Newsletter #1
Here is Let’s Go KC’s first-ever newsletter. Sign up here to subscribe to future updates.
Let’s Go KC, Alliance for Transportation Choice News #1, January 2008
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE to all interested people!
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CONTENTS
1. Who is Let’s Go KC?
2. Let’s Go KC works to get new KCMO development code ordinance to include pedestrian and bicycle amenities
3. New Paseo Bridge to include space for bike/pedestrian lane
4. Agreement announced to link KATY Trail to Pleasant Hill, MO
5. Upcoming events in 2008
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This is the quarterly e-mail newsletter of the Let’s Go KC, Alliance for Transportation Choice. We are sending this to keep you up-to-date about bicycle/pedestrian issues in the Kansas City region.
Let’s Go KC is a coalition of individuals, local organizations and advocates who promote transportation choice in the Kansas City region. We work to educate, engineer, encourage and evaluate our region in the interests of better walking, bicycling and transit opportunities.
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1. WHO IS LET’S GO KC?
After working on the KCMO election last year and having some success, Eric Rogers and I (Laurie Chipman) started Let’s Go KC, Alliance for Transportation choice. http://letsgokc.com/ We both have been working for several years on bicycle and pedestrian issues in the KC region and we want to bring together supporters of transportation choice, expand the base of volunteers and be able to tell elected officials and government staff who these people are. That there are people who would like to walk or ride a bike for transportation or recreation in an encouraging and safe environment. That there are people concerned about their finances and how public money is spent, concerned about how a city is built and want to keep our environment safe—people who would like to take public transit, walk or ride a bike.
The idea is to get various regional clubs, neighborhood groups, non-profits, companies, etc. to sign up as members. We would like very much to have representatives from Kansas, American with Disabilities Act sources, advocates for the poor, health advocates and others. We have a short membership form so we can have a record of the member group and an individual from that group to contact. That individual can be on the steering committee or we would just like them to distribute our e-news to their members.
There is no fee to join Let’s Go KC. You can join as an individual or as a group. We are supporting issues only, not candidates. We are considering forming a PAC to support specific candidates but that will be a separate group.
If you would like to join, see: http://letsgokc.com/join-us
If you have questions, contact me at chipdsn1@swbell.net.
Why work on Transportation Choice?
We believe that transportation choice will improve our community, our neighborhoods, our health and our business environment in these ways.
• Our region will get better air and water quality, a greener area with more green space.
• Economic opportunities in manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and tourism will increase.
• Businesses will save money on parking and health care.
• The region will become more attractive to businesses and people for work and recreation.
• Tax money will be free for uses other than spending on more roads and more parking. Tax money could be saved by the taxpayer!
• Transportation opportunities will increase for those with no car (10% of our population) or driver’s license (25% of our citizens, 13% adults)
• Citizens will become healthier as they have more options and encouragement to walk or bicycle.
• Better urban design and planning will reduce traffic congestion and urban sprawl.
• Safer neighborhoods; as people see others and get to know others, it creates a more cohesive neighborhood.
* Improved road safety for all users. It has been proven in Europe that a greater variety of road users reduces crashes because people drive slower and pay more attention.
Here are some of the groups we are on and people we work with:
• MARC Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee
• MARC Congestion Mitigation (CMAQ) Committee
• Share the Road Safety Task Force
• MoDOT Safe Routes to School Advisory Committee
• MARC Transportation Enhancements Committee
• KCMO Citywide Trails Plan Steering Community
• KCMO Climate Protection Plan, Transportation Committee
• Kansas City Riverfront Heritage Trails, board
• Kansas City, MO Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator
To find out what we have done and who our members are see: http://letsgokc.com/about
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2. LET’S GO KC WORKS TO GET NEW KCMO DEVELOPMENT CODE ORDINANCE TO INCLUDE PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE AMENITIES
Kansas City, Missouri is revising it’s development code for the first time since the 1950s. Members of Let’s Go KC have been working with city staff for a year and a half to incorporate bicycle and pedestrian amenities in the development code to bring it up to date with other cities. Our concerns are bicycle parking for long and short term, traffic impact analysis to include pedestrians, transit and bicycles (see Complete Streets) and streamway buffers for future trails and water quality.
We want to make sure the development code supports the Walkability Plan, FOCUS plan, Citywide Trails plan, BikeKC, Climate Protection Plan and Complete Streets provision of the new U.S. Energy bill. All of these plans support walking, transit and bicycling as viable methods of transportation.
From the KC Star
“Area mayors sign climate accord
The climate protection movement is getting a strong foothold in the Kansas City area.
More than 20 area mayors, including those from Kansas City, Mission, Shawnee and Independence, recently signed a climate protection agreement.
The mayors join 700 others across the country who have signed the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which recognizes the role of local governments in addressing global warming.”
For the complete article see: http://www.kansascity.com/691/story/416409.html
In spite of the progress, this will require some attitude changes from MODOT, local traffic engineers, developers and others who have not jumped on the “green” wagon.
Key issues
Long-Term Bike Parking
Bicycle parking is an essential component for transportation choice. The proposed ordinance currently contains adequate provisions for short-term bicycle parking; inverted-U racks near the entrances of stores, offices, schools, and multi-family residences will serve visitors and customers.
The conflict is with long-term parking for employees of business and the residents of multi-unit buildings. We want to require secure, weatherproof parking in rooms or lockers. In the current draft of the new ordinance, long-term bike parking will not be required for multi-unit residential buildings. For example, in a 40-unit apartment building downtown, cyclists would have to continue to hang their bikes from a hook in a living room or bedroom, rather than storing the bike in a secure room on the ground floor near an entrance.
For offices, restaurants, stores, etc, the long-term bike parking requirement is based on the square footage of the business which, in some cases, is set so high as to render the parking insignificant. For example, a 40,000 square foot warehouse (about the size of eight McDonalds) must only provide 1 long-term parking space. Yet, such a facility is precisely the type where a lower-paid employee may need to use a bike as transportation.
Developers object to long-term parking on the notion that bike parking should be “market-driven.” In other cities, these bicycle facilities were built (for much less money than parking and road improvements), people used them and more people began riding bikes. Bike parking is a proven success! Changes to the City’s development code only affect new buildings or major renovations. Existing buildings are “grandfathered” and are not subject to the changes. To advance bicycling as a viable means of transportation, bicycle parking must be accessible, secure and convenient.
Traffic Analysis
Along with accommodating trucks and cars, new developments and major renovations need to also address the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists and users of public transit. Traffic planners use a traffic impact analysis for this purpose and employ the term “level of service” (LOS) to determine a facility’s design related to traffic counts and situations.
Even though the FOCUS plan, Climate Protection Plan, BikeKC and the Walkability plan call for LOS to be determined for all modes of transportation, bicycles are not included in the current draft of the development code. While walking and transit needs were recently included (after we asked for them) developers do not want to include bicycles in the analysis and neither do city traffic engineers.
To properly analyze traffic demand for bicycles requires plugging in a formula to the existing motorized traffic analysis formula. It requires no money. The formula currently exists and is available for use. Why would they not want to do it? To use our tax money wisely requires that we include pedestrians, bicycles and transit in our traffic planning.
There will be a hearing at City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 5 at the City Planning Commission, Council Chambers, 26 Floor, to discuss the code. If you are interesting in supporting the bicycle/pedestrian sections of the code, please come. We need a crowd to support this as the developers are against long-term bicycle parking provisions and bicycle traffic analysis. If you want information sign up at: Let’s Go KC and we will keep you informed. http://letsgokc.com/join/
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3. NEW PASEO BRIDGE TO INCLUDE SPACE FOR BIKE/PEDESTRIAN LANE
Members of Let’s Go KC and other bicycle/pedestrian advocates have been working to help create the first safe bicycle and pedestrian crossing of the Missouri River in the Kansas City area. Plans for the new, $255 million Paseo Bridge project were announced recently. Construction on the bridge will start in early 2008 and will be finished in Oct. 2011.
Over two years of advocacy with MoDOT and local, regional, and state officials have left us in this situation:
• Deck space on the Paseo Bridge for a bike/ped river crossing. Deck space is at least 80% of the trouble and cost of a river crossing. The space will be an 11 foot lane on the west side of the bridge.
• Now local groups will have to work to make the Paseo bike/ped crossing a reality by getting cities and other groups to make…the bicycle/pedestrian approaches to the bridge and the levee trails and road connections on either side of the bridge.
For more information see: http://mobikefed.org/2007/12/new-paseo-bridge-to-include-space-for.php
In 2006, MARC adopted a river crossing policy to get the state DOTs, regional governments and other stakeholders to work together to create and fund bicycle/pedestrian crossings on all new and renovated bridges over the area rivers.
To read the bike/pedestrian river crossing policy go to:
http://www.marc.org/transportation/committees/rivercrossing.htm see column on the right of web page to download pdf.
The Mid-America Regional Council’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee wants to start the process to get a design and funding to connect the bike/pedestrian lane to the ground from the bridge. “We need to get all appropriate stakeholders involved with evaluating the levee on the north side. Also, any right-of-way that is acquired needs to accommodate the bike/ped connectivity. The more work that is done upfront, the less chance of needing to retrofit the bridge with bike/ped amenities.” (From the minutes of the MARC BPAC meeting Dec. 19, 2007)
The Paseo connection will be important to connect trails on both sides of the river and to give bicycle and pedestrian commuters a safe way across the river. There is no safe bicycle/pedestrian crossing now. MODOT also has a commitment to build a safe bicycle/pedestrian crossing on the Heart of America Bridge by 2012.
Several other bridges in Missouri that include a safe bicycle/pedestrian crossing are in Hermann, Jefferson City, Washington and 5 bridges in St. Louis. It has been decades in the U.S. since a landmark bridge was built without a complete bicycle/pedestrian crossing.
To see what other bridges have bicycle/pedestrian access see: http://mobikefed.org/2006/05/bicycle-paths-on-interstate-freeway.php
The project is being funded in part by $195 million from the state which was approved by Amendment 3. Additional funds include: $50 million from the Safety Transportation bill; $10 million for the Kansas City Port Authority/Highways for Life; and a $1 million grant from the Federal Highway
Administration. The bridge will be named after Missouri Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond.
For information about the bridge from MODOT see: http://www.kcrivercrossings.org/index.jsp?selected=0
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4. AGREEMENT ANNOUNCED TO LINK KATY TRAIL TO PLEASANT HILL, MO
November 28, 2007, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the Attorney General’s Office, and AmerenUE announced an agreement regarding the Taum Sauk dam disaster.
The agreement includes about $180 million in reparation payments from Ameren.
Included in the settlement is the agreement to give DNR usage of a portion of the Rock Island corridor needed to connect the Katy Trail to Pleasant Hill, Missouri. Pleasant Hill is on the edge of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
From Pleasant Hill, plans are already underway to connect the trail through Lee’s Summit and eventually to downtown Kansas City and, via the planned metro area trails system, throughout the entire Kansas City metro area.
For more information about the KATY trail agreement:
http://mobikefed.org/2007/11/agreement-announced-for-complete-katy.php
The portion of the Rock Island corridor that will be used for the trail is about 42 miles.
To see a map of the future KATY addition: http://mobikefed.org/2007/11/katy-trail-connection-where-will-it-go.php
There was a 30 day public comment period for the agreement and many people sent comments through the Missouri Bicycle Federation website. The city of KCMO and the Kansas City Bicycle Club also sent letters of support.
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5. UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2008
Bicycle Day in Jefferson City February 26th http://mobikefed.org/2008/01/join-us-for-bicycle-day-in-jefferson.php
National Bike Summit March 4-7 http://www.mobikefed.org/2007/12/mobikefed-needs-you-nine-national-bike.php
EarthWalk/EarthFest, April 19th, http://www.bridgingthegap.org/egap.php?id=183
Earth Day, April 22nd
Bike to Work Week, May 2008, dates to be announced
Ride of Silence, May 16, 2008, 7:00 pm at 63rd and Brookside, KCMO www.rideofsilence.org/main.php
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CLUBS AND GROUPS
Members of Let’s Go KC
Kansas City Bicycle Club www.kcbc.org/
Kansas City Track Club http://kctrack.org/
Missouri Bicycle Federation http://mobikefed.org/
Stratford Gardens Homes Association http://www.haccd.org/moassoc/home.asp?assoc=Stratford%20Gardens
Volker Neighborhood Association http://volkerkcmo.org/
Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation http://www.kcbikefed.org/
Local Links
Johnson Country Bicycle Club www.jcbikeclub.org/
Mid-America Regional Council www.marc.org/
Kansas City Area Transportation Authority www.kcata.org/
Johnson County Transit http://www.thejo.com/
Kansas City, Missouri http://www.kcmo.org/kcmo.nsf/web/home?opendocument
Hyde Park Neighborhood Association http://www.hydeparkkc.org/
Downtown Neighborhood Association http://www.dnakcmo.org/
Northland Neighborhoods, Inc. http://www.nni.org/
Major Taylor Foundation of Kansas City http://localcycling.com/content/blogcategory/40/53/
Local Cycling http://localcycling.com/
The Sierra Club, Thomas Hart Benton Group http://missouri.sierraclub.org/thb/index.html
Bridging the Gap http://www.bridgingthegap.org/
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