Last updated: 27th October 2006

The PedNet Coalition is a group of individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations with a vision for the future of Columbia, in which it is safe and pleasant to walk, cycle, wheel, and skate throughout the city.

We hope to give citizens a real choice regarding the mode of transportation they elect for traveling to work, school, or recreaton as well as to encourage healthier lifestyles and a cleaner environment. Not having to incur the substantial costs required to own and/or drive a car can permit dramatic improvements in quality of life for thousands of people.

The PedNet is a proposed network of nature trails and urban "Pedways" that will connect residential subdivisions, employment centers, businesses, parks, schools (including local colleges and MU), the public library, the recreation center, and Downtown. It will enable pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, in-line skaters, and skateboarders to travel safely and pleasantly between these locations. The PedNet masterplan describes a twenty-year timescale for achieving this goal by building new nature trails and adding Pedways to selected roads.

Columbia and Boone County are already blessed with many miles of nature trails. These trails include the popular MKT and Katy Trails recently joined by the Bear Creek Trail on the north, connecting Cosmo and Oakland Parks, and the Hinkson Trail on the south connecting the MKT with Grindstone Park and the MU Campus. By developing trails along the Perche Creek on the west side of town and the Hinkson Creek on the east in the years to come, we will create a 20-30 mile nature trail loop that will completely encircle Columbia. In recent years nearly two thirds of the cost of constructing the Bear Creek and Hinkson Trails have been absorbed by the federal goverments as part of their effort to create alternate transporation facilities. It appears that this source of funding will continue to be available in the years to come.

The second component of the PedNet is the central grid of Pedways which will link the nature trails together across town. These 6'-12' wide smooth, asphalt paths are popular in many U.S. and European cities. They run parallel to city roads but are separated from them by a raised buffer (often landscaped), designed to make Pedway users, especially children and people in wheelchairs, feel safe from automobile traffic. They are typically marked for two-way pedestrian, bicycle, and wheelchair traffic, and sensible speed limits may be set. Providence Road, Broadway, Old Highway 63, Scott Boulevard and Forum Boulevard are examples of existing Columbia roads that could be modified to include a Pedway. Even Downtown Columbia can accomodate Pedways by using back alleys.

When a Pedway is incorporated into the plans for a new or renovated street, the project can still be carried out within traditional roadbuilding budgets and without increasing the amount of impervious surface. Space for Pedways can be created by narrowing driving lanes, removing on-street parking, or from a number of other possible sources. Construction costs may actually be lower since the materials necessary to construct a Pedway are cheaper than those necessary for driving and parking lanes built to the heavy-duty standards required to carry car and truck traffic. It will be necessary to examine each project to determine the best combination of sidewalks, pedways, and on-street cycle lanes for that location.

If you share this vision for Columbia, please explore this site, view the PedNet map, make suggestions for improvements, and join the PedNet Coalition.

PedNet Coalition Board members:

• Chip Cooper (president)
• Christy Welliver (vice-president)
• Ann Cohen (secretary)
• Roger Still (treasurer)
• Greg Ahrens (member)
• Sarah Ashman (member)
• Allie Gassmann (member)
• Dean Hargett (member)
• Karl Kruse (member)
• Stacia Reilly (member)
• Terry Skinner (member)
• Kathleen Weinschenk (member)

• Melinda Hemmelgarn (health and nutrition advisor)
• Tom LaFontaine (health and fitness advisor)
• Mike Snyder (City of Columbia liaison)

By mail: PedNet Coalition, P.O. Box 7124, Columbia, MO 65205
By electronic mail: pednet@pednet.org