The City of Kansas City is considering funding for four priority trail and bicycle projects, and public input is needed to let the city know that these projects are worthy of being funded.

• Update the Bike KC master plan
• Connect the Trolley Track and Indian Creek Trails
• Extend the Riverfront Heritage Trail along the Missouri River levee
• Build a new Shoal Creek Trail between KCMO and Gladstone

If you are a resident of the City of Kansas City, MO then please take a couple of minutes to send a letter to your representatives.

On Wednesday, December 17 the Kansas Department of Transportation will hold a regional summit to discuss the future of the transportation system in Wyandotte, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, and Douglas Counties in Kansas.

Wednesday December 17
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (registration at 8:30 a.m.)
Jack Reardon Civic Center
500 Minnesota Ave, KCK 66101 (map/directions/transit)
RSVP to angela@shockeyconsulting.com or 913-645-4780

This is an excellent opportunity to let KDOT and your local electd officials know that it is critical for the region to provide transportation choices for all citizens.  Specific things you can mention include:

• Dedicated transit funding for the current bus system and future transit improvements
• Inclusion of bicycle and pedestrian facilities in new transportation projects
• Enforcement of traffic laws increase safety
• Complete Streets policies to ensure roads are built for all users – motorists, transit users, pedestrians, bicyclists, and the disabled.
• Support efforts to extend Amtrak passenger to rail from KC to Wichita, and on to Oklahoma and Texas.

This week has brought developments in the cases of several bicyclists and pedestrians who have been killed on our region’s roadways.

Robert Osborn - shot and killed while bicycling home from work in November 2005. Confessed killer Fabian Brown will be sentenced on Monday, November 17th. Read more at KCBike.Info.

Angel M. Cameron – hit and killed while walking across the Heart of America Bridge over the Missouri River. The motorist fled the scene but today the KC Star reports that Trevor A. Souther has been captured and charged with leaving the scene of an accident.  So far there is no manslaughter charge in Cameron’s death. Read more in the KC Star.

Daniel Riemann – killed by a hit-and-run driver on Mothers Day 2008. Curtis W. Mertensmeyer was ultimately identified by the passengers in his car.  This week he pled guilty to first degreet involuntary manslaughter and will be sentenced on February 13th, 2009.  Until then Mertensmeyer is under house arrest at his parent’s Mission Hills house. Read more in the KC Star.

Update
Orlando Gentry has just been caught in connection with the death of James Green, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver on November 14th. He was crossing the street with his fiance, in a crosswalk, 39th and 71 Hwy. More from KCTV-5 and KMBC-TV 9.

The KC Area Transportation Authority recently reported that bike rack usage is on the rise. In the last year the amount bus riders using the bike racks has risen from 1% to 3%. That means that 3% of all bus riders are taking their bike with them. While that doesn’t sound like much, it is a pretty big increase in a short amount of time.

Since the Kansas City region lacks any good data bicycling, this is one of the few tangible measures of how bicycling is on the rise lately.

Today Eric Rogers and Laurie Chipman testified at the Planning and Zoning Committee to defend bicycle parking from criticism by certain developers.  Other provisions for pedestrians, transit, etc. have not generated opposition and appear to be safe, for now. Laurie has an update on the outcome…

Today we successfully defended bicycle parking in the development code, for now. Thanks so much to all those who showed up to support it and who wrote
e-mails to the council.

The development community lawyers were there to try to talk the council out of approving the bicycle parking, especially long-term parking, and to discuss two other issues. Nothing was voted on. After the lawyers’ presentation we thought there might be a few details that may need compromise so we offered to meet with them to resolve the issues. A meeting will be set up.

The council seemed supportive of bicycle parking but they thought there might be a few details to work out too and were glad we were ready to do that.

So, thanks again for your e-mails and meeting support. I really is working.

Laurie Chipman
Let’s Go KC, Alliance for Transportation Choice, representing 26,500 people
Kansas City Bicycle Club Advocate

Tomorrow the KCMO Planning and Zoning Committee will have a public a hearing on a new zoning law that includes requirements for bike parking for new buildings.  Some real estate developers are opposed to bike parking, so we need your support to show that the public wants this.

If you live or work in the KCMO please send a quick letter online.

No matter where you live or work, come to City Hall to attend and/or testify at the hearing – Wednesday 1:30pm to 3:30pm on the 26th Floor, 12th and Oak. Help us pack the room and show how much support there is.

Great bike-friendly cities like Portland, Chicago, and Denver all started with bike parking as one of their first steps, and with your support so can Kansas City.

Let’s Go KC, the Missouri Bicycle Federation, and the City of Kansas City, MO are partnering for a much-needed project to conduct a traffic count of bicycle and pedestrian traffic at key locations throughout the city.  We need volunteers for two hours shifts to help with a count.  This has never been done before in Kansas  City, so getting an official count of bike/ped traffic is crucial for making the case for the city to spend money on bike lanes, trails, sidewalks, etc.

Volunteering will entail attending a one hour orientation session and spending two hours at an intersection with another volunteer.  We will supply instructions, forms, directions, etc. Counting will take place on Oct. 14 and 21, with orientations the evening before each count.

Sign up now to volunteer

The KCMO City Council recently passed a very extensive climate protection plan designed to dramatically reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. The plan includes some significant directives designed to encourage more bicycling and walking for transportation.  Bike/Ped facilities are to be included in new and rebuilt roads and infrastructure, 2% of the city’s transportation budget shall be spent on pedestrian projects, and 1% on bicycle projects.

With transportation accounting for as much as 30% of the city’s carbon footprint, it is imperative that we begin moving some trips from single-occupant automobiles to bicycling, walking, and transit. Simply increasing KC’s rate of walking and bicycling to the national average would go a long way towards meeting the city’s climate protection goals.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation has more details. Special thanks go out several bike/ped advocates who sat on the steering committees and worked hard for the inclusion of these measures in the final plan – including Regional Transit Alliance board member Ron McClinden, KCMO Bike/Ped Coordinator Deb Ridgway, and Missouri Bicycle Federation Executive Director Brent Hugh.

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.

Photo by Chuong Doan

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:

• More photos of the ceremony
• Cliff Drive information
• About Ciclovia
• StreetFilms video of Ciclovia in Bogota