MainCor and the City have begun working on a new streetscape project to improve the appearance of Main Street through Midtown and make it safer and more inviting for pedestrians.  At the moment they are installing red faux-brick crosswalks at several locations.  Unfortunately, this construction is blocking access for the pedestrians it’s ultimately meant to serve.

The photo above as the intersection of Main Street and Linwood Boulevard.  Construction is blocking both sides of the street, which leaves pedestrians with no alternative route and is something that is supposed to be against City policy.  The situation is especially critical at Linwood and Main because there is MAX bus station right there, plus a big residential population and the Cristo Rey High School.

While there are the regular “Sidewalk Closed” signs, there are now signs directing pedestrians to an alternate route and no temporary walkways through the construction zone. Able-bodied people can probably navigate around the big holes in the ground and dodge traffic, but anyone who is blind or in a wheelchair is just plain screwed.

This is an especially ironic example of how too often pedestrian (and bicycle) access is forgotten during construction projects, even when the construction project is for pedestrian infrastructure.

On May 16th, Kansas City’s successful Car Free Weekends on Cliff Drive will expand onto the streets of the Old Northeast neighborhoods for a full-fledged Ciclovia called Sunday Parkways along Gladstone Boulevard and the Indian Mound.

Streetfilms video of Sunday Parkways in New York:

Following the lead of Bogotá, Columbia, cities around the world have begun regularly closing streets to automobile traffic and opening them to people. In Bogota they call it Ciclovia, and in other cities they use names like Sunday Parkways, Summer Street, Open Streets, etc.

The streets will be filled with people walking, bicycling, jogging, skating, etc.; and family-friendly activities like yoga, face painting, live music, food vendors, puppets, a dog show, bike skills clinics, and much more. The Parks Department and the City’s Bike/Ped program home to expand Sunday Parkways to include all six Council Districts and run monthly from May to October.

Sunday Parkways on Cliff Drive – details and schedule of activities.

Streetswiki article about Ciclovias.

Streetsfilm video of Ciclovia in Bogotá:

Streetfilms has more ciclovia videos from Chicago, San Francisco, Milwaukee, etc.

Check out St. Louis Open Streets

North Troost Ave. in KCMO Northland.

The recent death of a KCK girl at her bus stop underscores the need for sidewalks in many metro area neighborhoods that were built in the 1950s through the 1970s, when when many local cities didn’t require developers to include sidewalks.  For example, west-central KCK, Waldo and the inner Northland in KCMO, and parts of Raytown, Independence, and northeast Johnson County all lack curbs and sidewalks.

In KCK,  a sales tax proposal on the April 13th ballot would include some funds to help property owners install new sidewalks. Residents in the dead child’s neighborhood are asking for the pragmatic step of starting with sidewalks near schools and bus stops. The Safe Routes to School program provides grants to cities and school districts for things like sidewalks.

In KCMO, Mayor Mark Funkhouser’s Schools First initiative would focus on sidewalks around schools.  Unfortunately it’s getting a cool reception from the City Council, including some Councilmembers who are normally very supportive of pedestrian issues.

Another troubling development in KCMO are efforts by Northland real estate developers to kill the city’s requirement for sidewalks on both sides of the street in new developments.

Fox 4: Bus stop tragedy focuses attention on sales tax.

KCK sales tax proposal.

KCMO Schools First initiative.

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.

Send a letter and/or attend a public budget hearing.

The generation that gave birth to suburbia and the two-car garage is reaching the age at which driving, for many, no longer seems like such a swell option…. “The concern is that when they no longer can drive, they will find themselves trapped in their homes in suburban neighborhoods where there are no sidewalks, or, if there are sidewalks, there’s no place to walk to”

While specific to the Washington, DC metro area, it certainly applies to Kansas City.  Seniors in KC are in an even tougher situation since our region lacks the suburban public transit network present in DC.  They also have many more walkable suburban town centers with services like groceries, doctors, shops, etc. in close proximity.

KC seniors who want to remain independent without driving are mostly limited to the Downtown/Plaza/Brookside corridor.  While there are a few fledgling possibilities in the suburbs (e.g. Zona Rosa, Downtown Lee’s Summit, or Prairie Village), these areas are islands unto themselves and lack the full range of services for shopping, health care, and entertainment.  Grocery stores and hospitals are usually beyond walking distance of even the best suburban downtown district.

Reforming our land use policies to encourage development of more mixed-use suburban town centers would give suburban seniors better options for “aging in place” in the communities where they have lived for decades.   Linking these suburban town centers with public transit would give seniors mobility around the metro area. People shouldn’t be uprooted from their existing social networks simply because they stop driving.

Many business districts like Downtown, the Plaza, and Brookside use private contractors to clear their sidewalks, but in residential areas it’s the property owners who are responsible for clearing their sidewalks.  The City has an ordinance on the books requiring sidewalks to be cleared, but doesn’t really have any personal to enforce it.

A pedestrian walking in West 39th Street at Pennsylvania Avenue.

Plowed snow blocking access to the Plaza MAX station on J.C. Nichols Parkway.

It’s great to see the KCPD finally take on this work. Over the last three years the Share the Road Safety Task Force has conducted sting operations in Kansas City and several suburbs, but the KCPD has not participated.  Instead, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department has assisted with sting operations in Midtown, Brookside, and around UMKC.  Kudos to the KCPD for joining the cause of safety for all roadway users.

KC Star: KC police step up enforcement of crosswalk rules.

Broadway at 43rd

A new report on pedestrian safety in the United States ranks the Kansas City metro area above average for pedestrian danger.  We ranked 20th and of 52 large metro areas with a Pedestrian Danger Index of 77.6, compared to a national average of 52.

The report, Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods), ranks America’s major metropolitan areas and states according to a Pedestrian Danger Index that assesses how safe they are for walking. An update of the 2004 Mean Streets report, Dangerous by Design was released by Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership.

On the state-wide level, Missouri scored slightly more dangerous than average, with a danger index of 57 out of 52.  Meanwhile, Kansas ranked much safer, with a score of 27.6.

Dangerous By Design
(PDF, 3.7 MB, right-click to download instead of open)

Missouri fact sheet (PDF)

Kansas fact sheet (PDF)

Over the last few years the city has been gradually converting Downtown’s mess of one-way streets into two-way streets. One-way streets have been proven to be more hostile and dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists.  They encourage motorists to drive faster and raised stress levels of motorists trying to navigate complicated street grids.

Kansas City’s two-way conversion compliments the many other investments that have been made to make Downtown more inviting everyone, and safer for pedestrians in particular.

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News from City Hall
City Communications Office
City of Kansas City, Mo.
www.kcmo.org
CONTACT: Mary Charles, city communications officer, (816) 513-1356
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 21, 2009

Wyandotte Street to become two-way from Sixth to 12th streets

The City of Kansas City, Mo., Public Works Department is alerting motorists that the section of Wyandotte Street between Sixth and 12th streets will be converted into a two-way street on Saturday, Oct. 24. The conversion process is expected to begin shortly after 9 a.m. and be complete by 3 p.m.

The conversion, which includes, signs, traffic signals and pavement markings is being made to improve traffic flow in the City’s central business district.

Media inquiries and other requests for more information about this project should be directed to Dennis Gagnon, public information officer for the Public Works Department, (816) 513-2659.