Committee backs quick-build traffic-calming for Gravois Avenue, urges 25 mph consideration

Alderman Sonia introduced Resolution 197 on March 18, 2026, urging the city to implement near-term "quick-build" traffic-calming measures on high-risk segments of Gravois Avenue and to consider a 25 mph speed limit for the corridor.

The resolution, which the committee passed with a due-pass recommendation after unanimous cosponsorship, calls for low-cost, quickly deployable treatments such as vertical delineators, plastic flex posts, water-filled barriers and center-line hardening at several prioritized intersections. It also asks the city to use these trials to inform the longer-term Gravois repaving project currently planned for 2029.

Why it matters: Committee members and residents described Gravois as one of the city’s deadliest streets, citing a TrailNet crash report and local audits. Sponsor Alderman Sonia said the corridor has "10.34 crashes per mile" in the referenced analysis and warned, "people are dying now," arguing the city should not wait for the multi-year repaving schedule.

Community evidence and technical response: Matt Vachelkovsky of the Coalition to Protect Cyclists and Pedestrians (CP2) told the committee Gravois is a "wide, fast, almost lawless road" and that CP2’s walk audits and bike rides identified priority locations where quick-build treatments could reduce crashes and improve crossing safety. "Strategically placed vertical delineators will calm traffic, provide pedestrians a safer place to wait and have minimal impact on traffic flow," Vachelkovsky said. Kyle Nelson, the city’s bicycle and pedestrian coordinator, described the flex-post delineators as the conceptual starting point and called the initiative a pilot the street department would pursue if funding and direction are provided.

Residents gave consistent firsthand testimony about near-misses and fatalities. Natalia Estrella, who said she has a vision impairment and uses a service dog, told the committee she had been "nearly run over countless times" while trying to cross Gravois and supported lowering speeds to feel safer. Other speakers described memorials, vehicles on sidewalks, and community frustration at long timelines for permanent fixes.

Next steps: The committee adopted a committee substitute adding specific intersections to the trial list, accepted broad cosponsorship and passed the resolution. The measure directs staff to coordinate with MoDOT and the streets department and to pursue quick-build installations as funding and coordination allow. The committee recorded the passage with no recorded objections; details on funding sources and exact implementation dates were not specified in committee and will depend on future staff work and capital allocations.

The resolution passed out of committee with a due-pass recommendation; the Board of Aldermen will receive the recommendation as the next procedural step.