Data shows 60% of deaths along Business Loop 70 in Columbia are people outside vehicles

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia gathered public input Thursday night on how to make the Business Loop safer for pedestrians, motorcyclists and others.

The meeting was held at the Boone Electric headquarters on Range Line Street. In attendance was a group of the public and staff members from CoMo to Zero and CBB Transportation Solution.

Organizers said Thursday’s meeting marked the start of a road safety audit for Business Loop 70 between Stadium Boulevard in west Columbia and Eastland Circle in east Columbia part of the city’s “Vision Zero” initiative to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.

The project focuses on improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists, seniors, motorcyclists, and school-age children. Findings from the audit will be integrated into the larger Business Loop 70 corridor planning process.

“The intent is to take a look at how the quarter’s operating, take a look at things that might cause some safety issues. We’ve also gone through and analyzed fiver years of crash data, and the intent is to try to find solutions that make the quarter safer for everybody,” Shawn Lieght, an engineer with CBB said.

Krista Shousejones, coordinator for CoMo to Zerom said safety audits are the outset of change.

“Things can be done short term like something as simple as changing signal timing or sequence,” Shousejones said. “All the way to projects that are more long term. So things like infrastructure changes that really involve construction projects,”

According to Shousejones, the Business Loop is considered a high-injury corridor, which is why the group is prioritizing the section between Stadium Boulevard and Eastland Circle. CBB’s research shows that more than 60% of fatal and serious injuries along the corridor involve people outside of vehicles.

“In the past five years, there’s been three fatalities, a number of serious injuries,” Leight said. “One of the things that jumped out as all three fatalities were motorcyclist,”

Five months ago, a 35-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene after a crash on West Business Loop 70 between Creasey Springs Road and Schwabe Lane.

“They are not protected by a vehicle and the seatbelts, the airbags and all that. So we’ve got some challenges certainly to overcome along the corridor. The other things is most of the safety issues are happening at the intersections. So that’s one place that we’ll be putting a lot of focus on,” Leight said.

Residents Alec Brown and Tayler MacDonald attended Thursday’s meeting to learn more about the project. Both live along Business Loop and will be directly affected by the changes.

“I think it’s just incredibly important to provide feedback on something so huge that is going to impact me daily,” MacDonald said.

Brown adds, “I bike commute most days and I was interested in how they might be interesting safety and increasing safety for bike commuters,”

Next week, organizers will conduct a field review, where team members will walk, bike and drive the corridor to identify safety concerns.

“We have people who walk it, people who drive it, people who bike it, and they give us feedback on what things, feel comfortable, what things don’t need improvements,” Shousejones said.

After the review, organizers will compile their findings into a summary and develop a final report, which is expected to be completed by late spring 2026.

According to Shousejones, 80% of the project will be funded by the Safe Streets for All grant from the U.S Department of Transportation, with the remaining 20% provided by the city.

The study, a collaboration between the Columbia City Council, The Loop CID and Great Rivers Engineering, seeks to improve safety, accessibility, and economic vitality along the corridor.

The Columbia City Council recently approved several million-dollar infrastructure projects, including the study for Business Loop 70.

The total cost of the study is capped at $2,623,500, with $500,000 funded by Capital Improvement Program sales tax funds. The rest will be covered by federal funding. Great Rivers Engineering will conduct surveys, gather public input, and develop engineering plans to address issues such as stormwater management, bike lanes and pedestrian crosswalks.