Columbia Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Commission applauds budget amendments, calls for further safety enhancements
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The City of Columbia will be using part of its 2025 budget to address concerns raised by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission, however, it would still like to see more changes.
On Monday, the city passed a nearly $563 million budget which includes money for an agreement with the Missouri Department of Transportation to make the Highway 63/Interstate 70 connector safer.
Last September, the commission expressed disappointment that safety and accessibility for pedestrians were not included as one of MoDOT's main goals in the Improve I-70 Project.
Before the City Council could pass the new budget on Monday, it had to approve several amendments. One of the biggest amendments included just more than $2 million for a cost-sharing agreement with MoDOT.
“I’m thrilled, personally. Thrilled to death. MoDOT asked me to put together a top-10 list of what we would like to see as additions with sidewalks,” Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission Chair Elke Boyd said. “Those 10 projects are on the list for the grant application.”
Changes include expanding sidewalks and creating signalized pedestrian crossings near St Charles Road, the Highway 63 connector, the Hanover Boulevard roundabout and the Clark Lane roundabout. Boyd said while those may not look like important changes, they are going to help a lot of people.
“I think the homeless people are the most visible, because they go to the intersection and they stay there for a while,” Boyd said. “That is what people see a lot. But if you really pay attention, there are lots of people crossing that interstate and the 63 Connector. And if you talk to them personally, these are people who want to go to the doctor, they want to go to the shopping center and they want to go to work in one of the many fast food places.”
Now the commission has its eyes on another phase of the Improve I-70 Project, which includes expanding lanes from Highway 63 to Rocheport. The commission is concerned that the outer road on the north side of Interstate 70 has no good way for vehicle's to avoid non-motorized travelers and the lack of attention to crosswalks near roundabouts on Stadium Boulevard and West Business Loop 70.
MoDOT wasn’t expected to start that phase of the project until 2027. Boyd believes that it will likely start significantly sooner than expected so they felt it was important to stay engaged with the design teams at MoDOT to make the process easier.
