Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel

A Network for Bicycles and Pedestrians

St. Charles County is taking the initiative to work closely with municipalities to formally establish a connected network of low-stress multi-modal facilities. That will not only provide safer options for bicyclists, but also includes accommodations for pedestrians. The County is developing a plan to upgrade its existing network of multi-modal facilities with sign wayfinding and pavement markings to establish a formal network, connecting municipalities throughout the county and connecting users to home, work, school, retail centers and parks. More information to come soon.

St. Charles County Multi-Modal Plans

These two plans are the most current bicycle and pedestrian plans being utilized by St. Charles County and local municipalities with the County to develop our region’s multi-modal transportation network.

The updated Gateway Bike Plan serves as our primary resource in moving forward with the establishment of a low-stress multi-modal network and the Greenway Master Plan sets new goals of development and prioritization of the greenway expansion throughout St. Charles County.

Development of a Multi-Modal Network

In 2012, Great Rivers Greenway completed and adopted the Gateway Bike Plan, a cooperative planning effort with East-West Gateway Council of Governments, St. Charles County, St. Louis County, the City of St. Louis, Metro Transit, Trailnet, and the Missouri Department of Transportation. The Gateway Bike Plan established a framework for interagency coordination and the implementation of a bicycle network focused on increasing bicycling activity and decreasing crashes involving bicyclists. Since the plan’s adoption, Great Rivers Greenway and its partner agencies have worked diligently to bring the vision of a regional on-street bicycle system to life.

In 2018, the Gateway Bike Plan Working Group, a subcommittee of East-West Gateway Council of Governments’ Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC), worked with Great Rivers Greenway staff to update the plan’s goals and objectives. This update reflected regional ambitions to increase the network’s accessibility to people of all ages and abilities with a focus on increasing comfort, safety, and separation from motor vehicle traffic. The result initiated a multi-year planning process in St. Louis County to develop a county-wide plan that not only focused on bicycles but also included a plan for pedestrians. With St. Louis County’s plan under development, Great Rivers Greenway took the opportunity to coordinate with other stakeholders, including St. Charles County, to initiate similar updates.

In 2020, St. Charles County partnered with Great Rivers Greenway to coordinate updates to the Gateway Bike Plan network in St. Charles County. The new vision for the update to the plan was to focus on the current state of bicycle facility planning and design, to incorporate the shared desire to focus on low-street facility development. During these plan developments and updates, St. Charles County has experience significant growth in their communities which has resulted in construction of many new roadway connections. Recognizing the need for alternate forms of transportation, the County and municipalities have not only expanded the roadway network throughout the County but have included the addition of many multi-use path facilities alongside these new roadways. The result has been a significant trend toward the development of a lower stress network.

Other Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities

The St. Charles County Parks Department maintains over 50 miles of trails for visitors to its many parks. There are three types of trails featured within our parks system: multi-use trails, natural surface trails, and paved trails. The Trails webpage provides additional information on the specific types of trails and what trail types are available within each County park.