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Trailnet urges St. Louis to create streets planning division, scrap 50/50 sidewalk cost‑share
Summary
Charles Bryson, identified in the hearing as a policy catalyst for Trailnet, told the budget committee that establishing a planning division inside the Streets Department and ending the city’s 50/50 sidewalk repair cost‑share would improve safety, equity and the ability to coordinate $46 million in ARPA-funded street and sidewalk work.
Charles Bryson, a policy catalyst for Trailnet, told the Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 31 that the FY26 budget is an opportunity to create a planning division within the Streets Department and to end the city’s 50/50 sidewalk program.
Bryson said the changes could be revenue‑neutral by reassigning existing positions and would be especially important during the transition to a new City Department of Transportation that, he noted, the city charter or local legislation plans to create (he referenced July 1, 2029 as the date the existing Streets Department would transition under that plan). “Residents of the city deserve better,” Bryson said, arguing budget decisions help determine the safety of streets and sidewalks after a record pedestrian‑fatality year in the city’s 2024 crash report.
He asked the committee to consolidate sidewalk repair funding inside the Streets Department rather than relying on the 50/50 cost share, which he said leaves low‑income households unable to afford repairs. Bryson also referenced roughly $46 million of ARPA funding already allocated for street and sidewalk safety improvements and argued that a planning division is needed to coordinate and sustain those investments.
Ending: Bryson concluded by urging the committee to use the FY26 budget to make structural changes that will improve long‑range transportation planning and equitable sidewalk maintenance.
