Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission opposes Columbia City Council’s proposed median ordinance
Mitchell Kaminski
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Columbia Bike and Pedestrian Commission voted to write a letter of opposition to the Columbia City Council on a proposed ordinance that would regulate the use of medians, road crossings and islands.
On Wednesday, the Columbia Bike and Pedestrian Commission reviewed the ordinance that had drawn large crowds at a City Council meeting earlier in the week.
“We’re trying to focus on the traffic issues related to pedestrians and bicycles and not on the other issues,” Bike and Pedestrian Commission Chair Elke Boyd said. So from the transportation perspective, yes, there were many problems with that ordinance.”
Council members on Monday night voted 6-1 to table the issue until Feb. 2, with Ward 5 Councilman Don Waterman being the sole “no” vote.
The ordinance would regulate the use of medians, road crossings and islands by both motorists and pedestrians at intersections with speeds of 35 miles per hour or greater, average daily traffic volumes of 15,000 vehicles or greater, or where the median width is fewer than 6 feet wide.
If adopted, the ordinance will:
Prohibit crossing a major road anywhere except in a crosswalk, a pedestrian-control signal, or an intersection if those things aren’t available.
Prohibit being on a median fewer than 6 feet wide except when crossing the road.
Prohibit getting out of cars while in a traffic lane or within a major intersection.
Prohibit approaching cars on a major road unless the car is legally parked.
Prohibit people in vehicles from engaging with pedestrians at major intersections.
However, members who attended Thursday’s Bike and Pedestrian Safety meeting unanimously opposed the idea.
Multiple commission members called it a “Panhandling Ordinance” that was masked as a “median ordinance” to protect the city from possible First Amendment conflicts.
Others cited issues with “vague definitions” while saying that the ordinance needed more focus on enforcing traffic violations.
“Our biggest concerns with the ordinance were that they don’t really consider conditions on the ground a thing. For example, the requirement to cross a road only at intersections is a dangerous proposition and also inconvenient,” Boyd told ABC 17 News. “There are long stretches of some of our major roads without an intersection, so pedestrians would have to walk maybe half a mile out of their way each direction to cross the road.”
The commission reported there have been three traffic fatalities this year, with two of those being motorcycle crashes. While the number of fatalities is on pace to drop, the number of crashes is on the rise. The commission reported 53 crashes in Columbia so far this year, compared to 51 at the same time last year.
An email was sent to members of the commission by Carrie Gartner in October, a representative from the Business Loop CID, in support of the ordinance.
The email cited frequent near-misses and unsafe conditions the group observed during a safety survey of the Business Loop.
Observers saw drivers stopping unexpectedly to give money to people on medians and pedestrians darting into traffic, both creating crash risks. Crowded medians also discouraged pedestrians—especially students—from using crosswalks, leading to more jaywalking.
The CID also noted that the ordinance targets safety, not homelessness; those in need should be directed to established local support services.