To drivers in our fair city,

Tanya in Toronto,wrote something that nearly every cyclist wishes the drivers on the road understood.

Kansas City River Crossing public meeting Oct 10, 2006

The Missouri Bicycle Federation, in cooperation with many other bicycling, walking, running, and community organizations, has been working to get the first safe, accessible bicycle and pedestrian crossing of the Missouri River established in the Kansas City area.

Last Spring a new regional policy for bicycle and pedestrian accessibility on river crossings was established.

Now the first fruits of that policy are coming out--MoDOT is doing a study on possible bike/ped river crossings that can be built in association with the planned new Paseo Bridge.

So if you live in the Kansas City area, please strongly consider attending this meeting and giving your ideas and opinions about what will really work for you--and what will not.

Because MoDOT did not do this study as part of the regular Environmental Impact Statement for the Paseo Bridge, there is now a rush to get this study done quickly so that the Paseo Project can move forward.

But we want to make sure it is done right. And that means that we need input from you--the people who will be using the river crossing.

Many heads will come to a better solution than just a few--so please come out, view the ideas that have been put on the table, and give us your ideas, input, and reaction.

MoDOT's press release is below:

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Findings and recommendations from a Bicycle/Pedestrian Missouri River Crossing Feasibility Study will be displayed during a Tuesday, October 10 open-house public meeting scheduled from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mid-America Regional Council’s offices, located at 600 Broadway in downtown Kansas City. No formal presentation is planned, so participants may attend at their convenience during those hours to view displays, visit with study team members, and provide their input to the study process.
A team that includes representatives from the Missouri Bicycle Federation, the Federal Highway Administration, municipal government and community representatives is working with MoDOT to identify a bicycle/pedestrian river crossing location that MoDOT will commit to funding by 2012. The study’s findings and recommended location will be added to the Environmental Impact Statement that will be completed before design and construction of a Missouri River bridge along the I-29/I-35 corridor.

“In addition to meetings and regular communication with our core team, we took the group on a September 18 tour of possible crossing locations,” said Lee Ann Kell, Transportation Planning Manager for MoDOT’s Kansas City District. “Our October 10 public meeting will report what the team learned on that trip, and explain why the team eliminated some options and selected others for additional analysis. Public reaction and comments to these findings will be incorporated into our study team’s final report, which will identify a recommended location for a bicycle/pedestrian crossing.”

Blue Springs adds bicycle lockers to commuter parking lots

According to the Blue Springs Examiner Blue Springs is leading the way in one important area for bicycle commuters:

Blue Springs is in the process of installing 18 bike lockers at the city's three commuter parking lots for citizens to rent.

"Our community is changing, its demographics are. We have people who want to have an alternative to driving," said Roscoe Righter, director of parks and recreation. . . .

The concept for the project began about 16 years ago when the city was developing a bike plan for the entire community. The city has recently been doing research and gathering information as it contacted 21 different agencies around the country that use bike lockers.

Righter said this is an environmental issue in addition to being convenient for residents. He said Blue Springs is seeing an influx of people from major cities where there is a significant focus on environmental issues, and their green concerns are being carried over into this city. . . .

The goal is for commuters to be able to ride their bikes from their homes to one of the commuter lots and then catch a bus into downtown Kansas City. Righter said the city knows there is a need for these lockers as several bikes have been chained up consistently in the Missouri 7 commuter lot recently.

Gary Fontenot's bike was one of these. He has been riding his bike to the Missouri 7 commuter lot for the past few months and would previously lock his bike to the fence. Now that the lockers are available, he has rented a locker for the next year and said he catches the bus about three times a week. He said he now rides a better bike to the lot as he is not afraid of it getting stolen anymore.

Full story here.

KCMO city council goes backwards on speeding ticket system

KCMO has traditionally allowed speeders to plea bargain their tickets down to nonmoving violations--allowing chronic speeders to avoid driver license points and insurance increases. Recently the city prosecutor reversed this traditional practice. Now, according to the KCStar:

Kansas City has run into a roadblock on its way to a more honest system for dealing with speeders and errant motorists. A clique of lawyers — accustomed to making easy money off a deceptive plea-bargain system—is doing its best to dismantle the reforms.

The City Council today is expected to vote on a resolution that would return to a flawed system that allows motorists who speed and violate other traffic laws to have up to four guilty pleas in a year without any effect on their driving record.

It’s a defining moment for Mayor Kay Barnes and council members. They can give the new, progressive policy the fair trial that it deserves, or they can return to the past, caving in to pressure from self-interested lawyers and their allies.

Well, what do you know, the city council did vote to reverse the policy and return it to the old way:

Kansas City has reopened the gate for speeders — and even drunken drivers — to plea bargain down to “defective equipment.”

Restrictions had been placed on the practice in the spring, but the City Council voted Thursday to reverse course.

Supporters of Thursday’s change said tightening up pleas had created a huge backlog of Municipal Court cases, potentially costing the city millions in lost revenue.

“Doing it the way we used to do it is the best way to do it,” said Councilman Terry Riley, who co-sponsored the resolution with Councilman George Blackwood.

The measure was approved 10-2, with Mayor Kay Barnes and Councilman Jim Glover voting no. Councilwoman Becky Nace was absent but had voted no in committee.

The very next week a study came out showing that Kansas Citians rate speeding traffic as the biggest crime problem in their neighborhoods--ahead of burglary and violent crime:

Kansas Citians believe speeding vehicles are the top crime problem facing their neighborhoods, according to survey results released Tuesday.

Burglary ranked second and violent crime third. . . .

Whipple said speeding cars represent a public safety issue, too.

“People can envision themselves getting in a wreck more easily than being involved in a violent crime,” she said.

KC Mayor Candidate John Fairfield courting bicyclist-voters

According to Steve Kraske writing in the KCStar:

In his burgeoning bid for Kansas City mayor, J ohn Fairfield is pursuing an unusual constituency: bike riders.

On Saturday, a group of bicycle enthusiasts was asked to gather in Brookside to film a TV commercial for the Northlander.

According to the e-mail invite, “As far as I know this is the first time a candidate in our area has cared enough about bicycling and pedestrian issues to even ask us to be in an advertisement.”

Kansas trails move forward . . . slowly

Mike Hendricks recently wrote in the KCStar:

Kansas is nowhere close to the forefront in developing hiking and biking trails in rural areas.

The state Legislature even passed a law to make it more difficult to convert idle rail corridors into scenic walkways.

Thus, Kansas has nothing to

Thus, Kansas has nothing to match the Katy Trail, the hiking-biking path that runs west to east across much of neighboring Missouri.

The best Kansas has in comparison is the still-unfinished Prairie Spirit Trail, spanning the 50 miles between Ottawa and Iola.

Yet some are trying to rectify that.

While state government seems in no hurry to develop trails, volunteer groups like the one Meyer heads are building trails on a shoestring budget.

“Not a dime of it is tax money” is how Meyer explains the financial foundation for the Flint Hills trail, being built with the help of donations and volunteer labor along a rail right of way between Herington and Osawatomie.

The track is long gone. About 60 miles of the 117-mile route has been cleared of vegetation and is usable for hiking, though no single stretch is more than eight to 10 miles long.

Read the rest of the article here.

Kanza Rail Trails Conservancy web site.

Advocacy - 2 Ways

Jim at Oil is for sissies, one of my must-read blogs, and a bike shop owner, has some good things to say about Cycle Advocacy. I tend to choose the passive advocacy path, riding to work, often along well traveled roads (Metcalf Avenue, Shawnee Mission Parkway) with an absence of spandex. I also strive to put people on bikes one at a time. People who work with me come to me and I try to find them a good used bike. I also did a good deal of legwork for a better set of bike racks at the Whole Foods Market where I work. But I try to avoid dealing with politicians and meetings.

My wife, on the other hand, attends several meetings weekly with MARC, the City Council, Missouri Bike Federation and other luminaries. It's nearly a full-time job.

I believe, and my friends at the Kansas City Bike Federation that we need to get more people on bikes. If you come, they will build it. The city needs to see more riders out there. Drivers need to expect them everywhere. Developers must accomodate riders with racks. This metro area is so far behind other cities and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. We're spread out, hilly and we have more highway per capita than anyplace else but that's no excuse. We're also one of the fattest cities around.

Flat tires and Grocery Runs

We have a trailer and I have a Wald Giant Delivery Basket on my fixie but I was on a different bike yesterday. We were going to the River Market Art Fair so I did mount the small basket on my bike and my Carradice Bag on the back of the saddle just in case we found some worthwhile art to buy. (No need to worry about that.)

We went down to the River Market and viewed the art and ate lunch at Cafe Al Dente and headed out for Merriam via the West Bottoms. A screwdriver or prybar started our run of bad luck when Glenn picked it up and instantly got a flat tire. Repairing his tire, a couple more of our companions picked up some goatheads and metal slivers and flatted their tires.

After repairs, the afternoon was mostly gone and the heat and waiting had taken a toll so Laurie and I headed home. We needed a few things from Costco and I didn't want to go home and then leave again so we headed over there. Three pounds of cheese, a flat of figs, a three-pack of flat breads and a twenty five pound bag of cat food found its way into our baskets and home.

Also, we have sold our truck so we're definitely going "car-lite" with one car and many bikes.

Clean Commute Offers NEW Alternative Commute Education Opportunity

Bridging The Gap is expanding the Clean Commute program. Working with major employers in the region to promote alternative commute options, Clean Commute now offers a variety of green bag lunch topics and bike clinics.

FREE Lunch and Learn Topics (20 minute presentation with Q&A):

Bike Commuting 101 - clothing, hygiene, parking, inclement weather, night riding, carrying techniques and equipment, route planning, rules of the road
Moms Talk About Bicycling with Children - from bike seats and trailers to living a car-free lifestyle with children
Stop for Pedestrians - Think of the Impact You Could Make - review pedestrian laws, what you should do as a motorist, what are my responsibilities as a pedestrian
Try Transit - learn how to use the bike carriers on buses, plan your route and navigate KCATA and the JO


Bike Clinics (Per person FEE per clinic with Licensed Certified Instructor/includes instructional materials from the League of American Bicyclists)

Let's Get Rollin' - 3-hour clinic with conversations on:

§ How to choose the right bike and gear
§ Recreational riding and commuting
§ Riding techniques
§ How to use bike carriers on buses
§ How to plan your route

Be Your Own Champion - 3-hour clinic covering:

§ Basic bike maintenance
§ Flat repair
§ Adjustments and cleaning techniques
§ Bring your bike or a wheel and tools if you have them

We Are Traffic - 2-hour clinic with 1-hour ride afterward. We'll discuss:

§ Rights and responsibilities as cyclists
§ How to be an advocate
§ How to safely ride in traffic
§ Using hand signals
§ Changing lanes - making a left hand turn
§ Dodging road hazards

Interested in hosting a clinic or green bag lunch at your office, social club, church, civic organization? Call Deb at (816) 561-1061, ext. 114 or email deb@bridgingthegap.org

Road widening to include bicycle facilities on Hwy 45 near Parkville

According to the KCStar:

Jennifer Benefield, a MoDOT spokesperson, said the department did take community input seriously. She said that MoDOT added a special-use lane for cyclists to its planning after hearing a number of concerns about a bike from the community.

Noel Challis, senior park planner for the Platte County Parks and Recreation Department, attended the meeting. Challis said the bicycle trail was part of an important regional connection for cyclists in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The county has already built the Southern Platte Pass bicycle trail east of Highway 45 to Chatham Avenue.

“We’re glad to see that it’s included in their initial design,” she said.

The route is included in the design, but funding has yet to be identified, Benefield said. She said the path would be included in the final project in some form, possibly with bike lanes on the shoulder or sidewalk. She said the bike path may eventually be included with help from the city or county.

Parkville resident Greg Cummins said he sometimes commutes to his job at the North Kansas City Hospital by bicycle. He came to the meeting to make sure some accommodation was made for bicyclists.

Cummins said he was pleased with what he saw, and said he was glad to see the road project was moving forward.

Apparently the decision about on-road lanes vs a "trail" or sidepath has not been determined. MoBikeFed supports on-road accommodations for bicyclists together with adequate accommodation for pedestrians via sidewalks, paths or whatever is appropriate in a given situation. A "sidepath" designated for bicycle use has serious safety issues and is strongly deprecated in AASHTO and KCAPWA design guidelines [PDF file] for that reason.

Meeting held on Hwy 45 near Parkville, bicycle facilities point of discussion

According to the KC Star:

“They (the residents) have experience out on the road that MoDOT might not. This is their road.”
Randy Johnson MoDOT Project Manager

Bicycle and pedestrian safety are key issues this week in Parkville.

The topics will be discussed at a hearing Thursday at which Missouri Department of Transportation will gather public input on the widening of Highway 45 between Highway 9 and I-435.

Residents are invited to voice opinions at the forum, which will take place at 4 p.m. in the Platte County Community Center South, the YMCA at 8875 Clark Ave. in Parkville.

One concern likely to be expressed is a proposed dedicated lane for bicycles and other pedestrian traffic.

“Our perspective as bicyclists and pedestrians at this meeting is vital because we need to have major routes accessible for us,” said Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle Federation. “If we can’t get through to this road (Highway 45) there is no alternative. You’re stuck.”

According to MoDOT, the maximum widening of 45 would include four vehicle lanes and a bicycle path. The road currently has two lanes for vehicles.

Although this meeting is over, the planning process is just beginning. You can email MoDOT to let them know that you support on-road bicycle facilities: Route45@modot.mo.gov.

Kansas City changing plea deal system for speeders

According to a KCStar article about KC's new system for dealing with speeding tickets, the new system may be running into some problems:

The drop-off in plea agreements is getting City Hall’s attention because it’s costly. In less than two months, the city has missed out on more than $300,000 in fines it usually collected under the old system, an amount City Councilman Chuck Eddy called “truly serious money.”

City Attorney Galen Beaufort banned such defective equipment pleas in late April, after an investigation by The Star revealed that some speeders had received multiple ticket reductions in a 12-month period. He said the recent drop-off in pleas might be a good thing because speeders are actually being punished.

“If the original premise that amending moving violations to defective equipment was a bad plea bargain, then one shouldn’t be worried that those pleas aren’t occurring,” Beaufort said.

He said the pleas are harder to get because judges must now be involved in the process, and because the criteria for the pleas have been tightened.

But defense lawyers who fought the changes say the numbers are down because defendants have few incentives to take the deal. The less-than-5 mph plea also adds no points, but it remains a moving violation that insurance companies can see on a driver’s record, raising the possibility of higher insurance premiums.

Some oppose the new system.

Most cities across Missouri have a system for plea bargaining traffic violations. As Eric Rogers recently reported on KCBike.info, it's not uncommon for these systems to be kind for repeat traffic offenders. And it's hard to avoid drawing a link from these systems to the high danger of Missouri roadways, especially to pedestrians and bicyclists.

The problems can be addressed--using simple, inexpensive means, Salt Lake City reduced it pedestrian fatalities by almost 50 percent over a 10-year period. The reform in KC's system for traffic violator plea bargains is a step in the right direction.

The main changes in the new system, according to Tony's Kansas City, are:

* Limiting plea bargains to two in a 12-month period.

* Restricting deals to speeding up to 15 mph over the limit.

* Banning plea bargains for any DUI, racing on city streets or fleeing police.

Previously drivers were allowed to plead many violations, including speeding, DUI, and others, down to an equipment violation plus a larger fine.

Equipment violations are not reported to insurance companies or the state.

In many cases people were getting multiple plea deals per year.

It's not easy to get a speeding ticket in Kansas City--so drivers getting multiple tickets per year are clearly NOT good drivers.

And what these plea deals meant was that such drivers were getting off without any increase in insurance premiums or any points on their state driving record.

The system of higher insurance rates, driver license points, and restricted driving privileges is not a bad, evil system. On the contrary, it is designed to encourage bad, dangerous drivers to face consequences for their dangerous actions and give them some incentive to change their anti-social behavior before it leads to injury or death.

If you can speed, drive recklessly, and drive drunk with minimal consequences, why stop? That's what was happening under the old system.

More: A detailed KCStar article about the changes and the reasons for them. If you support the new system--which increases drivers license points and insurance rates for drivers known to be dangerous--you can contact your Kansas City council representative or Mayor Barnes, mayor@kcmo.org.