The creator of Trailnet will lead projects that encourage walking and bicycling
The bumpy sidewalks of Providence Road and narrow shoulders of Stadium Boulevard might seem to be hopeless death traps for some pedestrians and bicyclists, but city officials hope Ted Curtis will see them as a couple of avenues brimming with potential.
Curtis on Tuesday was named senior planner for the city’s Non-Motorized Grant Program and beginning Aug. 28 he will lead the city as it spends a $22 million federal grant for projects that promote walking and biking. He’ll also oversee the 35-member task force that the mayor appointed to coordinate the grant.
Dave Nichols, an engineer with the Columbia Public Works Department, said it was hard to overlook Curtis’ qualifications.
Curtis has promoted bicycling and walking for almost 20 years. In 1988 he founded Trailnet, a not-for-profit organization that hosts recreational events, and created the Bicycle Fun Club in hopes of encouraging people to use alternative transportation in more practical ways. He led Trailnet for 18 years before retiring in March 2006 to set up a consultant business on trail and bikeway issues.
“He’s a visionary,” Trailnet Executive Director Ann Mack said. “He sees opportunities where other people might see barriers.”
Under Curtis’ leadership, Trailnet in 1992 developed Grant’s Trail, a “rail-to-trail” conversion for the St. Louis community. Mack said the trail continues to expand. Trailnet also was a key player in saving the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, a portion of Old Route 66 condemned to demolition in 1996. Trailnet leased the area from Madison, Ill., and dedicated the mile-long bridge to a pedestrian and bicycle trail crossing the Mississippi River. Now, the trail is one of the longest pedestrian trails in the world, Mack said.
Curtis was unavailable for comment Tuesday. His position is temporary and funded by the grant. After five years, however, Nichols said he hopes Curtis will move into a more permanent position.