Archive for the ‘bicycling’ Category.
4th June 2008, 11:27 am
Just everyone else who has chosen to depend on automotive transportation, school districts are facing the problem of how to deal with rising fuel costs. For the first time ever, the Blue Springs School District expects to spend more on fuel for schools buses than it spends on the actual buses. It is a problem that is sure to hit all school districts in the metro soon, and then hit taxpayers when the schools ask for more operating money.
One solution is to get kids out of the buses and onto their own two feet. It used to be that most kids walked or biked to school, and buses were used only for kids living in the country. Now only 16% of American kids walk or bike school, and schools maintain giant fleets of buses to transport kids short distances. Even worse, many suburbs have chosen to make it difficult and dangerous for kids to walk or bike to school. Many neighborhoods lake sidewalks and many schools are located on busy roads.
There is a national movement called Safe Routes to School that seeks to reverse this situation. The Federal government even provides grants for cities and schools to implement educational problems and build sidewalks. For information getting money for your community, check out the Mid-America Regional Council.
Instead of spending our tax money putting fuel into dinosaur school buses, lets spend some of it on building sidewalks, crosswalks, bike racks, etc.
16th May 2008, 05:51 pm
Today city officials and Northeast neighborhood leaders conducted a ceremonial closing of Cliff Drive. As part of a new Car-Free Cliff Drive program, the historic road will be closed to automobile traffic and become the exclusive domain of pedestrians and bicyclists every weekend until October. Cliff Drive is also undergoing a big renovation to enhance its charms even more in the future.
With this historic move, Kansas City joins the ranks of other world cities that are closing streets to promote healthy, family-friendly activities in the public space. If this test proves successful and popular, the city could expand it to include car-free days in other areas. Just imagine how pleasant the Country Club Plaza could be without the steady stream of cars and SUVs…
It all started in Bogota, Columbia where every Sunday over 60 miles of city streets are closed and become open air festival of walking, jogging, bicycling, music, families, etc. It’s called Ciclovia, and it has spread all over the world.
Car-Free Cliff Drive will start on Fridays at 2:00 p.m. and continue until 8:00 a.m. on Monday. If Friday or Monday is a holiday, then the closure starts on Thursday or lasts until Tuesday. To really get enjoy car-free, think about getting there on foot or by bicycle. If it’s too far away, take the bus. The Metro #30 Northeast route is your best bet. Take it to Lexington and Brooklyn and walk two blocks to the entrance near the old reservoir, or go to St. John and Elmwood walk four blocks north the drive’s eastern entrance.
For more information:
29th April 2008, 11:13 am
Learn to you use your bicycle for transportation, for getting to work, or for running errands. Deb Ridgway, KCMO’s new Bike/Ped Coordinator will teach a class this weekend to help you learn about what to wear, how plan a route, etc.
Saturday, May 3rd at Family Bicycles in Waldo. Find out more
40% of trips that people take in urban areas are only 2 miles or less. These short trips to the store or library can easily be switched from the automobile to the bicycle.
8th April 2008, 01:30 pm
We need your support for a safe bike/pedestrian crossing on the Paseo Bridge by having your presence at the ground breaking Friday, April 18 at 2 pm. Ride your bike, walk, run or take transit to the ceremony. MoDOT and Senator Kit Bond will be there.
Paseo Bridge Ground-Breaking Ceremony
Friday, April 18, 2:00 p.m.
Isle of Capri Casino parking lot
1870 East Front Street, Kansas City, MO 64120 (map/directions)
- Bike there: A group of cyclists will ride 1.5 miles from the KCATA park-and-ride lot at 3rd and Grand, leaving promptly at 1:40 p.m.
- Bus there: The Isle of Capri is served by Metro bus #173 - Casino Cruiser. It leaves the 10th & Main Transit Center at 1:41 p.m. and arrives at the casino at 1:50 p.m. The return bus leaves at 3:08 p.m. Route map and schedule (PDF).
- Walk there: The Isle of Capri is walkable from Berkley Riverfront Park, via the Riverfront Heritage Trail.
Can’t attend the ceremony? You can still make your voice heard by participating in a letter writing campaign. It’s easy and only takes a few minutes.
Background:
Work is being done to design and get funding for the Paseo bridge bike/ped ramps that MODOT said has to happen to get them to complete the bike/ped lane on the bridge. There are 2 separate KCMO council resolutions asking for it and a regional River Crossing Policy that recommends it. KCMO is committed to it and MODOT needs to see that they must stand behind their agreement to finish the bike/ped lane on the bridge deck if other agencies can get the connecting ramps there.
More Paseo Bridge information at KCBike.Info
2nd April 2008, 01:48 am
Yesterday the city did something virtually unheard of here, it took public space from the automobile and reallocated it to people. The Parks & Rec Board approved a plan to close Cliff Drive on weekends and create a car-free recreation and fitness opportunity for pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders, rollersbladers, dogwalkers, etc. The closure will be in effect Friday afternoons through Monday mornings starting May 16 and running through the end of October. If all goes well, it could lead to car-free days in other parks and maybe even a boulevard or two in the future.
Car-free days are becoming commonplace in parks and boulevard all over the world. Just a few examples include Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, Central Park in New York City, and Prospect Park in Brooklyn. In the South American city of Bogota, Columbia, most of the city’s main streets become car-free on Sundays.
Cliff Drive is an oasis of nature in the middle of Missouri’s largest city. It is one of the original parts of the city’s famed boulevard system, as well as Missouri’s only urban scenic byway. It’s a four mile long road along the limestone bluffs high above the Missouri River. It is a centerpiece of Old Northeast Kansas City, the historic neighborhoods east of Downtown and north of Independence Avenue.
17th March 2008, 08:48 am
The Johnson County Bike Club is the latest group to join Let’s Go KC. JCBC’s 400-plus members come from all over the Kansas suburbs, and parts of Missouri as well. Along with the KC Bike Club, the two groups are the nucleus of the metro area’s cycling community and organize a number of great rides throughout the year. A complete list of Let’s Go KC’s member organizations is on the lower right side of this page.
