At their first meeting of 2022, the Joplin City Council approved the Complete Streets ordinance after discussing the program two weeks ago. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

On Monday night, council member Phil Stinnett, who was unable to attend the previous council meeting highlighted that the city already does much of what the Complete Streets program details. “It was indicated that we’re already practicing a good deal of what’s in Community Safe Streets. And if we are already practicing that maybe there’s not as much concern, on my part, that we should have.”

Councilmember Christina Williams voiced her approval for the ordinance saying that it sets the tone for how generations of residents get around the city. “Just this past Saturday I took a group of 13 people from my neighborhood, nine of which were children under the age of 10. And we couldn’t go on a trail for recreation, we were on the street, we ride on the street to school, we ride on the streets to go get an ice cream cone, or get taco together.” The ordinance passed with 7 in favor, zero opposed, with two members absent. A handful of other Southwest Missouri communities have already approved Complete Streets, including Monett, Southwest City, and Noel. For 89.9 KRPS, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro