PedNet's "Street Design Standards" campaign (2000-2004) is a good example of effective advocacy at work. Here is the brief history.
2000
When the PedNet Coalition was established in April, 2000, Columbia already had the MKT Trail, but most of the city's streets were hostile to cyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair users.
At the time, Columbia's "street design standards" required a 4-feet wide sidewalk to be built on new residential streets, but there was no requirement for bicycle facilities on any types of street. In an effort to ensure that new streets accommodated all modes of transport, PedNet volunteers participated in the public process as it related to the design, approval, and construction of new streets and advocated strongly for sidewalks and bicycle lanes. At the time, Columbia was expanding rapidly and it was almost impossible for unpaid volunteers to keep up with all the public hearings relating to new streets.
2001
After about twelve months of struggling to keep up with new street approvals, it became apparent that a different strategy was needed. Instead of trying to influence the design of each street individually, the PedNet Coalition needed to change the basic policy that determined how streets were built - the street design standards.
As a first step, advocates from the PedNet Coalition and the City of Columbia's Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission convened an "interested parties meeting" to discuss street design. Mark Virkler, a University of Missouri researcher in transportation systems design, who specializes in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, was invited to make a presentation entitled "Model Street Design Standards." The meeting was attended by about 30 advocates from PedNet; the Bicycle and Pedestrian, and Planning and Zoning Commissions; City Council; the City's Planning Department, and various neighborhood associations. This presentation kicked off an informal series of workshops, through which the group started to develop new street design standards that included sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and pedways (wide sidewalks) of specified widths.
2002
After a year of workshops, Columbia City Council directed the Planning and Zoning Commission to establish an official working group to study the issue of street design standards and make specific recommendations back to the Commission and Council. Interestingly, many of the same individuals who had participated in the unofficial group were appointed to the official group, including several PedNet Board members and supporters.
At the same time, PedNet's membership was growing fast. An elegant street kiosk had been built and donated by PedNet member John Relles and this was used to display photographs of excellent multi-modal streets from Boulder, CO: Madison, WI; Portland, OR; Santa Barbara, CA; and elsewhere. PedNet volunteers engaged community members in discussions about street design and the need to include facilities for bicyclists, pedestrians, and wheelchair-users. In this way, thousands of new PedNet members were recruited and thousands of people became educated about the benefits of designing streets for all users, not just car drivers.
By the end of 2002, PedNet's membership had passed 3,500.
2003
After meeting for a year, the official Street Design Standards Working Group made specific recommendations to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the public hearings started.
At this point, groups opposed to changing the street design standards mounted their own campaigns. The opposition was led by the Central Missouri Development Council and Columbia Homebuilders' Association. There followed numerous meetings and consultations regarding the financial impact of the proposed changes, and regarding the effect on total impervious surface area. Since the proposal included narrowing the curb-to-curb street width for residential streets, while widening sidewalks and adding bike lanes, the Working Group argued that there would be no net effect on cost and impervious surface.
Hundreds of PedNet members attended several public hearings to advocate for the new standards, and a strong, diverse movement began to develop which included health professionals, educators, environmentalists, and business owners. PedNet volunteers continued to build support for the movement by delivering PowerPoint presentations to numerous groups around town, including the Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors' Bureau, Boone Hospital, and Cosmo Club.
2004
In February, 2004, Mayor Darwin Hindman, along with Chip Cooper and Ian Thomas of the PedNet Coalition Board, visited Columbia Daily Tribune publisher Hank Waters and made their presentation to him in his office. Waters was very impressed with Hindman's and PedNet's vision for a future Columbia, in which it will be convenient and pleasant to walk, bike, and wheel throughout the City, as an alternative to driving, and immediately wrote an editorial strongly supporting the proposed new street design standards.
This editorial was the "tipping point" for the campaign. More and more members of the community began to express public support for the new street standards and the opposition began to fade. In June, as the campaign approached a final vote on the City Council, advocates published an opinion piece in the Columbia Daily Tribune. Ian Thomas and Chip Cooper were the lead authors, and the article included contributions and endorsements from the chairs of the Columbia/Boone County Board of Health, Columbia Parks and Recreation Commission, Columbia Bicycle/Pedestrian Commission, Columbia Disabilities Commission, Mayor's Council on Physical Fitness and Health, and Mayor's Challenge Bike, Walk, and Wheel Week Committee; as well as the principal of a local elementary school; the local coordinator for a children's charity focused on safety; the owner of a downtown restaurant; and a senior family physician.
On June 7, the Columbia City Council voted 6-1 to approve a city ordinance requiring all new streets built in Columbia to conform to new street design standards. Specifically, residential streets will have wider sidewalks (5' instead of 4') and narrower street pavements (28' instead of 32'), and major collector and arterial streets will have one pedway (8' or 10') and either a 6' striped bike lane or a wide travel lane designed to accommodate bicycles and cars (see Columbia Tribune article).
The issue had dominated local news to the extent that the street standards were the subject of the June 8 editorial cartoon!
