Let’s Go KC

The following note from KDOT Bike/Ped Coordinator Becky Pepper announces a new state-wide transportation planning initiative in Kansas.  Missouri recently went through a similar effort and bike/ped advocates worked very hard to include our concerns.  If you live, work, or bike in Kansas, please consider attending one of the public meetings and voicing your support for a truly integrated transportation system that includes all users and modes.

Kansas Bicycle and Pedestrian Community,

On August 14, Governor Kathleen Sebelius announced the creation of a transportation task force called “Transportation Leveraging Investments in Kansas” (T-LINK) charged with developing our state’s next transportation program.  The T-LINK task force will develop recommendations for an approach that recognizes all forms of transportation and serves the future of our state.  We have heard from Governor Sebelius that bicycle and pedestrian needs will be paramount to the discussion of a new transportation program!

As a companion to T-LINK, staff from KDOT and members of the task force will be travelling the state in September to assess needs through Local Consult Meetings.  These meetings will take place in Ulysses, Hays, Hutchinson, Abilene, Topeka, Olathe, Wichita, and Pittsburg.  I encourage all bicycle and pedestrian providers and advocates to attend a Local Consult meeting!  The input received at these meetings will shape the language of the transportation program.

For additional information, meeting dates, and continuous updates about T-LINK progress please visit the website: www.kansastlink.com.   The meeting dates listed on the website are not final, so please check back often.

Please pass this email along to any other individuals or groups that you feel may want to take advantage of this opportunity.

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Local Consult Meetings.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Becky Pepper
State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator
Kansas Department of Transportation
Bureau of Transportation Planning
700 SW Harrison
Topeka, KS 66603-3754
(p)785-296-8593
(f) 785-296-0963

A new set of data from the Center for Neighborhood Technology shows very well the economic consequences of different housing choices in light of rising gasoline prices.  The two maps below show how much households in the KC metro area spent on gasoline in 2000 and 2008.

In 2008 there is a dramatic difference between urban and suburban neighborhoods. In general, households  in areas where you can walk, bike, or bus to work and errands spend much less on gasoline than households in neighborhoods that are dependent on the automobile for transportation.

In 2000, most households spent less than $1600 a year on gasoline.  For the areas on the fringes of the  metro area it went up as high as $2400.

Money spent on gasoline in 2000

In 2008, the number rises to $3800, or even higher on the fringes. Meanwhile, the central corridor between North Kansas City and Waldo is spending less than $3000 on gasoline. A few other areas like central KCK, central Independence, and parks of Northeast Johnson County are also spending less. There are just a few areas below $2400 - Downtown, Midtown, and the Plaza.  These areas have the densest concentration of jobs, housing, and transit all in one place. Only one area remained in the same price range, the north-central part of the Downtown Loop that includes the Garment, Library, and Financial Districts.

Money spent on gasoline in 2008

These maps come from the Center For Neighborhood Technology and their Housing+Transportation Affordability Index. You can use their web site to zoom in or out on these maps.

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’ »