Clearing the air one pedalstroke at a time.

Pedaling, writing toward a better Metro area for cyclists, pedestrians, people who breathe and, by extension, drivers. This is the chronicle of the the battles that we fight, the victories.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Kansas City's sidewalk problem

It's easy to see why Kansas City has a sidewalk problem when you read the following Kansas City Star article.

What if we built roads the same way?

The sidewalks you see throughout Kansas City were installed by developers as they built homes and shopping areas, said Dennis Gagnon, a spokesman for the Public Works Department.

Gagnon said the department has a sidewalk group that maintains and repairs existing sidewalks, but, in most instances, the cost is eventually covered by the property owner through special tax assessments.

“Since the area you have mentioned was developed without sidewalks, having sidewalks installed and paid for by the city is not a likely event,” Gagnon said.

The only city program that might pay for the sidewalks is the Public Improvements Advisory Committee.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

KC Star on the Trails Again

Rick Alm, who covers gaming and tourism for the Star Business section writes today about the economic impact of bicycle trails and the upcoming Tour of Missouri.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Be the first to Bike new Olathe Overpass

When: 10:30 AM, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006

Where: 127th and Mur-Len (east side of the overpass) in Olathe, KS

The horse-drawn Mahaffie Stagecoach will be the first "Official" vehicle over the long-awaited 127th Street/I-35 Overpass in Olathe. Lets make bicycles the second to cross. (Well, we may have to wait for dignitaries and invited guests.)

While there is no documentation to prove it, I'd bet bicycles were travelling down the Santa Fe Trail and Kansas City Road before automobiles. After all bicycles, in one form or another, existed long before our gas guzzling roadway partners. Let's show our presence by respectfully showing the leaders of Olathe, Johnson County and Kansas, bicycles are a viable component of our transportation system. Does anyone ride a hgih-wheel? That would be even better!

The more the merrier.for a peaceful, respectful demonstration of bicyclist's presence and rights to the road and to show support for the Draft Olathe Bicycle Transportation Plan (www.olatheks.org - Click "More News")

This much anticipated addition to Olathe's roadway system is touted as saving the average Olathe resident 10-minutes a day from either direct use of the overpass or reduced traffic on other interstate crossings. For bicyclists the saving is even greater. The overpass will save bicyclists 5.25 to 5.5 miles (not counting the overloaded 119th st. and Santa Fe interchanges). In town, this averages 20-30 minutes of travel time for bicyclists.

See Olathe press release below.

Dale Crawford, JCBC Advocacy Chair

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The offical City of Olathe Press Release issued Today, Dec. 18:

Grand Opening of New 127th St. Overpass Planned for Thursday, December 21
Weather permitting, the City of Olathe will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 127th Street overpass over I-35 at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, December 21. The ceremony will be held at 127th and Mur-Len.

After cutting the ribbon, the Mahaffie stagecoach will be the first official "vehicle" to travel on 127th Street over I-35. The 127th Street overpass will help reduce east/west traffic congestion on Santa Fe and 119th Street. Studies indicate the new 127th Street overpass will reduce east/west travel times by 10 minutes for all drivers in Olathe.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

KC Star

Riding for exhilaration, exercise, FUN
Waldo watering hole is gathering spot for weekly bicycle rides throughout the year.
By LOUISE POLLOCK GRUENEBAUM
Special to The Star

"I dedicated the name of our club to all my friends who can’t have a boat. I used to play squash and fantasized about naming a club the Brush Creek Yacht Club."
Doug Stone, Chairman of the Prairie Village Yacht Club bicycling group

Lit by the radiance of autumn’s morning light, Lycra-clad bicyclists zoom across the horizon. Decorating the day in their day-glow colors, they resemble butterflies in motion.

These amateur athletes crave the rush of cold air and the sounds of the city as they pedal throughout the Kansas City area. And their numbers are growing as others join in their healthful and exhilarating way to exercise, while making friends along the way.

Ben Wilson says he wears cold-weather gear during the fall and winter while doing night rides.

“I love biking so I pedal whichever way the wind is blowing. We nickname guys like me “Show and Go’s. On Tuesday evenings I ride with 50 to 80 bicyclists on one-hour rides from the 75th Street Brewery in Waldo.”

Wilson jokes that his colleagues browbeat anyone not wearing a helmet. Lights located on the front and back of the bicycle are required. The fun continues with drinks and dinner at the restaurant. Because of the sport’s popularity, up to 200 people congregate weekly on Thursday nights at the Blue Moose restaurant in Prairie Village. Another hot spot on Wednesday evening is Chelly’s Café, a Mexican restaurant just west of 85th Street and Wornall Avenue.

“We meet afterwards in the Blue Moose lounge to eat, drink and socialize,” Wilson says. “I love biking so my weekends are spent riding with friends from the Prairie Village Yacht Club. It’s a social club with no dues or regulations.”

Another popular meeting place is the parking lot on 63rd Street and Brookside Boulevard in Brookside.

What does yachting have to do with biking? Just ask avid bicycler and club chairman Doug Stone.

“I dedicated the name of our club to all my friends who can’t have a boat,” he explains. “I used to play squash and fantasized about naming a club the Brush Creek Yacht Club. While I was filling out forms in preparation for long-distance tour to Colorado, the name ‘yacht’ just came to me as a fictitious title. So I named the club and the rest is history.”

An injury turned Stone to bicycling.

“In 1991 I had my torn cartilage in my knee repaired. Since then I became a serious rider, changing my focus to this low impact sport. I did the MS 150 ride and remember meeting other guys my age who ride on Sundays. They asked me to join their group.”

According to Stone, this group morphed into a 300-member, bi-state Yacht Club that doesn’t discriminate against anyone’s age or speed. These riders pedal from Kearney to Lee’s Summit. During the winter Kansas Citians can see swarms of brightly colored riders crisscrossing the city if the temperature remains above 5 degrees and roads remain ice free.

Stone says his jerseys are bright yellow with yachting flags and a wheel insignia.

“We ride 19 miles in the winter and 17 miles in the summer from Brookside” he says. “I’ve always been into exercise because it makes me feel well and I can concentrate at work.”

Year-round another hot spot is the Prairie Village Hen House. Riders congregate at 8 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings for a long-distance ride.

Laurie Chipman has been riding since she was 6 years old. As a board member of the Missouri Bike Federation, she’s serious about bike safety. She believes bike paths in the Kansas City area could be improved and expanded. Currently Chipman is working with the Mid-America Regional Council in creating a bike map emphasizing routes and trails throughout the area.

“On the main streets there are traffic issues,” Chipman says. “We are working on a safe bike lane across the river on the Paseo Bridge. The Kansas City metro area is 15 years behind most cities on providing safe lanes for pedalers.”

Chipman has four bikes including a city cruiser, a touring bike and a mountain bike with fat tires (easier to ride than a 20-speed racing bike).

“It’s not always about speed,” she says. “The group at Brookside on weekends generally is an older crowd and rides slower. I ride my bike with raised handlebars in midtown to Westport and Brookside.”

Laurie adds that it makes sense to use bicycles for transportation. She and her husband got rid of one car to save on gas.

Chipman says members from the bike clubs of Johnson County and Kansas City collaborate in hosting a mega-sized bike ride in other counties. She says they are more formal and accommodate up to 500 people.

Bike advocate Maggi Hacker loves to ride because she feels like a kid again. Being over 50, she feels all her problems disappear when she rides year-round.

“I ride hard and as fast as I can most of the time. I also try to avoid injury,” Hacker says. “It’s challenging riding bikes in a town where there are so many aggressive drivers. It requires concentration, focus and nerves of steel at times.”

Hacker rides in a group to be more conspicuous and for the companionship.

“I like the people I ride with and I think bicycling is growing in this region,” she says.
Want to know more?

For more information on bicycling, check out these Web sites:

•mobikefed.org

•jcbikeclub.org (click on ride calendar)

•kcbc.org

•pvyc.org

•bikeleague.org

Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy played on bicycle parts

I was recently approached by award winning advertising agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to do a composition for their client, Specialized. Specialized is a bike manufacturer and they needed some Christmas music, but with a twist: They wanted me to create the music from only bike sounds. They didn’t even know if it was possible, so they left the song choice up to me to see what I could come up with. Since Jingle Bells is a little overdone this time of year, I thought Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” would be a great alternative. At first I didn’t think it could be done, but as I recorded sounds from my road bike and mountain bike it started to take shape. Here’s the instrumentation and score:

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy

Glockenspiel & Clarinet melody = spokes.
Cello & Violin pizzicatos = plucked derailleur cables.
Triangle = disc brake hit.
Percussion = shifting, coasting, finger over turning spokes, chain pulls, braking, clipping into pedals, back-spinning, air out of tires.
This has to be heard to be believed . . . listen here or watch the video here (Specialized Bicycle Components web site).

Saturday, December 09, 2006

BikeKC Routes mapped

Eric has posted a map of the BikeKC route network.

Greenhouse gas reduction goal-setting continues for Kansas City, MO

Meetings Dec. 14 and 21 will help prioritize City and individual actions

The City of Kansas City, Mo., Climate Protection Plan steering committee's four work groups soon will meet for the first time to begin their development of recommendations for greenhouse gas reduction measures.

A joint meeting of the four work groups will be held Dec. 14 from 4-6 p.m. at Bartle Hall in Room 2214. The steering committee will meet Dec. 21 from 3-5 p.m. at City Hall in the 10th floor committee room. Both meetings are open to the public.

The following are the four work groups: energy; transportation; carbon offsets and waste management; and policy and outreach. Each work group consists of 12-15 members who represent a broad range of stakeholders. At the Dec. 14 meeting, the groups will receive a briefing on the City's climate protection planning process and will prioritize greenhouse gas reduction strategies/actions to be considered at future work group meetings in January, February and March.

At the Dec. 21 meeting, the 11-member Climate Protection Plan steering committee will be briefed on the development of a baseline inventory of the City's greenhouse gas emissions and will begin a discussion on setting greenhouse gas reduction goals.

After receiving recommendations from the work groups next year, the steering committee will decide which climate protection actions to submit to the mayor and City Council. The actions will include measures to be implemented by the City and greenhouse gas reduction measures for implementation by organizations and individuals throughout the community. The intent is to complete a phase I Climate Protection Plan in April 2007 for consideration by Mayor Kay Barnes and the City Council.

For more information about the City's Climate Protection Plan, call Dennis Murphey, chief environmental officer, (816) 513-3459.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Out in the Streets

I needed a run tonight. I had to be at work early this morning and had to drive although it turned out to be a nice day, relative to what we've had lately.So I got home around 5:30 and changed clothes quickly and hit the roads, or the sidewalks to be exact.

Heading north on Troost Avenue where people were boarding ATA buses, walking home and buying groceries, it occurred to me as I saw a couple of men wrapping the handles of grocery bags on the handlebars of their bicycles that these are the people for whom we're fighting for bike lanes on the Paseo Bridge. Not for recreational cyclists, although recreational cycling is certainly a worthy endeavor. Fitness is a worthy goal. Staying active is important. But there are people for whom riding a bicycle is their only personal transportation. 25% of the population doesn't have a driver's license in this city. The percentage is higher east of Troost and the percentage of the population that does own a car is lower on this side. Car ownership is not necessarily a given anymore, not that it has ever been so. The people I saw riding wore no spandex, no special equipment, no helmets, for that matter. It just happened that riding a bike was their only option.

Friday, December 01, 2006

KCStar supports regional trails system

The KCStar recently ran an editorial supporting the region's trails plan, MetroGreen:
Trails supporters also are still working to overcome some opposition to trails plans.

In Johnson County, several mayors have opposed the possibility of voting in a few years on some kind of bistate funding for trails. The elected officials point out that the county has its own tax for building pathways.

However, a regional tax for trails could help the county build more miles of trails more quickly - and make more progress connecting them with trails in other area counties.

Trails remain extremely popular, especially with nearby residents. Supporters continue to press developers to include land for trails within housing subdivisions.

More trails should be constructed along streams as part of flood-control plans now under study in Kansas City. And the Katy Trail should be connected to the area’s pathway system.

Finding a fair way to finance a bigger and better MetroGreen system of trails should be a top priority for this region’s elected officials.