St. Louis leaders are pushing for a more walkable, bikeable city.

Alderman Shane Cohn, Mayor Francis Slay, Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed and Trailnet Executive Director Ann Mack (pictured, left) gathered to sign the "Complete Streets" bill this morning. The bill promises to design and construct future streets to encourage walking, biking and mass transit, as well as driving.

"Generally, the city of St. Louis is very auto-centric," Cohn said.

He warned, however, that the shift would not happen quickly. "It's not like all-of-a-sudden St. Louis will be pedestrian-friendly," he explained. It's more of a philosophy shift to come.

That said, some developing projects are already heading that direction.

South Grand Boulevard construction should start in a week or two, for instance, and will narrow the roadway from Arsenal to Utah streets, as well as add sidewalk "bumps," all to give pedestrians a shorter street to cross.

And that, leaders hope, will lead to more people visiting shops, walking between neighborhoods -- and keeping their cars parked.