Let’s Go KC

For just one week, how many car trips can you replace with walking, bicycling, or public transit?  Almost half of all trips we take during the day are five miles or less, the perfect distant for bicycling. Many of our errands are less than two miles from home, close enough to walk.

The Car-Free Challenge runs May 10th through May 16th. Sign-up online and log your miles during the week to be eligible for great prizes.

Can you go car-free just once during the week?  How about a whole day?  Or even the whole week?

KCK is very interested in providing better transit service. A big gap in the existing bus system is connectivity between northeastern KCK and the booming Village West area.  So the city is now studying a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line along State Avenue, which would similar to the MAX bus on Main Street in KCMO.

The proposed line would connect Downtown KCMO, Downtown KCK, the Indian Springs transit hub, KCK Community College, and Village West. They haven’t decided how to pay for it, but KCK Mayor Joe Reardon has been talking with KCMO Mayor Mark Funkhouser about the possibility of joining a regional transit funding system.

State Avenue BRT would fit in very nicely with other regional plans. KCMO will soon start construction on a second MAX line on Troost Avenue and is planning for a third on North Oak. Johnson County is even thinking about BRT on Metcalf Avenue and I-35. In a few years the region will have built a decent chunk of the SmartMoves transit plan, even without regional funding or light rail.

Continue reading ‘MAX bus for KCK’ »

Please take a few minutes to participate in two very important letter writing campaigns asking MoDOT to include non-motorized transportation on upcoming projects.

1. Paseo Bridge
Ask MoDOT to include bicycle and pedestrian path on the new bridge, especially if you can’t attend the ground-breaking ceremony on Friday. Send an email now.

2. Route 45
Again, please ask MoDOT to include sidewalks and bicycle facilities when they widen this critical route through Parkville. Send an email now.

Learn more about the Paseo Bridge and about the Route 45 project.

Here is the Spring 2008 newsletter.  Topics covered include bus tax renewal, Bike Week and the Car-Free Challenge, KCMO development code, light rail, and car-free Cliff Drive.

Continue reading ‘Newsletter #2, Spring 2008’ »

Last week MoDOT demolished the bridge that carries Noland Road over I-70 in Independence.  A new bridge will be open by May, including a sidewalk for the first time.  The old bridge had no space for pedestrians, forcing them walk on a busy four lane arterial, for detour miles out of their way.

The new bridge is supposed to have a six foot sidewalk on one side. While not ideal, it is definitely an improvement over the former situation.

The Sierra Club’s Thomas Hart Benton group has joined the alliance for transportation choice.  The group represents 2400 members throughout western Missouri.

There more groups have joined the alliance for transportation choice: The Downtown Neighborhood Association, the Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation, and the EarthRiders Mountain Bike Club.

Your group can join to, here’s how.  Or if you want to join as an individual, sign up now.

Here is Let’s Go KC’s first-ever newsletter.  Sign up here to subscribe to future updates.

Continue reading ‘Newsletter #1’ »

Two neighborhood associations have recently joined Let’s Go KC. The Volker Neighborhood Association is located in Midtown along the West 39th Street restaurant row. The Stratford Gardens Homes Association covers the area between State Line Road and Ward Parkway, north of Meyer Boulevard. Both neighborhoods are working to make the city more livable.

Your neighborhood can join too! Download our brochure (PDF) to learn more, and contact us to schedule a presentation for your next meeting.

City staff has shared some bike/ped-specific elements of the next draft of the city’s development code. Many of the things you asked for in your letters to elected leaders have been added to this lasted draft. The entire document should be available for public review in December.

Here are some highlights:

1. Long-term bike parking has been added - this will provide covered or indoor parking for bikes at your workplace and in your apartment or condo building.

2.  Bike/ped/transit included in traffic impact analysis - Developers will be required to assess the impact of their projects on pedestrians, bicyclists, and public transportation - just like they already have to do for automobile traffic.

3. Walkability Plan - References to the walkability plan have been added, especially pertaining to traffic impact analysis.

4. Stream corridors and sidewalks in lieu of trails - These two issues have been addressed in the development code.  City staff has decided to wait until these issues are ironed out in the ongoing City-Wide Trails Plan, and then add them to the development code at that time. We will have to keep an eye on these two items going forward.

You can read the full text of these sections:

• Traffic Impact Studies (Word)
• Bicycle Parking Regulations (PDF)