollins Road @ Chapel Hill all the way up to Limerick Lane @ Chapel Hill. Navigating the Schnuck's zone is hairy but once across Stadium Blvd. the runner finds low-traffic neighborhood streets all the way to the end of hims run.

Bonus! Super-exciting yesterday was that me and three other humans + dog were waiting for a walk light at the Forum @ Stadium intersection island! That's five count 'em five sentient beings who chose active transportation randomly gathered at one common spot at one time. (It is almost Manhattan-like!) The others temporarily assembled there did not appear as excited as I was at the presence of so many peoples using our pedestrian-actuated timers. It felt like a movement. The Alice's Restaurant Mass-a-cree movement? A traffic movement? Talkin' 'bout a revolution? It sounds... like... a whisper (heard between the roar of traffic.)

Today's run.

Distance: 9.2 miles

Time: ~80 minutes. Not sure. My watch is lost.

Weather/time: 40F at 9:4:0am.

Traffic: Anywhere from light to insanely thick.

I got out not-too-early on Saturday morning for a loop through the less-developed northwest quarter of Our Fair City. Who knew Parkside Drive where the City Mulch Site connects with Stadium Blvd? Well, it does. Sort of. Beware navigating a crossing from the North side of Business Loop 70 just West of Aldi's to southbound West Blvd. It takes patience for a break in the steady flow of Saturday traffic. Making a leap across pavement like this tests my patience with our rampant car culture. By maintaining positive thoughts about it all I end the run relaxed and knowing I just did something good for my body, brain and St. Louis Marathon finish time.

As part of my job I am a transit advocate. I do other things, too. I was an active transit advocate before my employer paid me to be one. Perhaps getting my current gig means there is truth to the adage "Do what you love and the money will follow"? Who knows? There still aren't any good records at Itchy's but I digress.

In the next few months I am going to be talking to groups and individuals in Columbia. I will share with them the benefits our community gains from transit. I will ask them to support a community vision for expanded transit service. I can only speak to my experience and that experience has not recently included much actual transit use in Columbia.

Like a lot of folks I take transit when I am in other cities. Bigger cities. Cities where a diverse range of people take buses, light rail, trolleys, subways. Columbia is not one of those cities. I know because last week I started riding the bus. Here, when you choose transit you choose to ride with the poor.

With transportation options that include my feet, a truck and a bicycle, I am not dependent on transit to get me where I need to go. If I was transit dependent I would be satisfied with our local service. Our buses are clean, timely and take me generally near where I want to go. I observe my fellow riders and talk to them some. Or I don't and just look out the window. Taking the bus is much more mellow than driving and a lot easier than bicycling. I get to see other people, their drama, their dharma.

Today the bus driver was insulted by a young lady as she boarded the bus and could not produce for him the student id that allowed her to ride at a discount. The driver was uninterested in her generous offer to pleasure himself and he yelled back at her as she took her seat: "No, thank you ma'am!" No matter. I was busy catching up with an acquaintance of mine who was riding the bus to her doctor appointment. I learned she may move to the Arkansas Ozarks. How would I have known of her possible change of location if I had driven or biked? Nada, Nadia.

If you are in Columbia and are interested in a presentation about the benefits of transit and our local campaign to expand service please let me know by commenting here or sending me an e-mail.

See you on the Bus,

Tripper

Today's run.

Distance: 4.72 miles

Time: 39 minutes

Weather: 50F at 5:30pm.

Traffic: Light

I love that time in the evening just after rush hour (or rush half-hour here). That time when most car commuters are home or wherever they needed to go. The streets are quiet. Cooking smells are in the air. Fried chicken on Alexander last night made me want to stop mid-run for a snack however 1) I was not invited and 2) that kinda food no longer fits my lower cholesterol 'lifestyle'. *sigh*

With limited time to run because of dinner plans with friends I made the most of what was available by focusing on hill running. There are some big mothers in the Olde Southwest part of Columbia and I ran them. Up and down. Only 39 minutes but a great run just the same. Warmer weather makes training deep into winter so. Much. Easier.

Today's Run

Distance: 10.5 miles

Time: I didn't wear me watch. I think I had more fun than had I worn it.

Weather: ~37, sunny and and windy

Traffic: Light. New Year's Day

I recognize the feeling I get when I can comfortably run and stay strong doing it for 10 miles. Into higher miles the run becomes about sustaining the pace then increasing the pace.

Near the start I saw my form in a store window downtown on Broadway. I was slouching and shuffling. Old duffer. I rediscovered my form (I think I lost it let me know if you come across it.) and the next 9 miles were mostly smooth. I had a kick at the end, which always tells me I was holding something back on the run. For what? Lunch?

Today's run incorporated several long hills. I huffed and puffed and cruised up them then cruised down the other side. Sore thighs at mile 8.5.

Say, say, say! If you run in Columbia would you tell me where you like to run. I want to discover some new running routes. Thank you.

The Columbia Missourian recently reported about a plan by the City of Columbia to clarify and better enforce Code of Ordinances Section 24-12. That section makes it a misdemeanor for property owners in the City to not clear their sidewalks of snow. The new ordinance if adopted by the City Council in January would define priority areas that - if not shoveled within 48 hours and reported by a citizen as a hazard - would trigger city action. That action will be communication that the sidewalk segment must be cleared or the owner will face a fine related to the City clearing the snow itself. You know the phrase 'Good enough for government work"? Yeah? You don't want to inadvertently 'hire' the city to clear your sidewalks for you. Just do the right thing and get out there when the snow is done falling.

As someone who walks somewhere every day (Just like you do, right? Just like everybody does.) I welcome the clarification and enforcement of Section 24-12. Anyone can tell you that walking in the summer, spring and fall is much easier than winter walking. Come the winter months snow, ice and debris fill our bike lanes and sidewalks. Some homeowners and renters do clear their sidewalks but most don't. The worst winter 'neighbors' to a pedestrian and a bicyclist are those business owners who hire a crew to clear their parking lot only to have that crew store the plowed snow on, you guessed it, the sidewalks nearest the parking lot.

All in all this is far better than things seem to be in St. Peters, Missouri. A major advantage of Columbia is that here there are destinations worth biking and walking to from home. When I stayed with my aunt and uncle in St. Peters earlier this week I went running in the morning. There were plenty of cars driving to work I gather but nary a walker or bicyclist. Does nobody in my hometown (Population 52,575) walk or bike to work? Residents of larger metro areas do have longer commutes since they reside within a many county labor basin as opposed to a regional one with multiple employer destinations.

In all fairness it is the holidays when more folks are on vacation. When I asked him whether the City of St. Peters encourages biking and walking my Uncle - a longtime City resident - explained to me that "We really do hate bike riders here." It seems they ride in the street and that burns him up.

There remain plenty-plenty opportunities for education on both sides of the handlebars and steering wheel.

Missouri's Honorable Governor Jay Nixon recently stated that much conversation must happen before we go and create a toll road out of Interstate 70 where it passes through our state. This was reported last weekend in an AP story.

Here is my letter to the Governor related to this issue:

Dear Governor Nixon,

We are both fortunate and unfortunate to live during a time when we must face the very real economic and environmental limits of growth. This era is unfortunate because there dwell among us those sentient beings who will disproportionately bear the brunt of the changes required to sustain life on Earth. For example, rising fuel prices impact the poor more than the middle- or upper-classes. Declining quality and quantities of green space wreak havoc on environmental communities. We are in a challenging time that requires tough decisions on how and when and where we will grow our economy and our communities.

We are fortunate to live in such a time. We know what needs to be done to live more sustainable, low-impact lifestyles. One major way we can support those already living within our economic and environmental means is to encourage active transportation. Walking, bicycling and taking transit are simple ways that we can use less of our limited natural resources on transportation.

A second way we can create more a sustainable state and sustainable communities is to make car travel more pay for itself. Increased gas taxes and toll roads are real strategies available to us now.

I encourage you to lead a dialogue about what it will take to create toll roads in the Great State of Missouri. Interstate 70 - a major roadway in our state - is simultaneously in decline and poised to absorb all available local, state and federal dollars for its repair and pending-but-not-scheduled reconstruction.

You were recently quoted in an AP story: "I think clearly in the short run that’s [creating toll roads] not something we have put on the forefront, but I think longer-term planning is something that everybody across the state should always be prepared to talk about."

I applaud your interest in getting everybody in the state involved in the important discussion of whether or not we rebuild major roads as toll roads. As the leader of our state, please initiate this conversation soon and do not let it be dominated and overly influenced by those who would only oppose tolling roads based on lost revenue or inconvenience.

Auto travel needs to pay for the infrastructure it uses. The time has come to advance the conversation in our state about how can we fairly require taxpayers who use facilities (such as roads) to directly pay for their use and related impacts.

Thank you for your service,

Trevor Harris

Proud to be a Missourian

Things were looking rough around here, in terms of bicycles. My bike seat had cracked and ripped open. The pedals on my beater bike provided no traction for shoes in wet weather to grip. I threw my headlight into the weeds in a fit of frustration (stupid.) I lost my u-lock (and later found it.) I was feeling like a very second class (albeit probably quite average) bike citizen of the world.

After a trip to Klunk my Schwinn now features some upgrades to get me through the winter or 2012 or so I pray. New seat. New pedals. New light. And my same good attitude to riding in whatever the weather. On top of it all Animal Control came and (mostly) cleared the possum carcass from my main bike route to work.

My new job features a new commute.

New neighborhoods to ride through and see strangers' lives being lived.

New bicycle lanes to savor and enjoy.

Columbia's Worley Street has a bicycle lane for a nice long stretch, at least from West Blvd east to Providence. The stripe is a generous 4' from the curb. Traffic is heavy at times but thanks to the bicycle lane everyone knows where they are supposed to be in the Daily Commute.

Bicycle lanes and neighborhoods require some policing. I don't mean in the militia-walk-around-packing-heat kind of way. Rather, when a responsible neighbor sees something that ain't quite right s/he deals with it. Or makes sure someone else deals with it. This brings me to glass and roadkill in our bicycle lanes.

The eastbound bicycle lane on Worley Street between Hirth and Providence has had a carpet of glass shards in it for the last month. I know because I have been dodged this hazard every weekday I go to my office.

My first week of work I called the City of Columbia's Streets, Sidewalks and Stormwater number (573.474.9145) to alert them to this problem. The helpful lady who I talked to took my comment. She even called me back later to say the guys couldn't find it. I told her that they had to get out of their truck and bike or walk that stretch to see where the glass was. She said she'd be sure and tell them. This week I got a flat riding my wife's bicycle in that same stretch. The chunk of glass was sizable enough to cut a chunk out of the tire. I called again and reported the same glass minus a piece that I collected with Lisa's rear tire.

While I was on the phone about this matter I shared with the Department of Public Works that there was a possum carcass lying in the northbound West Blvd bike lane south of Ash Street for about two weeks now. The staffer told me that they didn't clear animals from the bike lanes. I would have to call *Animal Control. Who knew? I tried their number listed in the CenturyLink phone book (573.449.1888) only to get a message saying that this user has not set up their voice mail. It turns out I misdialed. I figured out my error after 5:00pm. This being a holiday weekend I probably won't reach a human on the other end of that line until Monday morning. That's in 5 days.

In the meantime I and other bicyclists can swerve out into traffic to avoid the rotting - yet chilled - possum but when will his soul be able to rest? It seems like it'd probably be tough to transcend on up to possum heaven or down to possum hell when your most recent physical form is still laying out in the sun and the rain and the wind waiting for Animal Control to come lay you to rest. St. Frances, pray for us.

See you in the streets,

Trevor

March 31 is about 130 days from now, but I am thinking about it more and more each day.

That's the day of Waukesha, Wisonsin's Trailbreaker Marathon.

The course description says to expect a combination of 26.2 miles of road, smooth trail and rugged trail. Sounds exciting.

I see Shiny Happy PeopleSome allies and I look to run in that race. Could be snow, they say.

As a commitment to running this race in 130 days I got new shoes today. I always try on the running shoes I like, find the right size then ask the clerk if s/he's got any of these shoes from last year. That move always saves me ~$30 and today was no different.

The new shoes work great.

I took an 80 minute run at dusk today and my feet and the new Mizunos are fast friends. Thankfully.

The days are getting colder here in Columbia, Missouri. The many, many bicyclists seen on the summer and fall streets are largely gone now. (Did they start driving to work and school? Do they just stay home now in a state of suspended animation waiting for spring and Cardinals season to start again? I remain in the streets on my bicycle. I am not going to wax on here about about overcoming the cool-weather challenges of riding in all weather. Riders more hip and organized than I have well-articulated a strategy based on preparedness and camraderie. Besides I am still smarting from the comment posted here about 3 years ago from a testy bicyclist in Alaska who noted I have no idea what cold-weather riding is, blah-blah-blah. A sensitive and delicate flower, I am.)

My biggest challenge to all-season riding is absolutely how to deal with My Fellow Americans who daily make the polluting choice.

They. Drive. Everywhere.

In summer distracted drivers are no more or less talking or texting on their geegaws while navigating our roadways creating a hazard for humans on bike and smaller mammals in search of soul food and a place to sleep. What makes cool weather more dangerous is that the polluters are now totally sealed up in their boxes-on-wheels. There is nearly zero capacity for human-to-human interaction when a driver are sealed up in his warm ride with all the distractions of the universe at his manicured fingertips. ("Coffee! iPhone! Satellite radio! What to fuck with next? Ooops. I just killed a bicyclist... Bummer, now I'll be late for my sales meeting with the boss.")

With an awareness of this increased potential danger for getting smashed by some suburbanite in her Cadilac Escalade I alter my bike commuting strategy slightly in these darker months. Of course I bundle up (but not like they do in our 49th State!) and I also wear a bright yellow jacket to increase visibility. I use my lights - especially my red, under the seat, blinking jobby - during cloudy days as well as at night. I also take the lane more at approaches to and through intersections. This requires some preview in anticipation of what is going to happen. I glance in my handlebar-mounted mirror to see who is coming. If there is a polluting commuter (read: driver) there, I signal in advance then move out with a hand signal into the center of the lane that will take us through the intersection. After navigating to the other side of the intersection I return to the safe space of the bike lane or just nearer the curb if no lane exists. This limits the potential for a distracted driver making a right turn to ignore and clip me. (Sheesh! I ain't got insurance for a few more weeks. I hafta be safe and strategic on my commute around Columbia.)

That all said, there is something special to witnessing the sky through barren trees. I love the rush of getting on bike on a cold or wet day thinking I'll get soaked or frozen and end up staying nice and toasty warm and dry thanks to some advance planning.

Besides someone has to show the driving masses that 365 day/year riding can be done and can be fun.

See you in the Streets,

Trevor

My new work commute is great. I get to see new blocks that I never spent much time on before. Plus since Columbia is on a grid mostly if there is car traffic I can take alternate routes through the neighborhood along Worley Street to get to my new office on North Providence. The route is different. The commuters are different. Before I mixed it up in traffic with college kids and professors on bikes and running and in SUVs. While there are still a few of those I now see more grade school kids, working class pedestrians, dumptrucks and muscle cars.

After a few days of dodging glass in the Worley Street bicycle lane I called the City of Columbia Streets Division. The nice lady took my information about debris in the lane and promised to call me back. I have never had a lot of luck getting responses from various City staffers so I expected this was and empty promise. But it was not. Well, sort of not. The city worker called back within a few hours to tell me that a crew had gone out and checked and there was no glass. I suggested that maybe the neighbors willingly swept it up or perhaps I was hallucinating. She denied that the latter condition and optimistically backed up the neighbor clean-up notion. I asked if the crew checked by riding on a bike or driving in a truck. One sees more when moving in the bike lane at a bike rate of speed. Much more than when one is whizzing down the street in a sealed up car at 30+ mph. When I rode to work the next day the glass is still there. Perhaps I should carry a small broom and dustpan with me to clean up where some yay-hoo chose to toss his Budweiser bottle (or maybe Guiness but somehow I seriously doubt it).

Smashed.

Overall, the new commute is nice. It provides me with a test for our willing City staff to see if they can find and clean up glass that remains in the eastbound bicycle lane on Worley Street immediately West of Hirth (I ain't makin' this shit up folks! Really.) The new commute also gets me more familiar with a neighborhoods that are not mine but are full of residents with whom I am expected to work as a Community Organizer (new job title shared with one of Barack Obama's past experiences. I wonder how he got to work when he was a community organizer? If it was Chicago he probably availed himself of the El, huh? Now his commute involves walking down the stairs. A telecommuter he is.)

See you in the streets,

Trevor

Church sounds so boring. I'd rather be out riding on the trails with my friends...

Thanks to Brent Hugh from the Missouri Bicycle Federation for sharing this important alert below.

Contact Missouri's U.S. Senators McCaskill and Blunt to let them know you value enhancement funding.

Trevor

[ACTION ALERT: PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY THROUGH 3 NOV 2011]

Next Monday or Tuesday the U.S. Senate will vote on a proposal to eliminate the single largest source of funding for bicycling and walking facilities in the U.S.

Please take a moment to contact our Missouri Senators in support of Transportation Enhancements:

http://capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=55292501

We are in an unusual situation in Missouri, where Senator Roy Blunt has voiced support for continuing the Transportation Enhancements program and Senator Claire McCaskill has voiced strong opposition to it.

Both senators need to hear from you--Senator Blunt, to shore up his support, and Senator McCaskill so that she will change her mind.

It only takes a couple of minutes, and if our senators do not hear a tidal wave of citizen response whenever our key bicycle and pedestrian programs are attacked, those programs will be eliminated sooner or later.If they hear from people like you and me who recognize the value of safe places to bicycle and walk, this important funding will be preserved:

http://capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=55292501

WHAT IS TRANSPORTATION ENHANCEMENTS AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

What kind of bicycle and pedestrian projects does Transportation Enhancements fund? It's everything from bike lanes to shoulders to sidewalks to crosswalks to trails to bridge and viaduct expansion or retrofit for bicycle/pedestrian access, and much more. Basically any bicycle or pedestrian project you see around your neighborhood, your city, or the state is could be funded by Transportation Enhancements.

Since Transportation Enhancements was started in 1991, we have seen a sea change in the environment for bicycling and walking in the U.S. After decades of neglect, it has taken two decades to start to reverse that progress. But the progress and improvement we have seen in Missouri in bicycling and walking over the past few years is in very large part a result of Transportation Enhancements funding.

If we want to see that progress continue and accelerate, we must continue Transportation Enhancements.

If we want to see that progress reverse and decline, all we need to do is stop Transportation Enhancements funding.

It is a very small percentage of the federal budget that makes a huge difference in our neighborhoods and communities.

Contact your senators to support bicycle and pedestrian funding:

http://capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=55292501

More details about the Missouri situation and why Transportation Enhancements funding is vitally important are here:

http://mobikefed.org/2011/10/transportation-enhancements-under-attack-what-it-and-why-it-important

FROM THE ALLIANCE FOR BIKING AND WALKING

It's happening again. Just one month ago, Sen. Coburn (R-OK) failed in his efforts to strip funding for Transportation Enhancements from the six-month transportation extension.

Now, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is taking the lead in trying to destroy Transportation Enhancements. On November 1, the Senate will finalize the transportation appropriations bill, which sets funding levels for FY2012. Sen. Paul has offered an amendment to redirect all funding for Transportation Enhancements to bridge repair.

We agree on the need to keep our bridges safe, but the lives of pedestrians and cyclists are important too. Thirteen people died when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed in 2007. Since then, close to 20,000 pedestrians and 2,800 cyclists have died on our nation's highways, largely as a result of poor highway design and a lack of safe non-motorized infrastructure - exactly what the enhancement program was created to fix.

If Sen. Paul's amendment is successful, it would eliminate approximately $700 million in federal funding for FY2012 that is used to construct sidewalks, bike lanes, bike paths, trails and other infrastructure that makes it safe for bicyclists and pedestrians to get around. Even if every penny of these funds is diverted to bridge repairs, Senator Paul's plan will still take 80 years to fix the backlog of bridge repairs we have today - by which time all those repaired bridges would be falling down again.

Remember that the TE program represents less than two percent of the federal transportation program and these projects help alleviate traffic congestion, improve safety, get people active, and create more jobs per dollar than highway-only projects.

Remember also that last year, states sent back to Washington $530 million of unspent bridge funds in rescissions. The states are leaving bridge repair funds on the table, unspent, year after year. They should at least spend these funds first.

If the Paul amendment succeeds, it will make it much more challenging to sustain funding for Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and Recreational Trails in the long-term transportation bill that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee starts debating on November 9.

We must turn back any amendment to strip Transportation Enhancements.

Last month, more than 75,000 messages were sent to Senators to ask them to stand strong for Transportation Enhancements. Thank you, that was an amazing turnout - but we must do better this time. Every time someone in Congress attacks bicycling and walking, we must push back even stronger than we did the time before. And, we will keep doing it until bicycle and pedestrian funding is protected.

This is the third time in a month that a small group of Senators has targeted Transportation Enhancements, using a different angle each time. It is a waste of the Senate's time and taxpayers' dollars to focus on this small and valuable program when we are in dire need of real and viable solutions to fix our failing transportation system.

Please contact your Senators today to ask them to vote against the Paul amendment (SA-821) to eliminate Transportation Enhancements.

Jeff Miller, Alliance for Biking and Walking

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It takes only two minutes to contact your senators at this web site:

http://capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=55292501

Or contact them directly via their web sites:

Senator Claire McCaskill

http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=contact

202-224-6154

Senator Roy Blunt

http://blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-roy

(202) 224-5721

Get About Tblisi.Lisa shared the picture at right with me. It is a bicycle lane in Kutaisi, Georgia. Kutaisi is a Columbia, Missouri sister city.

It seems the president is proud of the network of paths around the city.

The aburpt end of this section of bicycle lane makes me wonder until the entire network is built is the bicyclist supposed to park their bike when the lane runs out and get in that 4x4 vehicle parked there and drive away?

Sometimes small things in life can be game-changers, as they say. The building of bike lanes along West Boulevard in Columbia, Missouri qualifies for me as a game-changer.

Coming up on a month ago the City of Columbia painted stripes and sharrows along West Boulevard from near the Business Loop south to Stadium Blvd, a span of about two miles. These new bicycle lanes fall off before intersections and start up again after the intersections. The lanes fit because existing travel lanes for cars are wide enough to accommodate 12 feet for cars and four feet or so for bicycles. Not surprisingly, some motor vehicle operators remain unimpressed.

Why is this so great? For starters it slows car traffic making bicycling and walking safer and more pleasant. West Blvd is a minor arterial (I am guessing) that handles a large volume of traffic every day: cars, bikes, pedestrians. Mostly cars though. A significant percentage of the car drivers are moving at a rate of speed above that which is posted. (Imagine that.) The new lanes define a plenty-wide corridor in which cars may travel and - based on my observation - drivers rarely encroach on the newly demarcated four feet nearest the curb. The only drivers in that space are making right turns or are parked in the bicycle lane. The City of Columbia staff and City Council seem unwilling to tackle the bloodbath that would be removing on-street parking. The result is that every few hundred yards or so a bicyclist in the new lanes must weave back into the car travel lane to negotiate around a parked car, SUV, tank, or whatever CO2 spewing device someone is storing there.

The lanes are also great for walking because they create a buffer between the decrepit and occasionally non-existent sidewalk. While the sidewalk is still terrible (cracked, no grass buffer, covered in dried mud) there is now a feeling of safety when I walk our dog Lulu because cars are at least five feet away as opposed to the prior distance of 2-4 feet away. Interestingly, what surprises me most now is the closeness of bicyclists who choose to use their dedicated space. This brings them closer to pedestrians. With no buffer our local pedalers are close. However, I would rather get spooked or hit by a bicycle than a car.

On second thought, I'd rather not get hit by any moving vehicle and just enjoy my walk.

Thanks to the City of Columbia for the new West Blvd bicycle lanes and the new County House Branch Trail (that I have used twice already, but more words and pictures on that later.)

See you in the streets,

Trevor

A couple of weeks ago I quit my job. I labor still through September 28 to complete my current job's tasks in progress. When that is all done I do not have another job to walk into. That is the popular assumption when one quits one job: there is a better something somewhere. There isn't. For me. At this time.

I reached a point where what the present (and soon-to-be-former) job demanded and what I have to give it are rapidly diverging. I can't meet my bosses' and co-workers' expectations. The demands the job that I could not meet got so significant that I found myself arriving at work daily expecting to get fired. Or scolded. Which royally sucks.

Maybe others can and do deal with the daily potential for firing, but I can't. I live to please other people. Knowing that I was causing grief for others led me to resign. Nuff said about that.

What now? I have been working or enrolled in various schools more or less full-time since I was 16. I want a break. (Lisa and I are lucky enough to have saved a bit that will allow me to be unemployed for a month or so, economy willing. During this time I plan to do some soul-searching. And blogging. I feel grateful for the opportunity.

The questions for me now are:

What do I most need to be doing? What is the best work that I can be doing in the here and now?

Being in the throes of a job (featuring a lingering, persistent dread of imminent firing) did not create the conditions for a calm reassessment of my purpose. Not being constantly employed will help.

Since I am currently thinking about what I really need to be doing I am on the lookout for interesting jobs that other people have. Below are some pictures of guys at work re-roofing the very steep roof of downtown Columbia's Methodist Church. I don't know that I want or don't want their jobs, but what they do certainly is photogenic.

See you in the streets,

Trevor

They'll need a crane to get supplies to the roof.This roofer is about five stories up thar.

Proper footwear is more important for some jobs than others.

How do you know if you are doing the right work for you?Patron saint of roofers, St. Vincent of Saragossa, pray for us.

This year my City of Columbia, Missouri opened a new downtown ten-story paring garage. I will not bore you with another critique of that garage. Other, more literate or passionate writers have covered that territory before me.

My approach is different.

This weekend I figured out what the garage is good for. In no particular order the highlights are:

1. A great workout. I climbed the ten stories on my bicycle last Friday circa 11:00pm. From base to rooftop of the new garage is a constant banked slope upwards. This means a constant climb. Standing in the pedals of my beater bike I worked it to get to the top. While I wasn't totally worn out when I reached the peak of the summit I was panting. Yes, like a dog, thank you. I suggest making the climb on bike after business hours as I did. There were very few parked cars and cars in motion, which made it feel more like I had the garage all to myself. Mine, mine, mine! Yours, yours, yours!

2. A fireworks watching venue. I forget sometimes that I live smack in the middle of red state Missouri. People here like to drive fast, eat fried anything and blow stuff up. Not every one of my fellow Missourians shares these traits, but many do. Again, in 2011, as in every previous year since I was, like 12, I chose not to waste any of my George Washingtons on fireworks. I chose not to attend our Columbia fireworks show despite multiple invitations to do. I remain curious, however, to see an abbreviated version of explosives in action. Thankfully, the top deck of Columbia's new parking garage afforded me that this past Friday night. It's hard to measure the scope of open space from the garage's top at night but somewhere off in the northern distance (Mexico Gravel Road? Hallsville? Acadia National Park?) I witnessed a serious display of color and firepower. Happy Fourth of July to me. Only three weeks late.

3. Disrupting lusty teenagers. As I pedaled round the final bend to the top deck of the new parking structure I came upon two sets of youngsters perched on the hoods of their cars. I unintentionally disrupted two couples' worth of serious groping. Not on purpose. Exposed to a stranger's view, they quickly slunk into their rides and (whoosh!) they were off. Back down the nine levels of ramps in search of some much-desired privacy. Luckily, central Columbia has no shortage of parking structures to choose from.

4. The view. Friends who had already made the trip up to the top of Our New Garage told me of the glorious daytime view. I had no reports of how things look at night from atop the concrete tower. Wow. I remain a serious fan of downtown Columbia (and shall never call it The District) and knew that the view would show more than I had ever seen. I was not disappointed. From 100 feet up I could see the footprint of every building from Garth to Seventh, Elm to Park. I could examine the bulk of buildings as compared to each other. (That latest phone company addition on Sixth and Cherry is overwhelmingly large even from the top of the garage. Numerous building owners have their HVAC units on the roof, a tactic that Missouri United Methodist Church should consider in light of their massive unit droning constantly along south Tenth Street.) I was reminded that there exists a massive downtown park called Columbia Cemetery that remains unlit at night. Its residents demand very little in the way of such services.

5. A place to store bicycle racks. The City thought small businesses would want to locate on the ground floor of the new garage. That product hasn't really flown off the shelves, as they say. In their optimism for business tenants to set up shop on street level the city also installed parking for about ten bikes in front of each of the handful of unclaimed business sites. The result? It looks like a bike party... waiting to happen. Besides bike shops and coffee shops I wonder what kind of businesses could fill all those spaces? No matter. The open bike parking will wait patiently for its rides to show up. Just like the new garage itself awaits drivers willing to discover her hidden charms.

-Trevor

Columbia is winding down spending up the $22 million largesse bestowed upon us a few years ago by the Federal Highway Administration. Columbia was one of four jurisdictions that got a non-motorized pilot program grant aimed at creating a shift in transportation modes from car to bike and foot. The thinking was/is that Columbians will make some trips of shorter distances by bike and foot if the infrastructure is improved to encourage such travel. Using the federal funds the City built new sidewalks, bicycle paths (some are green) and fixed a series of intersections to improve bike-ped access.

Now that the money is winding down the big question is: will the city continue the progress towards making our city more bike- and ped-friendly? Will the Council choose to spend our own money on new sidewalk fixes and replacing sharrows? I sure hope so.

Unfortunately, many sharrows (shared lane markings) are faded and gone in some areas. Sidewalk decline in older neighborhoods continues. It's almost like it was a dream that we ever had such a project as GetAbout Columbia considering how the buzz has faded with time.

I don't get the feeling that our current City Council is all that gung ho to retrofit older streets with needed sidewalks and bicycle paths. Yeah, the new sidewalk going in along West Broadway is great. That's the federal dollars at work, but as a member of our City's Community Development Commission I see the city aiming to fund needed central city sidewalks not with local tax dollars but with federal CDBG funds. The forthcoming report from the City Infrastructure Committee should be interesting as it is expected to address some structural issues related to how the City builds streets. Sidewalks and bicycle paths should be part of that discussion. We'll find out at this Tuesday's Columbia City Council meeting.

Why does this matter? Beyond the usual health and access benefits of more livable streets, there is also a gender imbalance to who uses streets for active transportation. The NYTimes reported today that women feel safer riding when streets are calmed for traffic.

1. Visit Assumption Abbey. 2. Consistently produce radio pieces consistently for KOPN. 3. Garden. 4. Grow new kinds of vegetables. 5. Visit my grandma. 6. Visit my dad. 7. Visit my mom. 8. Visit with Quinn . 9. See a sunset from an ocean beach. 10. Make bouquets of flowers I grow. 11. Grow lotsa tomatoes. 12. Maintain our home from the ravages of weather and time. 13. Like our dog Nellie some. 14. Grow beans. 15. Bake a pie. 16. Lower my cholesterol. 17. Run a 1/2 marathon. 18. Take a big bike ride or three. 19. Get more good records. 20. Either read or move my comic book collection along. 21. Swim. 22. Build more fence to keep deer and other critters out of the garden. 23. Plant a tree with my mom at her place. 24. Kayak! 25. Make new friends. 26. Sustain old friendships. 27. Attend the Detroit International Jazz Festival. 28. Be consistently happy. 29. Make art. 30. Keep houseplants alive. 31. Appreciate what a I have. 32. Take a fun vacation with Lisa. 33. Write letters to people who matter. 34. Breathe deeply often. 35. Do yoga. 36. Stress out not at all. 37. Take picnics with Lisa. 38. Make music. 39. Cultivate compassion. 40. Drink some good coffee every day. 41. Look at the clock less. 42. Look at the computer less.

Because you asked for it! (Okay no one asked, but I am offering) Here are a few pictures from Lisa's and my yard of the installations and plantings circa The-Longest-Day-of-the-Year 2011.

Drop by and say hey when you're in the neighborhood.

I am, i am, i am superman. And I can do anything.

I bet I have more hubcaps on my fence than you do!

Mobile Home

White bikes and the Dr. Seuss trees

Orbit

I hit the bottle (tree) again.

That ladies got balls!

I need to take a long bike ride soon. My spirit is low from too little time in the saddle and too little breeze blowing through my helmeted hair (if I had any hair, that is.)

Scott Joplin lives! (on a wall off Ohio Street in Downtown Sedalia.)

Crazy BaldheadIt's ironic in a way that I have this job that has me promoting bike-ped planning and to accomplish this task I get Enterprise rental cars and drive to every corner of the Great State of Missouri burning up fossil fuels like they're going outta style.

The upside is that this week I got to (re)meet cool people in the Missouri towns of Kirksville, Unionville (anyone know where that is?), Albany and Sedalia. Whew.

For those of you Mid-Missourians who can tear yourself away from the Memorial Day weekend Salute to Veterans' Airshow, the Pedaler's Jamboree promises big and wet fun on the Katy Trail. Find me there dressed as Jackie Blue.

Lisa* and I were biking downtown to the movies the other night. I was riding behind her where she likely would say I belong. There are a couple places on this particular ride where the vehicular travel lane becomes a turn lane requiring a merge into the straight ahead travel lane. (At this point those somewhat familiar with Columbia bicycling and driving might imagine eastbound Broadway approaching southbound Seventh Street.)

As we crossed the street before the turn lane Lisa took the lane. Not the turn lane but the travel lane to the right of the turn lane. I was impressed with her defensive pedaling. For non-bicyclists "taking the lane" refers to a decision a bicyclist makes that he or she needs to be positioned more or less in the center of a lane versus staying on the right edge of the lane. In a wikipedia entry on this topic John Franklin is cited as calling this the primary riding position (versus a secondary riding position where the bicyclist sticks to the meter or so nearest the curb.)

The main factor for me in whether or not to take the lane is whether I feel that there is safe clearance for both me and the inevitable passing cars. If there is room for all I will stay in the secondary rising position. If I feel I will get squeezed when car drivers pass due to a narrow lane, I will take the lane. Drivers may see this as a bicyclist being obstructionist or obstinate. I am not sure. All I know is I want to get to the movies safely and not become a road accident.

Right turn lanes complicate this situation for the bicyclist since passing cars have built up speed and here I go moving out into their travel lane. Car drivers at stoplights are generally rarin' to take off when they get the green light. With me in the primary riding position and upon the light turning green drivers who have stacked up behind me on my bike must wait until enough lane width exists for them to safely pass.

To avoid irritating drivers I always tend to ride up the right turn lane at this location, watching in my bike mirror for approaching cars who may wish to turn right. Moving left when I see the car approaching the turn location seemed to be the safer option vs. being in the straight-ahead travel lane. Did I mention all this is happening while headed up a fair incline on eastbound Broadway in downtown Columbia, Missouri? (Pictures forthcoming.)

*Thanks to Lisa for showing me confidence to be consistent in my pedaling. And for going with me to see a funny movie on a schoolnight.

Man, I do sure love this period every May in Columbia, Missouri where - for a few precious weeks - all the student-types and the people who support them leave town to go get their piece of the pie elsewhere. The streets are briefly not choked with maniac drivers and helmet-less bicyclists riding on the sidewalks. And the sky is blue today.

I love this weather. Wet, cool, the earth getting ready for summer's growth. This is great bicycling weather, too.*

*"What?" you say. Say what. As a bicyclist who rides 361 days a year ( I took four days off for ice when I walked this winter) it remains important to be out in the streets and visible (the ice was NOT at all safe to ride on. I fell once on my bike). Drivers seeing bicyclists like me on rainy days remains an important thing. Drivers seeing bicyclists like me in all weather know helps them understand that we exist every day of the year.

During today's late afternoon rain I rode several blocks down Columbia's College Avenue. This is not a street bicyclists in Columbia commonly ride down. It is busy, noisy and features skinny travel lanes but I did not die. Not even close. A half-dozen cars maybe had to move over into the other lane to pass me. I like the idea of taking local roads back from auto-domination. There is no law (expect the law of convention and maybe common sense) that says to avoid riding bicycles on College Avenue. I will ride on College and Providence and the Business Loop again when the mood strikes me and it seems safe and makes sense.

Personally, I am going to take the lane if I need to and act like a car. I don't care whether there is a bike lane or not. -tre

General late winter rubble

Shattered glass

Roadkill rottingToday on my ride in to to work I spied leaf litter, sticks, glass and a decaying raccoon in the bicycle path. I am not complaining. I am luck y to live in America and I remember that every day. God bless us All and God Bless the USA.

I am NOT an ugly dog!Me wife Lisa and I were doing some work on our upstairs apartment getting ready for the new tenant to move in.

Last weekend we moved downstairs a massive piece of furniture that three tenants ago left in the space. We put it out on the curb and and on Craig's List. Within an hour or three a woman showed up in a minvan and squatted the curb-score. Bring a single, overweight lady with the wrong vehicle to take this beast of an entertainment center away by herself, she waited. And waited.

I, of course, snapped pictures of her while she waited.

After an hour her man showed up in his pickup. He has on crutches. Things were not looking good for this couple to get their new piece home.

Being Good Samaritans, Lisa and I went out and helped them put that f*cker in his pick-up.

I couldn't help myself taking pictures of their brute of a dog. He was quite excited to help by getting underfoot and sniffing at the world. -tre

The batch of snow that fell in Columbia this week was the most ephemeral crop of white stuff I think I've ever experienced. In some places it looked to be around six inches of accumulation. With the rebound in temperatures the white stuff was gone within 48 hours.

An aside: I swear to the gods and goddesses that I won't blog about the weather again. The weather is a generally boring topic and we are not boring people.

Are we? -Tre

After I get off my bicycle every morning I bump into Jeremiah. Or Jeremie. He works in my office building. He is from the Congo. Despite the mess he saw on his way out of there, Jeremie is upbeat and always greets me with a "Muli Bwanji?" That means "How are you today?" in ChiNyanja, which is the language I decidedly did not master while serving in Peace Corps Zambia. Jeremie seems like he can converse in about ten African languages.

Seeing Jeremie every day makes me smile and remember what I liked about my time serving in Peace Corps/Zambia specifically seeing friendly folks.

Ndili Bwino! Muli Bwanji?

The Columbia Missourian reported last week that bicycle riders will be able to experience a safer ride from the City out to the Katy Trail. I am happy for recreational riders who will feel safer and the Route K drivers who are probably quite sick of having to Share the Road.

What bums me out though is how far this money could have gone to serve much larger numbers of bicyclists within the City of Columbia. The Missourian says $2 million to build this bike lane, which will come with a total road resurfacing of Route K as it leads into the Village of McBaine.

When I did the math last week, it will cost $1.2 million to build or reconstruct sidewalks along Broadway in west Central Columbia. There are existing, but crumbling sidewalks in some of this area, the area near where I live. There are an estimated $60 million worth of unmet bike and pedestrian needs in Columbia alone.

I don't want to take any of the wind out of the sails of the recreational bike riders who will finally get their paved shoulder on Route K, but I could think of about a dozen MoDOT-owned locations within the nearby City of Columbia where the money could have served low-income citizens, youth and those who choose not to drive. MoDOT: Consider also sidewalks and bicycle paths along Route PP or Route WW on Columbia's growing northeast side. You would make a much larger impact in terms of getting people to work and shopping who truly need these facilities.

Here are some pictures of my niece Audrey celebrating what the universe provides: puddles after the snow melts. I celebrated when the snow came, but when it lingered and lingered for what seemed like weeks then life got hard. Especially bicycling on ice. I fell off my bike on the ice once, but was okay and tougher for it.

Columbia, Missouri got 18 inches of snow or so they said.

The University gave us three snow days and said don't come to work. It ain't safe to come here!

Motivation problems led to a snow igloo becoming a serpent.

So we the good people of Columbia stayed home and worked and played and baked and some of us went and got our cars stuck in the snow. (Am I a bad person that I don't stop and help push someone in their snow-stuck car? I think they are insane for getting in a car to begin with during a snow event such as this. Maybe this is me justifying my unhelpfulness but I think helping them free their car from snow just encourages more snow driving behavior.

Oh, my niece Natasha and I built a snow serpent in our neighbors yard this afternoon. -tre

Wake up. Bleary eyes. Still dark outside. Eat some coffee. Drink a cup of cereal. Snarfle down a bagel. Get dressed. Hop on bike. Go outside.

YOWZA! It is cold these mornings on bike, but I love it!

Nothing wakes me up as well as a brisk ride in to work. Coffee can't get me that alert. Couple the cold with daily close calls provided by SUV drivers brushing up against me while I try to avoid the ice and slush and there, my friends, is a recipe for full wakefulness int he morning.

I rearranged the dumpstered, former white bicycles into more of a pattern in my side yard.

Then my neighbor went and passed away.

I pray these things are unrelated.

At ease.Considering the tree. Taking a Thanksgiving walk at my Mom's place outside Fulton was really fun! Despite hunters occasionally popping one off in the distance and alledeged scary rural neighbors, Heath, Lisa, Erin and I got in a needed constitutional before sunset and our respective drives home. Heath and I finally climbed a massive oak tree (variety unknown) on the edge of Mom and Roy's Homestead, the KK Ranch.

Up where we belong

Our Fair City has a big, wide new road opening soon! I guess the City though we needed to give car drivers somewhere to go when they aren't circling the new $20-some million downtown parking structure. Actually, the new road will prove helpful for the new IBM workers get to their new offices on Lemone or Maguire or wherever they work. It is commonly repeated in bike circles locally that IBM liked the quality of life in Columbia when deciding to expand 800 new jobs here. I guess some IBM spokesperson cited the Katy Trail specifically as part of that quality of life.

To state the obvious: new roads and parking decks reinforce personal automobile use as the dominant mode of transportation locally. This dominance will continue to be the case for a long time to come. Sigh.

Anyway, a new road calls for a party and the City has one planned. I assume there may be newspeople at the ribbon-cutting next Monday afternoon at 3:00pm. If anyone is near Columbia, Missouri next Monday and wants to join me in being the first to ride across the new Maguire Extension, let me know. I plan on being there and be among the first to test drive the new bike lanes and sidewalks! I want to check out the smooth new asphalt. I want to experience a debris-free bike path. Feel the wind whip through my helmeted hair. If I had hair, that is.

Okay, so no one yawned when we got our new sidewalk recently, but there were not necessarily parades to mark the occasion. The deal is this: several years ago the City of Columbia resurfaced our street. That's fine and needed, but in not milling the street down the City raised the street higher than my sidewalk and curb. This led to water cascading down the street - what is wants to do anyway - and washing across my yard. This water was in quantities that over time proved to be destructive (Topsoil erosion! Maple tree roots exposed! Gnashing of teeth! Ripping of hair!)

My City Councilman Daryl Dudley was approachable and within a few weeks of me calling him and him communicating my problem with Columbia's City Administration. The City Streets Division came, tore out the old and put in a new, higher sidewalk.

Now the rest my street may be none too happy about what seems to be the preferential treatment I got in getting my maybe 40 foot of sidewalk stub replaced, however, this is a case of persistence paying off. Pictures to follow. My friend Evan suggests we christen the new pathway the T. Harris Memorial Causeway (but that makes it sound like I passed, which I have not. (Yet.)

Pictures to follow... Stay tuned. Thanks for reading.

This news - along with the news earlier this week that the Columbia City Council may soon approve new pedestrian improvements near Hickman High School - is very good news for local scholars just trying to get across the street.

Columbia's College Avenue does, however, need a serious Road Diet. The road deserves to be reduced to two traffic lanes, one in each direction, with bicycle lanes on each side. There is enough foot and bike traffic along this streets segment to justify more than just medians.

Finally all praise to Columbia City Planner Mitch Skov for getting this application in to the Federal Highway Administration in the nick of time!