Archive for the ‘bicycling’ Category.
Let’s Go KC is asking KCMO citizens to speak up for funding maintenance of trails, bike lanes, bike racks, etc. The city has finally started investing in these facilities, but has yet to budget for ongoing repair and upkeep.
With the 2010-2011 city budget under review this month, now is the time to let City Councilmembers know that it is important to maintain these new investments.
Tonight the Plaza Branch of the KCMO Public Library hosts a lecture and book signing with Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do. It’s a very interesting analysis of the psychological, physical, and technical factors of traffic. The book includes bicycling and walking, so this event will be of interest to alternative transportation fans as well. Rainy Day Books will be selling Traffic at the event, and the author will sign copies purchased there this evening.
Tom Vanderbilt
Monday, September 14th, 6:30 p.m.
Plaza Branch Library
4801 Main Street, KCMO 64112 (map)
More info and RSVP.
The metro area has developed a regional application for the latest round of economic stimulus funding for transportation projects. The Mid-America Regional Council, KC Area Transportation Authority, and City of Kansas City, MO have joined together to create a $93 million multi-modal plan including streets, transit, freight rail, bicycling, walking, and ADA. The application will go the federal government where it will compete for part of a national pot of $1.5 billion.
This particular grant program places a special emphasis on transportation investments that enhance the sustainability, livability, and safety of communities. KCMO Resolution 090716 details the specific allocations proposed for each project.
Green Impact Zone: $26.1 Million
Street resurfacing, sidewalks, traffic signals, pervious pavement, transit facilities, and Troost Bridge over Brush Creek. More about the Green Impact Zone.
Regional Transit: $27.5 Million
Design and engineering of a Downtown streetcar car system. Infrastructure improvements on future Bus Rapid Transit routes include North Oak, Metcalf, State Avenue, and Easter Jackson County.
Bicycle and Pedestrian: $12.1 Million
Multi-use trails, on-street bicycle routes (including bike lanes), bicycle parking, sidewalks, crosswalks, ADA accommodations, and comprehensive education and encouragement programs.
Rail and Front Street: $21.8 Million
Freight railroad infrastructure. Reloction/expansion of Front Street west of Paseo Bridge.
We should know by the end of January if our application is funded. See KCMO Resolution 090716 for more details.
The City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is currently considering applications for the next round transportation funding from the economic stimulus program, which goes by the acronym TIGER.
While all projects sound very worthy, their combined $340 million price tag is more than the $300 million expected to be available for the entire state of Missouri. The city and possibly suburban neighbors will have to make some hard choices about which projects or combination of projects is submitted to the Feds. The US Department of Transportation criteria for selection includes long0-term impact, sustainability, livability, economic competitiveness, and safety.
Downtown Streetcar – proposed by the KCATA. 2.5 mile loop between the River Market and Crown Center. The hope is that up to $100 million in construction costs could be paid for by the feds and the operating costs paid for by an assessment on property along the route. This 2.5 mile segment is deemed the most likely to succeed from the recent light rail study. The tracks would be built to accommodate light rail vehicles in the future. Streetcar presentation (PowerPoint).
Regional Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) - Proposed by the Mid-America Regional Council. MAX service on Main Street and Troost Avenue would be expanded to four more Smart Moves corridors in Kansas City and the suburbs – North Oak, 40 Hwy, State Avenue, and Metcalf Avenue/Shawnee-Mission Parkway in Johnson County. Cost is estimated at $50-100 million. A lack of ongoing operating money is a big weakness, especially for the two Kansas routes. BRT presentation (PDF).
Bicycle/Pedestrian Network – Proposed by the city’s Public Works Department. The proposal would speed the build out of both on-street bike routes and multi-use trails, sidewalk construction and repair, crosswalks, curb cuts, and many ADA accessibility improvements. The $45 million plan would have a strong emphasis would be placed on creating transportation corridors for bicycle and pedestrian commuters. Transforming Transportation for a Livable Kansas City (PDF).
Urban Transportation Safety Program - Another Public Works proposal includes $20 million in sidewalk improvements as part of a $97 million package for street resurfacing, traffic signals, etc. It would cover the city’s East Side, between the Missouri River and 103 Street, east of The Paseo. Presentation (PDF).
The T&I Committee’s blog has more information on these and other proposed projects. For even more context, archived video of the July 16th and 23rd committee meetings is online.
Saturday June 6th is National Trails Day, and it will be celebrated locally with events at several metro area trails. The Mid-America Regional Council has a list and map of local events.
An especially important event is a ceremony to dedicate the new bike/ped bridge over US 71 Hwy in southern Kansas City. The new bridge connects a trail along Hickman Mills Drive on the east of the highway with future trails extending to the Blue River and into the Kansas suburbs. It is an important east-west link in the developing trail system in that part of the city. The bridge was built as part of the Grandview Triangle reconstruction.
US 71 Hwy bike/ped bridge dedication
Saturday June 6th, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
98th Terrrace and Parkwood Avenue
Kansas City, MO (Map/directions)
Yesterday the KCMO City Council finally approved a complete overhaul of the city’s outdated planning/zoning/development regulations. The new development code is a huge step towards more compact, sustainable, and multi-modal development.
Some highlights…
Read more about the development code…
The new code will start being phased in over six months and be fulling enforced in one year. Advocates spent many hours negotiating with city staff and private developers, and many of you testified at public hearings or wrote letters to city officials. All of that work paid off with a much better end result.
Tonight the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation is hosting a public meeting with the Missouri Transportation Alliance. This is the private group putting together the next initiative petition for future MoDOT funding. Most recently they led the successful Amendment 3 campaign.
Most of the group are the usual suspects of people who want new and bigger highways, so it is very important that they hear from Missourians who want some of MoDOT’s funding spent on transit, walking, bicycling, etc. To date, tonight is the only meeting that MTA is holding in Kansas City.
Having a voice in the future of MoDOT funding is especially critical given recent news that MoDOT used taxpayers’ money to lobby against a Complete Streets bill that would have made them take alternative transportation more seriously.
Missouri Transportation Alliance Public Meeting
Tuesday, May 19th
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Mid-America Regional Council, Broadway Room – First Floor
600 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO
Bicycle Parking is located on the northwest corner of the building.
Buses #106, #129, and #37 serve the location directly, and several routes are available at the 10th and Main Transit Center.
This request comes from Deb Ridgway, KCMO’s Bike/Ped Coordinator. Getting an accurate measure of bicycle and pedestrian traffic is a critical first step for efforts to build more bike lanes, trails, and other facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians. Please volunteer if you can. The first count will occur in KCMO, and hopefully suburban cities will participate later this year.
In an effort to document the actual number of cyclists and pedestrians in Kansas City, the City of Kansas City, MO will be conducting a test run of the survey/counts national tool in April. We will participate in the National Survey in September with citywide coverage.
Counts/surveys will be done at three locations on two separate dates/times. We need a total of 12 volunteers; 2 people are needed for each location on each date.
Volunteers will be required to attend a training session. Volunteers will receive their assignments, survey packets and ID at the training.The training will take place, Wednesday, April 22nd, 4:30 – 5:30 PM at the KC Design Center, 1018 Baltimore.
Volunteers are needed for the following dates:
Thursday, April 23rd, 5:00 – 7:00 PM
Saturday, April 25th, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PMPlease email Allison Macon, Bike/Ped Data Collection Assistant if you are interested in volunteering with this project. Her email is: alii16@ku.edu.
Thanks so much for your support of this very important project.Deb Ridgway, MSW
Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator
City of Kansas City, MO
This week we have two great pieces of news for transportation choice in Kansas City!
First, the federal economic stimulus is enabling MoDOT to speed up construction of a pedestrian/bicycle path over the Missouri River, on the Heart of America Bridge. By 2010 cyclists and pedestrians will have a safe and convenient way to cross the river. See KCBike.Info for more details on this cool surprise.
Second, the debut of a new interactive map of park-and-ride lots in the KC metro area. The RideShare map shows all of the park-and-ride lots and details about the bus routes that serve them. It’s tied into Google Transit so you can quickly plan a bus ride from the parking lot to your destination.
This new map is much more user-friendly way for people to learn about transit options. It’s a good start and hopefully in the future they will add direct links to bus route info and include details on bicycle parking facilities at each commuter lot.
Today’s KC Star features a “walking school bus” in Overland Park. The idea is very simple – a group of parents and volunteers get together and escort kids to school.
The idea is part of the Safe Routes to School movement that encourages safe ways for kids to walk and bike school, something that has declined drastically over the years as new neighborhoods have been geared towards automobiles and kids are increasing driven to school by parents.
The Star features Pawnee Elementary in Overland Park, but school districts all over the metro area participate – KCMO, Park Hill, North Kansas City, KCK, Shawnee Mission, and many more.
