Paving a safer and more connected path for the St. Louis bicycling community will take some cooperation in a region that isn't exactly hard-wired to cooperate.

The Gateway Bike Plan — a blueprint for making the St. Louis region more bicycle-friendly — reaches a significant milestone the next couple of weeks when it's aired before the East-West Gateway Council of Governments.

Imagine a "robust" network of on-street bicycle lanes and off-street bike trails teeming with cyclists enjoying a nice spring day, commuting to work or working out. The network of 1,011 miles of bike lanes, shared use lanes and other cycling facilities is seamless and takes you to destinations you want to reach in the Missouri half of the region.

Oh, and it's a place where drivers and cyclists both know the rules of the road when it comes to safe cycling.

That's essentially what the plan envisions over the next 20 years.

"We're working really hard to make the St. Louis region an active, vibrant community," said Susan Trautman, executive director of the Great Rivers Greenway. "By working with other transportation (agencies), we hope to make it easier for users when going from one community to another, so they know what to expect."

The Great Rivers Greenway District and other groups in the St. Louis region just finished the Bike Plan. Great Rivers collects a one-tenth of a cent sales tax in St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County. It is leading the charge in developing a River Ring of connected greenways, parks and trails in the region.

Knowing what to expect means applying uniform guidelines and standards as new roads are designed and built, and old ones are resurfaced.

Making trails and streets more inviting to bike riders is only part of the deal.

The blueprint also seeks to reduce accident rates by investing in safety improvements — as well as educating drivers and cyclists.

The East-West Gateway Council of Governments will consider endorsing the Bike Plan later this month.

'DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO'

A survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has found that drivers are very good at pointing the finger of blame at the other guy for not wearing seat belts, for driving drunk, and for reading text messages behind the wheel.

The foundation's latest "Traffic Safety Culture Index" found that:

• While 86 percent of drivers agree that it is unacceptable to drive without a seat belt, nearly 25 percent had done so in the past month.

• While 76 percent of drivers say drinking and driving is a serious threat to safety, more than 14 percent admitted driving when they believed their blood-alcohol level was at or more than the legal limit in the past year.

• While 94 percent of drivers consider texting and driving a serious threat, 35 percent admit to reading a text or email while driving in the past month.

"This 'Do as I say, not as I do' attitude that persists among drivers needs to change before we can experience a traffic safety culture where save driving is the key," said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the foundation.

Q. Why is there no sign for the exit to Forest Park on eastbound Highway 40 (Interstate 64)?

— Bill Kellenberger

As you drive eastbound on Highway 40, there actually are two red-and-black Explore St. Louis signs — one before the McCausland Avenue exit and the other as you approach the Kingshighway offramp.

Before Highway 40 was rebuilt, of course, the Hampton Avenue overhead exit sign did alert eastbound drivers that Forest Park was reachable using Hampton. The current Hampton sign doesn't mention the park. Maybe that's what you were referencing.

Q. Do you know if state representatives and senators have to pay for their special license plates, or are the plates given to them as a perk?

— Bob Hunt, Washington, Mo.

Legislators have to pay all normal registration fees and a personalized plate fee — or 15 bucks, said Ted Farnen, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Revenue. "The plates are not provided to the legislators as a free perk," he told Ride.

The plates are distinguished by the letter R (for state representative) or S (for senator), followed by the number of their legislative district.

FOLLOWING UP

In answering a question in last Sunday's Ride column about the pedestrian countdown clocks at Manchester Road and Sutton Boulevard in Maplewood, the city's public works director, Anthony Traxler, promised to check into the situation.

Last week, Traxler provided a little more detail. Traxler said the city will take steps to make sure all signal clearance intervals are functioning properly along Manchester. Traxler said the city will:

• Measure intersection widths and crosswalk widths at each intersection.

• Calculate clearance intervals.

• Revise timing plans, if necessary, in conjunction with new clearance intervals.

• Program new clearance intervals and timing plans, if necessary, into intersection controllers.

• Observe timing plans and clearance intervals if they are modified.