Stover MO Connectivity Plan

What: Community mobility plan and Rock Island Trail connectivity study 
When: 2022
Team: BikeWalkKC
Client: City of Stover, Missouri
Funding: Active Living Communities of Practice (ALCP) Grant Program 

The community of Stover wraps around MO-52/4th Street in the western part of Morgan County. The thousand people who call Stover home enjoy the rural way of life that its central Missouri location affords. However, the very essence of the rural nature of Stover is also what creates challenges in how community members move safely throughout the city - especially on summer weekends when out of towners are rushing to the Lake of the Ozarks.

A group of concerned citizens, called Sustainable Sidewalks for Stover, recognized these mobility challenges and wanted to do something about it. Thanks to an Active Living Communities of Practice (ALCP) grant, they were able to do just that. In September 2021, these community champions started meeting monthly to identify goals related to walking and biking in Stover. One of the identified goals involved developing an active transportation plan, which is where this Connectivity Plan was born.

In addition to addressing mobility issues citywide, Stover also had a unique opportunity to work with the National Park Service (NPS) regarding the Rock Island Trail that passes through the city’s southern boundary. With the momentum statewide to construct all components of the Rock Island Trail, the NPS is actively engaging with communities along the trail to design trailheads, amenities, and how the trail will conveniently draw users into the communities it passes through.

This Connectivity Plan thinks broadly about how people move throughout Stover - both for their everyday needs and for those recreating along the Rock Island Trail. This Connectivity Plan identified a Priority Network and Rock Island Trail connections to direct the City’s resources as they become available. 

A link to the plan is available here.