Bicycle Friendly Community

Springfield, MO| Bronze Level

Community Highlights: Springfield has a well-developed secondary street system so that one can travel by bike across town safely at a relaxed pace.  The area around Springfield is not densely developed such that there are many low volume paved roads around the City for recreational riding and beautiful views of the Ozarks. The citizens of Springfield have an effective bicycle network with relatively small capital investment. Greenway system plans for Springfield began 20 years ago and plans for on-street bike routes using low-speed low-volume roads began 15 years ago. The area has 63 trail miles and a funding stream for trail construction/maintenance.  A bike plan has been developed and accepted by Council & 60 miles of street have been designated as bike routes and developed as an interconnected system from downtown. The interest in biking for both recreation and transportation in Springfield is increasing and the government is poised to increase the investment in facilities. Traffic Engineering staff and the TAB Bicycle & Pedestrian Committee have developed a bike route signing system that includes a route numbering system with pavement markings to further identify bike routes.  A program called SPARC (Schools, Parks Are Reaching Communities) run through the Park Board and the School District that works alongside a number of schools in Springfield to improve transportation options in the area.  The City of Springfield has also received a Safe Routes to School non-infrastructure grant for safety and education in 4 elementary schools.