Biking, walking in Cape easier than in past, but it could still use improvements, some say

Cape Girardeau has come a long way in becoming more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly, some residents have noticed.

Extended and additional sidewalks, combined with designated bike lanes and "share the road" signs have made it easier to navigate the city on foot or on two wheels, but some say it could be made even simpler with a few changes.

Mark Langenfeld is an avid cyclist. For the past 28 years, he's biked around the city, often from his home to Southeast Missouri State University, where he's a professor of exercise science.

He's also a volunteer for the city's bicycle committee, which worked to seek and obtain grants that made the bike lanes -- such as those on Sprigg Street and Lexington Avenue -- and road-sharing awareness signs possible.

"In Cape, there's been paint that's gone on the roads that does designate bike lanes," Langenfeld said. "It delineates much more clearly a zone that's reserved for bicycle use and there's a visual marker that way. But there's challenges to doing that, which has to deal with road width and a lot of different issues ... like if there's on-street parking or not."

Planning

Don Hinkebein, right, leads Jim Summers and J.J. Lee of the Velo Girardeau bicycle club on a ride into Illinois on Sunday from a start in Cape Girardeau. (Fred Lynch)

Money is only one part of the issue, he added, as several factors must be considered before designating a bike lane on a street. Steve Gerard, a member of the cycling club Velo Girardeau, said he believes more consideration could be given to cyclists in infrastructure planning on the city and state levels. He understands the issues with creating bike lanes, also citing the on-street parking issue, but said there are other ways to accommodate cyclists that would require only modest changes.

"A challenge we've seen more recently is on Route W, where they widened the road and made a small shoulder, which would have been great for bikes and vehicles to share the road," Gerard said, "but they put rumble strips down and the rumble strips just ruin the shoulder. We can't use it, so that kicks us way out over into the traffic lane, which defeats our ability to safely ride on roads like that."

He said if a cyclist had been involved with the planning, that person could have suggested leaving some space on the shoulder for bicycle use. Those are the kinds of details noncyclists simply don't think about, Gerard said.

Sidewalks

While Langenfeld often relies on his bicycle for transportation, he also walks. He helped organize local participation in International Walk to School Day, with parents, teachers and students from Alma Schrader Elementary School hitting the pavement. In the event's first year, nearly a decade ago, it helped demonstrate the need for sidewalks in the area, which were narrow or nonexistent in many places.

Langenfeld called it a "fantastic success story" and said by the second year, more sidewalks had been built in the neighborhood. It's where his home is and he said the difference in activity around the area was immediately noticeable. Recognizing the importance of sidewalks and the number of people they could potentially serve can be described with a modified quote from "Field of Dreams," Langenfeld said: "If you build sidewalks, people will walk."

The city continued building sidewalks near schools, thanks to funding received through Safe Routes to School grants, distributed by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Sidewalks completed as recently as this summer were built near the Cape Girardeau Public Library, Franklin Elementary, St. Vincent de Paul Grade School and the Central Junior High and middle schools. City engineer Casey Brunke said sidewalks in those areas, particularly around the library, were much needed, but the city recognizes there are other areas in need as well.

The city applied for another grant that would help fund a sidewalks project on Cape Rock Drive, from Kingshighway to Perryville Road. Brunke said the city often receives requests for sidewalks in that area. If the city is awarded the grant, more than 6,300 new linear feet of sidewalks would be built.

"We think that would be an awesome place to put some more sidewalks if we can get some money to do that: connect Arena Park to Dennis Scivally Park and ultimately help people get to Kiwanis Park. Because we have sidewalks on Perryville and on Cape Rock north of Perryville, it's just the stretch between Kingshighway and Perryville that we don't have any pedestrian infrastructure."

Safety

Shannon Aldridge often runs and rides his bike around Cape Girardeau. He remembers the time before bike lanes were available and said cycling is definitely easier than it used to be. But it's not without its problems, he added.

"The bike lanes are not perfect. For instance, on Lexington, people have a habit of raking their yards and putting all the leaves in the bike lane," Aldridge said. "Or if you're on Lexington and you're heading toward the roundabout, all of a sudden, the bike lane just comes to an abrupt end, without any warning."

But the biggest detail for cyclists to keep in mind is safety, he said. It's not uncommon for passing motorists to honk at cyclists on or near the road, but Aldridge said he's also had occasions where a vehicle narrowly missed him, likely on purpose. Gerard, too, recalled times where he was "victimized" by a motorist.

With such little to protect cyclists, Aldridge said a collision with a vehicle could cause severe injuries or worse.

"People get hit and die all the time," he said. "Maybe not in the Cape area yet, but it will happen eventually."

It's important to be aware of your surroundings and "use common sense," Aldridge said. That's why he avoids heavy traffic areas such as Broadway and Kingshighway.

But when Gerard rides his bike to work, which is nearly every day, it requires a trip across Kingshighway.

"I take back streets a lot, but I have to cross Kingshighway, and that's a big problem for cyclists and pedestrians," he said.

It's an issue he said he's tried to address repeatedly with state transportation officials, because of the safety hazard it poses to pedestrians, with no crosswalk available on Kingshighway. Langenfeld called the busy roadway a "barrier," especially to those on foot.

The cyclists also have safety concerns about Cape LaCroix trail, often used by cyclists and runners. Gerard said with all the pedestrian traffic on the trail, riding a bike there is almost more dangerous than riding on the road. Aldridge also has concerns about how effectively cyclists and pedestrians share the path.

"Common courtesy, as a cyclist, if you were passing a runner on the trail, you would say as you're coming up behind them 'Passing on the left,'" he said. "It's just etiquette, that's what you do. ... Probably 90 percent of the cyclists do not do this on the trail."

This opens up more opportunities for accidents, which could be severe for pedestrians and cyclists alike. It would help if the trail was wider, but Aldridge said offering a class to teach cyclists more about safety and etiquette would go a long way. Such classes could also help drivers better understand sharing the roadway with cyclists and overcome the lack of information and misunderstandings that Aldridge and Gerard said are likely responsible for the animosity that can build between motorists and cyclists.

Looking to the future

Aldridge said that just in the past five years, he's noticed an increase in people purchasing and using bikes. He estimates the number of cyclists in the area has probably doubled. He and Gerard would like to see the number of bike lanes in the city eventually increase to accommodate this growth.

Brunke said the city is aware of the growing number of people who walk and bike not only for exercise, but as a primary means of transportation. With many people shifting to these alternative forms of transportation, she said the city tries to keep that in mind as it plans for the future.

Included in the Transportation Trust Fund are a number of general projects, including the sidewalk gap project. This allows the city to continue adding to its sidewalks system, Brunke said.

She also said the city has a goal to one day create a trail for pedestrians and cyclists that loops all the way around the city.

"So you could potentially, say, go to the riverfront, head south, then come back to that same exact spot on the riverfront without driving a car," she said.

As the city builds new sidewalks, it makes an effort to connect them to existing infrastructure, so Brunke said some progress on the loop has been made. There are still some significant gaps, especially to the north and south, she said.

Langenfeld is optimistic that travel for pedestrians and cyclists will continue to improve in the city. Making those changes, and shifting attitudes about cyclists on the roadway, won't happen overnight, but he said other cities have seen it happen and Cape Girardeau could eventually join them.

"We're making progress," he said. "It may be slow, but I still think, and so often think, about the string of people at the city level. ... There's some forward thinking leadership and that's been true for well over a decade now, and that benefits us."

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.