ST. LOUIS — On Sunday, a convoy of bicycles traveled what has become one of the most dangerous roads in St. Louis.
Theodore Smith, who joined The St. Louis Coalition to Protect Pedestrians and Cyclists, got into an accident on Grand Boulevard near St. Louis University seven years ago, making him an advocate for safer roads.
"Started as a student, convening to SLU, just biking around hanging out with friends. Did bike deliveries for years," he said.
Smith said he was in the bike lane and next to traffic when he was hit.
"Had the green light and just kind of got hit head-on," he described. "Luckily I was able to brace myself in time. My shoulder took the brunt of it. Had a bit of a mild concussion."
The group went for miles up Grand Boulevard to view the road from a bicycle and pedestrian perspective. They covered the area where the City of St. Louis has major redesign plans this fall, which includes putting in a variety of traffic calming measures.
The city is addressing pavement resurfacing, lane reconfigurations and reductions, and traffic signal retimings. The group hitting the route for themselves noticed other needs.
"There are stretches right now that the city will not be improving that crossing is very difficult," said Matt Wycalkowski, an advocate and leader of the cycling bus on Sunday. "It's a very wide open street and it's difficult for anybody, bicycle or wheelchair or stroller to cross."
Smith had some feedback too.
"Definitely enjoying the curb bump-outs. To slow down traffic. The flowers in there. Something scenic to look at. having my lanes or maybe even more seperate bike lanes."
The overall consesus from the group was the desire for a safer St. Louis.
"I think that having a city where you can get from neighborhood to neighborhood in a way outside of a car is really important for building community and tying St. Louis together better," Wyczalkowski said.
"Definitely want people to be more aware of cyclists. pedestrians. Take it a bit easy. So we can all get to where we're going," Smith added.
The St. Louis Coalition to Protect Pedestrian Cyclists plans to take their suggestions from Sunday's meetup to city leaders. The City is still taking feedback.
The St. Louis Coalition is on Instagram at @stlcp2. It invited the Mayor’s Office and her Chief of Staff Jared Boyd was on the ride.