Mid-America Regional Council’s Academy for Sustainable Communities presents journalist and urban expert Neal Peirce for a presentation on sustainability topics like land use planning, transportation, water management, etc. This should be an excellent event for those interested livable cities, green transportation, etc.

Neal’s work includes Citistates, a series of reports on the country’s metro regions, including Kansas City.

Friday March, 27th
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Kauffman Foundation
$35 per person – register online

More information

MoDOT is beginning to study the future of I-70 in Jackson County. Right now, two of the four possible strategies include transit improvements.  The open house on January 6th provides a great opportunity for you to express support for better transit options along I-70.

Tuesday, January 6th, 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
St. Paul School of Theology, Holter Center
5201 Truman Road, KCMO 64127
(Between Hardesty and Van Brunt, map/directions)
Metro bus #12 – 12th Street Route

Transit-friendly options being considered for I-70

1. Run expresses on the shoulder of I-70. Shoulder-running buses allow transit to bypass highway congestion and has proven successful in Minneapolis.  This scenario extends from Downtown to I-470/Route 291 in Independence. Johnson County, KS is also considering this for I-35.

2. High Occupancy Lanes. One lane in each direction would be reserved for buses and carpools. This allows them to bypass highway congestion and has been successful in many cities under names like “bus lanes,” “carpool lanes,” “HOV,” “HOT,” etc. There is also the option of allowing single-occupant vehicles to use the lanes after paying a special toll. These lanes would go from Downtown to Blue Ridge Boulevard/US 40 Hwy.

Find out more at www.modot.org/kansascity/metroi70

Learn more about the campaign to Put People on the Paseo Bridge.

Read the KC Star article about our movement.

Make your pledge now.

Join us on Facebook and MySpace.

FYI, this is the last weekend of the year that Cliff Drive is closed to automobile traffic for the enjoyment of bicyclists, walkers, runners, rollerbladers, etc.  Today looks to be a beautiful day and the fall colors along Cliff Drive should be brilliant!

We started two weeks ago and we have a phenomenal amount of pledges for more than $10,500!

Thanks so much to all of you who pledge to make our community better! We are one-tenth of the way to our goal of $100,000.

Some good news was told to me this week. Kansas City, Missouri has received federal CMAQ (air quality) funds of $750,000 but it needs a 20 percent match. Our pledges could be an important part of that match.

Join your friends by pledging now

How is the Paseo like the Statue of Liberty?
The Paseo campaign is not the first time a campaign of this type was done. Remember in 1983 a promotion advertised that for each purchase made with an American Express card, American Express would contribute one penny to the renovation of the statue? The campaign generated contributions of $1.7 million to the Statue of Liberty restoration project. (wikipedia) The total cost of the statue renovation was $62 million.

We who pledge could be helping to build our own landmark—the first walking and bicycling river crossing in the Kansas City region.

The Kansas City Bicycle Club has generously pledged $1000 in matching funds for a 50 percent match to each pledge from KCBC members. That means if you pledge $50, the club will contribute an additional $25. So take advantage of this offer that can help us get a river crossing.

If we can spread the word to enough people to get 5000 pledges of $20 each, we can meet our goal. We would like to do this by November 24, 2008, before the holidays are here.

Tell your co-worker who wants to commute by bicycle but is waiting for a safe river crossing.

Tell your neighbor who would like to watch 4th of July fireworks with the family on the bridge overlooking Berkley Park.

Tell your sister who is eager for the KATY Trail to get here so that she can cross the river to walk on trails on both sides.

Tell your friend who is concerned about saving money by not driving so much.

Will you tell them about pledging to Put People on the Paseo?

You can help by:
1. Pledging now

2. Sending this to your co-workers, friends, family, and neighbors so they can join with us to pledge for better cycling, walking and running in the KC region, for us and for our children.

No cash is needed now. The money will be collected only if needed to build the ramps to the bicycle/pedestrian trail on the bridge.
I will be happy to answer any questions. Thanks for your support!

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

Transportation is about more than just moving cars and trucks.  It’s about moving people, in whatever way they choose to travel.  So the ultimate goal of the new Paseo Bridge replacement is about moving people, including those travelling on foot or bicycle.

Let’s Go KC, the Missouri Bicycle Federation, and our partner organizations have launched a new campaign to show our region’s leaders just how much citizens want to Put People on Paseo.  It is going to cost about $4 million to put a bike/ped trail on the new bridge. MoDOT has agreed to build it someday in the future, once the local community comes up with the money. We don’t want to wait. That is why we are asking local citizens and organizations to pledge their own money towards the new trail.

Make your pledge now

A new national ranking of sustainable cities puts KCMO at #21 among the countries 50 largest.  This mid-level ranking is largely due to the our #1 ranking for tap water quality and the city’s new Climate Protection Plan.  Unfortunately the report calls us out for our poor showing in the transportation and land use categories. Specifically mentioned are poor quality of alternative transportation options, including our national last-place ranking in bicycle commuting.

Kansas City has set an ambitious goal of becoming the country’s greenest city.  These rankings show that while we are making good progress, we will never achieve that goal with dramaticallye increasing transportation choices like rail, bus, walking, and bicycling.

SustainLane 2008 City Rankings

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?