Real Life STL

Are we a car only city?

How many times have you been crossing in a crosswalk and nearly been hit by a car?  Have you ever stopped for someone in a marked crosswalk and nearly been rear ended because the jerk behind you doesn’t understand why you stopped?  How about been honked at because you won’t run the cyclist off the road in order to pass him?  All of these things have happened to me on a regular basis and after a recent trip to Colorado it is striking to me how unfriendly St. Louis is to anyone who is not encased within a giant chunk of metal.

We have no respect at all for crosswalks, we have very few good, well marked, crosswalks, I felt safer jaywalking during rush hour in downtown Denver than I do here on a Sunday afternoon with a walk signal on.  We have almost no bike lanes (I’m sorry but a little sign on the side of the road that says bike lane with no distinguishable marking on the road does not a bike lane make).  I’m familiar with GORC, and the off road trails around St. Louis.  I’m also familiar with The Great Rivers Greenway Project, and they are steps in the right direction. What I’m talking about is an overall attitude from the area of both people walking and biking through the city.  I wonder how closely this attitude is a contributing factor to Missouri being named the 12th most obese state in the nation.

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