Clearing the air one pedalstroke at a time.

We make the papers

2008-09-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Ink, one of the alternative papers about town, published a bicycling issue this past week. They talked to me, but since I fall about 10 years past their target demographic, they found better subjects.

A great piece in the issue is this one on Using the Bike Racks on the bus, particularly in light of the BBC story where the reporter found the driver unable to explain the mechanism.

When all is said and done...

2008-09-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

...more will be said than done. Particularly, in our fair city. Light rail, anyone?

The "worst city for bicycling" might be a little harsh, but nevertheless we have to start somewhere. If you've ridden in Kansas City, you know this report from the BBC to be quite accurate.

Every time we ride, and I rode home from taking my car to the shop in this drizzle this morning, we show someone that it can be done.

Critical Mass and Parking Lots

2008-03-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

A post on the KC Critical Mass Listserve brought up this point:

"Reclaiming the streets?
One of your objectives (as a group-posted on several websites) is to
re-claim the streets. To reclaim something implies previous ownership
or possesion. Cyclists never owned the streets. If not for the horse
and buggy, followed by the automoblie there would be not streets.
Streets were not built for bikes. If they had been they would have
been more narrow and more bike friendly. I am all for bike lanes but
keep in mind that with out the autos, you would have no streets to
bike on."

Interesting and well thought out, but streets predate the horse and buggy, as well as the automobile, perhaps coinciding with the wheel. People own the streets. Streets were not invented to accomodate the automobile but for a place for commerce, public life, and other forms of interaction, etc.
Wikipedia

Horatio Earle is known as the "Father of Good Roads." Quoting from Earle's 1929 autobiography: "I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country." "The League fought for the privilege of building bicycle paths along the side of public highways." "The League fought for equal privileges with horse-drawn vehicles. All these battles were won and the bicyclist was accorded equal rights with other users of highways and streets."

"Horatio Earle is known as the "Father of Good Roads." Quoting from Earle's 1929 autobiography: "I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country." "The League fought for the privilege of building bicycle paths along the side of public highways." "The League fought for equal privileges with horse-drawn vehicles. All these battles were won and the bicyclist was accorded equal rights with other users of highways and streets."

Good Roads Movement
League of American Wheelman
Pedaling History

League of American Bicyclists

I would not claim to own the streets, nor would I want to, but I would observe, and I am not alone in this, that cheap energy has led to a gross misallocation of resources and a decline in civic life in America.

On another note, the Kansas City Star reported yesterday that "The city has reached an agreement — almost — with backers of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on fulfilling its pledge to provide $47 million for a parking garage." This lot will include 1000 spaces. $47,000 per space. At the same time, the annual support for the ATA, the bus service used by many thousands of people is $48 million.

In no other area, do we provide so much public storage for private assets as in parking. It would be unthinkable to leave any other piece of property unattended in someone else's space.

Cranksgiving

2007-11-26T18:23:00.000-08:00

The newspaper reported over 200 riders. If so, there's still some out riding. Anyway, it was great to see people from all the cycling communities in this town out to help people. Thanks to Forester for the pictures and all his help.

Earlier that day, ©hrisGo, one of the other cycling shutterbugs about town was taking a few photos himself and got some of the same beautiful people

Cranksgiving

2007-11-09T06:26:00.000-08:00

I was preparing an entry saying that we shouldn't have to have a tragedy to unite the Bicycler community of Kansas City. Then I was checking my email and saw Sarah's mention of the death in Independence.

Anyway, we (The Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation) are putting on Cranksgiving this year.
Bicycists will fill the streets and the food pantry.

The Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation took on this event,
in its second year. The event is called Cranksgiving and basically, it
is an alleycat race/scavenger hunt on the streets of Kansas City where
cyclists are given a manifest with 5 to 7 locations and go to purchase
food for donation to the Kansas City Community Kitchen (
http://www.episcopalcommunity.org/KansasCityCommunityKitchen/tabid/570/Default.aspx
). All items must be carried on their bicycles. There is no entry fee
for the event and the only requirement is to bring in non-perishable
foods, traditional Thanksgiving items.

Last year, over 100 riders rode in this event with a week's notice.
This year, we are aiming for 300.
Kansas City has developed a thriving urban cyclist scene, demonstrated
by Chris Thomas'
photoset on Flickr
http://flickr.com/photos/professorchrisgo/sets/72157602224779688/.

The ride will be followed by an awards ceremony. The awards ceremony
will be in the Sculpture Garden behind Grinders. Entertainment will
include 3 bands, Brainbow, David Hasselhoff on Acid, and the Jim
Button Band.

Awards will be given to top male finisher and top female finishe.
Another award will be given to the most generous, the one who brings
in the most food by bike will receive the Mott-Ly Cup. The Mott-Ly Cup
is named in memory of Mott-Ly, the deceased proprietor of the Mo-Mo
Gallery, and soul of the Crossroads District. It will be a travelling
trophy that will be engraved with the winner each year. Prize Sponsors
include Surly, New Belgium Brewery, Whole Foods Market, Re-Load Bags
and Swobo.
We start at 2 PM at the Discovery Center 4750 Troost Avenue Kansas
City, MO where everyone will receive a manifest and instructions on
what to buy. You'll ride to the 5-7 grocery stores, bring back your
items and receipts and meet at Grinders Pizza in the Crossroads
district for the check-in, after party and awards.

Again a bicyclist killed

2007-11-09T06:24:00.000-08:00

It makes the news again. A 17 year old kid, so pointless.

From the Pitch's Best of files

2007-10-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

This was initially published 5 years ago.
Best New Law (2002)
Bike KC
In August, an intrepid crew of wheeler-dealers finally convinced the
Kansas City, Missouri, City Council -- among them bike antagonist Ed
Ford, who could clearly use a little exercise -- to pass Bike KC. From
now on, new or rebuilt streets in Kansas City are supposed to be
bike-friendly. In the next year, the city will paint bike lanes onto
dozens of streets and put up signs marking bike routes. City Hall has
also promised to get rid of bike hazards such as storm grates.
Eventually, ubiquitous bike racks and public showers might even signal
that Kansas City has turned the corner and joined other bike-loving
big cities. Despite federal grants that'll help give the city a push,
our own observations of City Hall lead us to believe the bike
initiative may be in for an uphill ride -- but Bike KC supporters are
in for the long haul. We give them a tip of the helmet.

It's surprising to think that this was 5 years ago. Then another Jeff posted this.

I emailed this link out earlier this week and drew some responses. The city is moving with the hiring of a Bike/Ped Coordinator this year. She's been on the job now 3 months. The problem I have is the lack of expediency that was demonstrated by the city. If it hadn't been for some advocates pushing the city and a threatened loss of Federal funding. little would have happened.

So the lesson is this. City Hall and Politicians will do the minimum to pacify activists. To trust their good intentions is not enough. The Bike KC initiative should have been further along.

Who rides this town anyway?

2007-10-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

Great work from our good friend, Chris Thomas (alias ChrisGo!)

Comments and thoughts

2007-09-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

We haven't been blogging in awhile but from somewhere comes this:

Hi. I apologize this comment has nothing to do with the topic but I'm searching for an answer... I recently moved to Kansas City – the Brookside area – and I have discovered the bike trails with great enthusiasm! I am VERY surprised by the lack of bike racks in this area (in the short time I have been here, I have attempted to fraternize multiple businesses along the entire length of the Trolley Trail bike/walk trail only to be deterred by lack of ability to lock my bike upon entering the business) – there must be an explanation of which I am missing. Please explain, or point me to resources which will inform me as to why this basic resource is so lacking.

Thank you.

I don't get it either. The explanation is that we live in the least progressive city in the least progressive country in the civilized world. Bike racks don't cost much. There is a BikeKC Plan in place. Hardly anyone could argue that the Trolley Trail has been anything but a boon to the city and the area. Yet we keep moving forward with glacial speed. When I moved here back in the 70's, the city's slogan was "one of the few liveable cities left". Of course, since that time, the city has sprawled further and further out. Maybe our new slogan could be, "Lots of roads, we got lots of roads."

Yet, glacially, I see a few signs of progress. Critical Mass gets bigger every month. We have a thriving alleycat community. We debate helmet wearing and brakes among us now. This is a fun city to ride.

New Route for Sunday

2007-08-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Custard Cruise

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

This is the Custard Cruise route for Sunday. Meet at the Brookside parking lot across the street from Foo's Frozen Custard at 2PM.

Vigil for 2 Cyclists on Saturday Morning

2007-08-08T09:17:00.000-07:00

The Greater Kansas City Bike Federation will lead a ride out to the collision site at 8AM Saturday Morning August 11 from the Parking Lot behind Roasterie/Bella Napoli in Brookside.
The route for the vigil for Saturday Morning is here: http://www.routeslip.com/routes/57346
We'll try to be ready to leave at 8:00 AM. We'll be carrying a couple Ghost Bikes out in Trailers.

Here's the Star story

2nd Bicyclist Dies From Collision With Pickup
Grandfather, 14-Year-Old Granddaughter Killed

UPDATED: 4:41 pm CDT August 7, 2007
GRANDVIEW, Mo. -- A collision between a pickup and two bicyclists has claimed a second life.
On Tuesday, police said Sierra Gaunt, 14, died as a result frominjuries suffered in Monday night's collision. She is on life support pending organ donor arrangements, police said.

Gaunt's grandfather, 59-year-old Larry C. Gaunt, of Lee's Summit, Mo., died at the scene when the two bicyclists were hit by a pickup truck on Raytown Road near Harry Truman Drive.
Relatives said Larry Gaunt had ridden in the last 15 years of the MS 150 Bike Ride, and this year was going to be his granddaughter's first ride.

The two had just visited a local bicycle shop before the collision.

"He was very competitive. He rode hard -- he liked to be out front," said Chris Smedley with The Bicycle Shack. "A very strong riderfor his age -- he could keep up with anyone. He could ride with the top groups in any club ride."
Smedley said Larry Gaunt had brought his granddaughter into the shop a few weeks ago to buy bicycle gear.
"Said he was getting her into the MS 150. He bought her a helmet and gloves," Smedley said.

Bicyclists often use the section of Raytown Road where the two were hit, Smedley said.

"The road usually has debris on it, so bikes will take the inside lane because the car tires keep it clear," Smedley said.
It's not clear why the pickup driver didn't see the two bicyclists.
The collision remains under investigation.
Police said the driver, a 48-year-old Grandview man, was cooperating with officers. No charges have been filed.

Kansas City's sidewalk problem

2006-12-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

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.

KC Star on the Trails Again

2006-12-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

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.

Be the first to Bike new Olathe Overpass

2006-12-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

KC Star

2006-12-13T18:16:00.000-08:00

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

2006-12-13T16:26:00.000-08:00

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).

BikeKC Routes mapped

2006-12-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

Eric has posted a map of the BikeKC route network.

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

2006-12-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

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.

Out in the Streets

2006-12-04T17:52:00.000-08:00

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.

KCStar supports regional trails system

2006-12-01T05:51:00.000-08:00

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.

Settlement reached in death of bicyclist Jake Clough

2006-11-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

According to the KCStar:

Children's Mercy Hospital and the family of a Kansas boy who died last year when a hospital feeding tube became dislodged in his abdomen have reached a settlement in a wrongful death case.

Neither side would reveal the details of the settlement.

Jake Clough, 15, of Fairway, Kan., was hospitalized in February 2005 after colliding with a truck on his bicycle in neighboring Prairie Village.

He emerged from a coma in mid-March at the University of Kansas Medical Center and was transferred to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, where he died a week later.

Olathe Bicycle Transportation Plan stakeholder meeting Nov 29th, 2006

2006-11-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

Olathe Bicycle Transportation Plan
Stakeholder Meeting

The City of Olathe's Departments of Public Works and Parks & Recreation will host a stakeholder meeting to present the draft plan to and receive comments from the bicycling community and interested citizens on the draft Olathe Bicycle Transportation Plan. The preliminary plan integrates various types of bicycle facilities, including on-road and trail facilities, into one comprehensive plan addressing the needs of a wide variety of bicyclists in our community. The meeting will begin with a brief presentation from staff describing the Olathe's history in bicycle planning, how the plan evolved, staff's reasoning behind the proposed plan and the plan's proposed system of bicycle facilities. The presentation will be followed with a hands-on opportunity for attendees to provide input on the development of Olathe first bicycle transportation plan.

November 29, 2006
7:00-9:00 PM
Governor's Room
1st Floor
Olathe City Hall
100 E. Santa Fe (1 block east of Kansas and Santa Fe)
Olathe, KS

We hope as many members of the bicycling community, particularly those who bicycle in, through or around Olathe can.

For additional information, please contact:

Dale Crawford, Park Project Coordinator
(913) 971-6659
dcrawford@olatheks.org

2006-11-18T17:00:00.000-08:00

Safe Streets-Safe City presentation at the Kansas City Neighborhood Development and Housing Committee (click on "Safe Streets" to jump directly to that part of the video).

The family of Robert Osborn, who was killed November 20th, 2005, as he was bicycle commuting home from work, has been doing groundbreaking and important work in researching the problem of violent crime in Kansas City. You can find out more on the Safe Streets web site or donate in support of their work and in memory of Robert here.

What Congestion really looks like.

2006-11-15T17:46:00.000-08:00

Jim, at OIFS, passes this one along.

As someone commented, "Too bad Denver isn't doing a whole lot to make this a reality..." Nevertheless, just demonstrating it may do something.

Last week, the city voted for light rail after 6 attempts. The Pitch had a pretty good take on it. It shows that despite the largest number of highway miles per capita in the nation, we still would like to get out of our cars. I would predict that the return on the investment of a light rail system would be greater than that for the Sprint Center or the improvements at the Truman Sports Center. Meanwhile, I'll keep riding.

KCMO to start traffic signal camera program

2006-11-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

According to a KCStar article:

Red-light cameras rolled closer to reality Wednesday as a Kansas City Council committee gave city staff the go-ahead to seek vendor proposals.

The request for proposals should appear this week on www.kcmo.org, and will be mailed to major vendors, Assistant City Manager John Franklin said. The city will probably seek responses within three weeks and choose a vendor by the end of the year. . . .

Next year, Kansas City expects to join St. Louis, Sugar Creek and a handful of other Missouri cities that photograph vehicles running red lights. The City Council has said it hopes the program will reduce accidents, but council members have emphasized that they want to proceed methodically, periodically reviewing legal and technical issues and using the cameras only as part of a comprehensive public safety program.

If this could be the first step in a comprehensive drive to educate KC drivers and actually enforce traffic laws it could go a long ways to making KC's streets safer for everyone.

We'll see.

Group rides banned from Leawood trails

2006-10-05T08:10:00.000-07:00

According to a KCStar article:

The Leawood City Council has decided city trails are not to be used for organized events.

The city has received several requests this year from organizations that want to hold events on the city’s trail system. Because of safety concerns, the city has denied those requests.

“We just want to make sure we’re providing the safest atmosphere,” said Chris Claxton, director of parks and recreation.

Council members agreed and expressed concern about collisions between regular trail users and large groups of runners, cyclists and even walkers.

The council asked the city staff and park board to draft a list of activities that could be permitted or forbidden on the trails.

Interestingly, on the recent City to City ride, some riders used the trail in Leawood, which was near the planned on-street route, and these riders reported close to zero other traffic on the trail.

Driver who hit pedestrian charged with vehicular assault

2006-10-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

According to KMBC news:

In May, a driver crossed two lanes of traffic at 54th Street and Troost Avenue, jumped a curb and then hit Ruth Austin, who was walking on a sidewalk.

Prosecutors charged Ricky M. Taylor, 49, with vehicular assault. According to court records, Taylor admitted to smoking marijuana before the crash.

"He creamed me, then went through some bushes, through the fence and hit a parked car. The first thing I remember is being lifted onto a gurney and being rolled into the hospital," Austin said.

Incidentally, the "vehicular assault" charge is purely because Taylor was stoned.

A sober driver who drove the same way with the same result would have been charged with improper lane usage [ 1 2 3 4 ] or some other similar minor offense and fined at most a few hundred dollars.

This is one of the issues MoBikeFed would like to address through new legislation.

MoBikeFed's Fall Membership Drive is going on now--and your support is very much needed to make initiatives like this move forward.

To drivers in our fair city,

2006-09-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-25T21:03:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

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

2006-09-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

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.

KCStar on Kansas City's first Missouri River crossing

2006-08-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Kansas City Star today has an article on the efforts of the Missouri Bicycle Federation in cooperation with local advocacy and civic groups to support Kansas City first bicycle/pedestrian accessible Missouri River crossing:

The new Paseo Bridge is planned to last into the next century. But local critics say it’s being planned with the last century in mind.

With gas prices soaring and global warming in the headlines, cyclists and other civic interests say the new Missouri River crossing should be about more than just the car.

They have flooded the Missouri highway department with hundreds of letters pleading for a separate lane for bikes and pedestrians on the Paseo Bridge, which could be replaced with twin bridges or a single structure. . . .

Also calling for a bike lane are the Kansas City Council, the Port Authority of Kansas City and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Overland Park adopts "linkage plan"

2006-08-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

According to a KCStar article today:

Overland Park has adopted a plan to construct a web of recreational trails and bike routes across the city’s older, northern half.

The $5.9 million Greenway Linkages plan is part of the city’s 2006 master plan, which the City Council approved this week.

North Overland Park has about 15 miles of trails, mostly in parks. The new plan will add 21 miles, with construction spread over 15 to 20 years.

Not as hard as you think

2006-08-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

From the excellent BikePortland and the BTA Blog, Oregonians find it's not as hard as they thought.

With a couple nice new racks at the store, I'm seeing a few more bikes. Visiting our Cherry Creek (Denver) store, I was amazed at the number and variety of bicycles there. I saw a lot more old cruiser-type bikes. Denver may be a mile high, but the city is largely flat, it seems, from a one day visit.

I had a meeting last Thursday that required a 7:50 AM flight, which necessitated a 7:00 AM or earlier arrival at KCI. Checking into the KCATA, I found that one, it doesn't run in Firefox and secondly, I would have had to catch the bus at 4:52. My 10:30 PM return would entail a similar rignmarole, As much as I hope to save the planet, I chose to drive my soon-to-be sold truck to the airport. But it was a tough call.

For the Children

2006-07-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

I came upon this site through the BOB list and it harkened back to a discussion I had with Sarah about air quality and cigarette smoking versus auto exhaust.

Mission to adopt road diet

2006-07-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

According to a KCStar article:

A Mission task force has given the tentative green light to a narrower Johnson Drive.

The mayor-appointed task force had reached a deadlock about whether Johnson Drive should remain a four-lane thoroughfare or be narrowed to two lanes with a dedicated turn lane. Several consultants have suggested the city transform Johnson Drive into a more pedestrian-friendly district with wider sidewalks.

But the three-lane approach was able to gain a majority on Wednesday when hesitant members learned about potential to make the change temporary at first by simply re-striping the road.

Jake Clough Foundation promotes helmets

2006-07-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

KCStar:

Jake Clough always wore his bicycle helmet, his aunt, Molly O’Connor said.

Although the Fairway boy died from complications in the weeks following a February 2005 bike wreck, the helmet ensured he was protected from the initial impact, she said.

Jake’s family had that in mind when they created the Jake Clough Headstrong Foundation, dedicated to promoting bike safety for youth.

“It’s extremely important to us,” O’Connor said. “We know that the helmet saved Jake’s life that day, no question about it.”

More info on the foundation's web site.

1 in 36 drivers drunk on Ward Parkway

2006-07-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

According to an entry on the KC Crime Scene blog, at a recent police checkpoint on Ward Parkway, 1 in 36 drivers (16 out of 585 or 2.7%) were drunk.

And we wonder why our roadway injury rate is high?

Bicycle police to patrol Trolley Trail and Brookside area

2006-06-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

Today's KCStar has a long article about new bicycle police patrols on the Trolley Track Trail:

Bell and other residents along the Trolley Track Trail and other parts of Waldo and Brookside should be seeing more officers on bikes this year, thanks to an effort last year by the area’s businesses and homes associations.

Together they raised about $5,500 and bought six new bicycles that were specially outfitted for police.

Johnson County trails

2006-06-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

Today's KCStar had an article about plans to make the Johnson County trail system more connected and complete;

We’re trying to connect our trails to schools so kids can walk or ride their bikes to school rather than having to be driven all the time.”
Dale Crawford, park project coordinator

For years, Johnson County trails were used for romantic walks, scenic jogs or family outings.

Where they ended, few people knew — or cared.

Now trails are becoming more, well, practical.

You can have your walk and enjoy it, too. But in the future, trails are more likely to take you somewhere, such as your daughter’s school or the neighborhood shopping center.

With 174 miles of trail on the ground, Johnson County has just under half the mileage in the metropolitan area, said Aaron Bartlett, bicycle and pedestrian planner for the Mid-America Regional Council. By comparison, Jackson County has a little more than 80 miles of trail.

KC proposes new bicycle parking guidelines

2006-05-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

As part of its update of city zoning ordinances, KCMO is proposing bicycle parking requirements. This would be a great step forward for mainstreaming bicycling within KCMO.

Eric Rogers has posted the proposed ordinances here.

Why I Ride My Bike to Work

2006-05-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

By riding my bike to work I plan to change the world.
I declare freedom from the petroleum mongering machine.
There's no war in Iraq fought for my gas.
I live on a human scale, and I transport my own ass.

I ride in the dark, before the sun comes up.
A silent prowler sliding along the side of the road.
Cars usually change lanes to briefly pass me by,
Rushing in their boxes, do they ever wonder why?

I rode for poverty, because my car is a piece of shit.
Then there's the forty pounds I lost doing it.
Every day that I ride is a better day.
That's the bottom line for me.

Riding my bike to work puts me in a good mood.
When I drive, stressed is how I arrive.
There's more interactions on a bicycle:
Weather, pavement, daylight, and of course the drivers.
Almost every day someone honks to educate me
Telling me I don't belong where I have a right to be.

In America, your most powerful voice is what you buy.
Whey send dollars to people who want to kill us?
For one day, just try biking or taking the bus.

-Corinna West

Where bikes are fast

2006-05-24T06:02:00.000-07:00

5.18.2006
President of Fuji Bikes Races Car and Train to Work
By: Ryan LaBar

As you may know this week is "Bike-to-Work Week" and Friday is "Bike-to-Work Day". So you may be wondering what the time difference between biking, driving or taking the train would be?

On Monday the president of Fuji Bicycles, Patrick Cunnane, "raced" a car and a train to work for Philadelphia's Bike to Work Challenge, which is organized by the Greater Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition. Dressed in a tie, a collared shirt, and khakis (plus a safety yellow vest), he raced from the corner of 15th Street and JFK Blvd. to the corner of 46th Street and Chestnut during rush hour. Cunnane won the Challenge, edging out the train by two and a half minutes and the car by over twelve. The only thing he didn't beat to work was the weather, which ended up catching him at the finish in the form of rain.

In LA, they cover this?

2006-05-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Much kudos to Mike Hendricks for this but the Star didn't really cover Bike to Work Week.

Other Good Stuff from the Bicycle Kitchen

2006-05-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Riding the City:

1. The most important thing about riding in the city is that you MUST BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE TRAFFIC AND YOU BELONG IN THE STREET!!! Yes city traffic is dangerous. Yes cars are moving fast. Yes cars are bigger than you. Yes cars are not watching for you. But if you ride like you BELIEVE you are traffic (which you legally are) you will be safer and riding Los Angeles will be the best experience ever!

2. The next most important thing is to be visible. Be loud! Make yourself noticeable, wear a wig or whatever, but make sure those motorists know you're there.You have to be in plain view all the time while riding through the city. A good rule of thumb is to stay a car door's width away from parked cars and keep that position. When the parked cars end, don't swerve into the open space, be consistent and hold your position and remember that you are traffic and belong exactly where you are - in the flow of traffic.

3. Don't ride on the sidewalk, entering the street at every corner and then back up on the sidewalk is unsafe and inconsistent. Cars will not know that you are entering the street and when they go to make a turn they could easily run you over. Be visible all the time. Also, the sidewalk is a bad idea cuz you are trying to get somewhere right? It will take you forever on the sidewalk. Hit the street and ride yo!

4. The city streets at night - are the BEST!!! None of our lives stop when the sun goes down - many of our lives actually are just beginning - cuz your job ain't your life right? It is the law that all bicycles must have lights on them while riding at night. The Police can and sometimes do pull you over if you do not have lights on your ride. More importantly you will be - yup - VISIBLE if you use lights while riding at night, and that will help make you safer. Don't change anything about the way you ride at night from your daytime style - keep being part of traffic and keep a consistent position in the street. Man, Los Angeles ROCKS at night - the taco trucks, the lights, the folks waiting for the bus, the temperature, going out to the clubs - everything in L.A. is better at night if you are riding a bicycle. Folks going out in their cars will be searching for parking spaces and you will be pulling right up to the front door of the club ready to boogie - whoooweeeee! And then when you want to head to the next hot spot, BOOM, there is your ride, front and center ready to roll!!!
(Jeff - This isn't true about KC. The loneliest place in KC is downtown at night. It's slowly, no, glacially, changing but downtown at night is a fun place to ride.)
5. Now we are not anybody's mothers, but - It is very important to wear a helmet. Some folks don't - that's cool. Personally I think it is foolish to not wear a helmet. The best rider in town, will all the skills, and the slickest ride can be hit by a car that broke the law or was not watching. No amount of cool will save your skull from breaking into a jigsaw puzzle once it hits the ground - WEAR YOUR HELMETS!!!!

This is our Sword

2006-05-22T07:32:00.000-07:00

I spotted this thsi morning

as published originally in BikepLAgue #3

this is our sword.
this is our tool for disarming the wars being fought across the planet. the magnitude of the weapons used grinds everything to pieces. bloddy messes, and meat from all species torn across the land and the streets and the sky. these are no times to stand disarmed. the bicycle is the ideal weapon for the transnational citizen. a simple non-destructive mean for liberation, tool for internal and external battles, companion and critic. a Way. our form of iron. our form of irony.
when in the streets, alone in the battle field, the warrior tempers its spirit confronting weapons of mass destruction with the simplicity of his self powered weapon. like a candle that dares to shine like ten thousand suns. such is our stupidity and our glory. and such is the humor that the world has given to us: an autonomous form of transportation that is at the same time a weapon of Mass creation.
non-violent battles with non-violent weapons in ultra-violent contexts for daily metaphor bending are being fought. and we fall to pieces. and we paint the soil-asphalt with our blood and bone and we dare others not to paint it with the blood and bone of the opressed, of those for whom the simplest way out of war is death.
the transnational-citizen/warrior rides knowing that his life and the life of others are at stake with every decision. that's what we call riding at sustainable speeds. and within the limits of its weapon the transnational-citizen/warrior porsues elegance in motion. and this is how freedom occurs in the interstices of slavery, like riding in the gaps of a traffic jam.
many of our swords come from places where metaphorical wars are confounded with real ones. where bikes are meant for competition and pride seeking. we gave them nakedness and taught them the humble ways of the streets. our bikes are swords to deconstruct the war metaphor. and like swords of the past they have names and mythical stories to be told, and some of them have been the companions of warriors that lost their lives in the battle field.
bicycles are our vehicle in the mythic grid
our vector in and out of the integrated circuit
our passport as transnational citizens
our cybernetic implant for recrafting bodies
our strategic advantage
our mighty pen
our sword

To our friend Morgan master of the sword in the extended battlefield.

All buses now have bike racks!

2006-05-08T17:32:00.000-07:00

Bridget Moss with the KCATA just confirmed that as of today virtually all Metro buses now have bike racks. These are the 20 and 40 foot buses used on fixed routes. The only exception are the short buses used on MetroFlex routes.

Joco buses already have racks. Anyone know about KCK's "The Bus?"

Part of the problem, definitely not the solution.

2006-05-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

How much further can these people get from our reality?

KC's bad sidewalks--a plan?

2006-05-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

The KCStar has an article about a new plan proposed by KC auditor Mark Funkhauser to improve Kansas City's currently terrible sidewalk conditions:

Kansas City has an embarrassing array of dilapidated and long-neglected sidewalks. They are badly cracked, overgrown with grass or have been lifted up by bulging tree roots.

These sidewalks are unsightly blemishes on neighborhoods throughout the city. Some are downright hazardous. Repairs, when they are done at all, sometimes take years.

Once again, City Hall has taken poor care of a basic city asset. And not just recently but for many years.

In a recent report to elected officials, City Auditor Mark Funkhouser offered nine sensible recommendations to improve the city’s sidewalk repair and inspection programs. City Manager Wayne Cauthen and Public Works Director Stan Harris agreed with the conclusions.

More Gems from Kent Peterson

2006-05-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Kent.

From the City where Nobody Walks

2006-05-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

Why can't our elected officials have that kind of vision? I still harbor a grudge over the former mayor killing light rail with a flip comment of "touristy frou-frou" when his claim to fame of Brush Creek and the 18th and Vine district are nothing but that.

Bicycling Policy around the World

2006-05-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Richard Risemberg for this one.

KC region's police pursuit policies threaten all road users

2006-05-06T09:17:00.000-07:00

Bicyclists Doug Rushing, John Anderson, Laurie Chipman, Carol Hatcher, and Maggie McCoy are co-authors of an editorial in today's Kansas City Star about the dangers of police chases.

High-speed police pursuits can be like shoot-outs in a crowded shopping mall. They should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, that is too often not the case. In July 2003, Toni Sena was killed during a needless police chase while riding her bike on a quiet street in the Waldo area of Kansas City.

. . .

Kansas City police learned a lesson in July 2003. Independence police have not yet learned this lesson and continue to defend a policy that is badly flawed because it:

* Allows for pursuits when public safety is not threatened.

* Gives too much leeway to officers to initiate a pursuit.

Speeding cars may become deadly weapons, making a pursuit a high-stress situation. Stress impairs sound decision-making.

For the safety of the whole metropolitan area, Independence police should join with other jurisdictions to adopt the Kansas City pursuit policy. Such standardization for the region would make streets safer for everyone — pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers and police.

A recent police chase by officers from Independence resulted in the death of one person and the serious injury of another.

Carfree Sundays

2006-05-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Randy Neufeld of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation recently wrote about Bogota, Columbia's, car-free day, the "Ciclovia":

Bogota's car-free day is really better characterized as private-car free day. Taxis and buses, of which there are many, still use the roads. The Sunday Ciclovia closes a 120K network throughout the city. Chicago hopes to pilot carfree "Sunday Parkways" after the Bogota model on a 3 or 4 mile route on three Sundays this fall.

What a good idea to import to Kansas City--how about closing a few selected streets like Blue River Road and Cliff Drive on Sundays and encouraging people to come out to walk and bicycle.

New MAX routes on the way

2006-05-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

Looks like the KCATA is beginng the work of adding routes to the popular MAX rapid bus line currently runing from Downtown to Waldo. Next up are lines for Troost and North Oak, which are also priority corridors in the Smart Moves plan.

The current #25 Troost bus is already one of the busiest Metro routes. The North Oak corridor is slated for significant redevelopment between NKC and Gladstone, including mixed-use projects and pedestrian improvements.

More info to come on Wednesday when MARC's transit committee meets at 10:00 a.m. at the KCATA offices. (details)

The start of some good news

2006-04-28T18:25:00.000-07:00

I looked at this site and saw that there is a person with the title of "Anti-Sprawl Program Coordinator" by the name of Yaakov Garb. A further Google search finds that the only references are to this guy. Wish there were a few more.

Congress Calls On President To Act on Bicycle Problem

2006-04-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

From the BOB-List

(AP) Citing the steeply rising cost of high quality bicycle gruppos, Congress called on the president to take action to bring down the cost of high quality bicycles for ordinary Americans. "The cost of bicycles for the American public is an issue of national security", Senator Charles Schumer stated. "What we have not heard from the President is a clear plan to make sure reasonably priced bicycles are affordable to all Americans." President Bush issued an order to immediately halt the federal stockpiling of vintage bicycle parts for the Strategic Bicycle Reserve. Experts believe this will have only a minimal impact on the cost of good bicycles for the average commuter.

Bicycle Statistics from around the world.

2006-04-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Interesting juxtaposition of statistics. Confirms my impressions.

From Portland, with some thing for all of us.

2006-04-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Actually, this comes from Washington, D.C. but it originates with Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. It would allow "an incentive created in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century that enables their employers to pay for their bus or subway ride". The article also notes that "car parking can also treated as a tax-free benefit for employees, so this bill is especially important".

In Missouri, we can take note of this and email our own Senators Bond and Talent in support of this measure. Kansans should contact Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback.

Why we invented the Dope Slap!!

2006-04-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Proving once again that Graham Parker was right when he said, "Some people are in charge of pens that shouldn't be in charge of brooms."

Anyone know a minister who rides?

2006-04-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Let's get this going here. Of course, my bike doesn't need a blessing. It IS a blessing.

Great Commuter Advice

2006-04-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

From a true cycling hero, the holder of the single-speed record for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Race, the Commuting Program Director for the Bicycle Alliance of Washington. While we're at it check out this from one of my favorite cycling magazines, Dirt Rag.

Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba (!), Denmark, Kuwait, Portugal, and Slovenia.

2006-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

What do these countries have in common with the US? They all tied for 27th in the World Health Organization's 2005 world health report.

These countries ranked ahead of the US: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Thanks to Todd Kuzma at Tullio's Blog for this bit.

Bike lanes slowly emerging

2006-04-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Looks like a little bit of BikeKC is becoming visible. I've seen three short segments of striped/signed bike lane three places. Anyone spot any others?

Pennsylvannia Street between 12th and 14th, in Downtown on Quality Hill.
NW Barry Road, between I-29 and NW Prairie View, in front of Zona Rosa.
North Congress Ave., south of Barry Rd. and near Park Hill High School.

The latter two are scheduled for more road construction, so we should see the bike lanes extended.

Bike advocates are spoked about our new bridge policy

2006-04-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 18, 2006 was a historic day in Kansas City bike/pedestrian advocacy. The Mid-America Regional Council's Total Transportation Policy Committee passed a policy to encourage safe bike/pedestrian crossings on all our area river bridges over Kansas and Missouri rivers. Currently, we have no safe crossing so we are still waiting for our first opportunity which may be the new Paseo bridge to be completed in 2011.

Because of pressure from the MBF and Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation, last November the TTPC voted to create a Bicycle/Pedestrian River Crossing Task Force. Representatives from area cities and counties and DOTs convened in December for our first meeting. The task force was chaired by Marge Vogt, Olathe city council and John Fairfield, KCMO city council.

Some of the issues that we discussed were:
• New bridges are a rare opportunity to improve accessibility for all legal users of the transportation system.
* Rivers are major barriers to connecting the community.
* Not all transportation users have motorized vehicles and transit does not serve all areas equally or adequately. Removing river barriers for these vulnerable people improves their opportunities for employment.
* There are trails on both sides of the rivers that need to be connected and a larger trail plan that calls for crossing the rivers.
* A safe river crossing will add economic benefit to the area by making the area more attractive to businesses and talented workers who want high quality of life.
* Lots of development is going on downtown and these people will want a river crossing to go to work and for recreation.
* We are behind other communities in bike/pedestrian accommodation and modal choice.
• Modal choice will help people exercise and improve their health.

There was discussion as to whether there was adequate bike/ped traffic to warrant spending the money. There is traffic but the low amount of it is partly due to unsafe conditions and lack of encouragement for cycling and pedestrians. Our community has about half the commuting cyclists as communities that encourage cycling with education, infrastructure, signs and parking.

Funding became a big talking point. The federal guidelines for using federal money say up to 20% of a project's funds should be used for bike/ped accommodation. Most other money for bike/ped comes from enhancement funds and Congestion Mitigation Air Quality funds which are similar to grants. The task force settled on a cap 15% of a project to fund safe bike/ped access but the DOTs wanted 5% or less. A major project may never approach the 15% cap to accommodate bike/ped but a bridge renovation could use that and more. If it goes over 15% bike/ped access could still happen but it would definitely be case by case. MoDOT wanted the funding to be a percent of the structural costs as opposed to a percentage of the higher project costs. The task force approved 15% of structural costs.

There were also issues in the language that of "should" or "shall." If certain conditions are met to warrant a bike/ped crossing "should" or "shall" the project go forward. We wanted "shall" and the DOTs wanted "should." The policy says "should."

The cycling advocates are very happy that the policy was passed without dissent. Even though it was watered down it is a beginning and the policy says at the end that the policy will be reviewed periodically as bike/ped demands evolve. That sounds hopeful to me.

Our next project is to work with the community and MoDOT to get a safe bike/ped river crossing on the Paseo bridge. MoDOT is accepting public input on that project by mailing I-29/I-35 Draft EIS, c/o HNTB, 715 Kirk Drive, KCMO 64105 or here:

Thanks to Dale Crawford for talking points.

Accused of taking ourselves too seriously...

2006-04-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Can we get Screenland to show this?

When the Streets Attack

2006-04-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

Local cyclist Dustin recently spent an afternoon in the ER after falling victim to a bad drainage grate on Broadway Boulevard at Truman Road. The grate at fault used to have crossbars, and Dustin notes another grate nearby that is starting to fail. He has reported the hazard to the city's Action Center, but be careful on Broadway for now.

Dustin's story (PDF).

KCMO and MoDOT will reimburse a motorist if they can prove that their car was damaged by a pothole. I wonder if a cyclist could file a similar claim for bike damage and/or medical bills incurred by a road hazard?

Biking in Copenhagen

2006-04-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Great 20-minute documentary on Copenhagen, Denmark's bike policy. The statistics there are amazing, but they note that it the current situation is the result of 50 or even 100 years of work.

Video and city bike plan info

30% of trips to work occur on a bike, with a goal of 40% in the future
25% of the city's transportation budget is spent on bike facilities
90% of residents own bikes

Thats What We're Talking About!!

2006-04-10T06:10:00.000-07:00

I wonder if there's anyone here in KC holding public office with that kind of vision.

"In "honor" of the upcoming, dreaded Tax Day (April 15), Sunday's Road Crew column will examine an oft-neglected group of commuters -- those traveling to and from work by bicycle -- and whether proposals to give them a tax break have any merit. Mentioned in the column is a Washington Twp. man who, every so often, cycles the 50-mile round trip between his office in Somerville. Kind of puts the rest of us to shame."

Proof that the rest of the world is ahead of us

2006-04-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

Paseo Bridge--the next step

2006-04-04T10:11:00.000-07:00

We have been working on a new metro-wide policy for bike/ped access on major river crossings.

This was all brought to pass by the planned construction of a new Paseo bridge over the Missouri River.

Bicycle & pedestrian advocates and planners in the region realized that this will be the only chance within perhaps the next 50 years to create a bike/ped friendly crossing of the Missouri River anywhere near downtown Kansas City.

The River Crossings Policy task force is moving forward with the general region-wide policy.

Now the next step is moving forward on the Paseo bridge project.

Open houses scheduled for May 9 at NKC Community Center and May 11 at Garrison Community Center in Columbus Park.

Even a few people showing up at these meetings to speak for bicycle and pedestrian accommodation would make a huge impact on the whole process. Please plan to be there if you can.

Comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted through May 22, 2006 and may be submitted to the FHWA and MoDOT through the following means:

- Via mail to: I-29/I-35 Draft EIS, c/o HNTB, 715 Kirk Drive, KCMO 64105

- Via e-mail to: i29i35EIS@hntb.com

Even a simple statement via email is helpful: "I support bicycle and pedestrian access across the Missouri River and on all local roads crossing the proposed Paseo project."

Relevant excerpts from the EIS:

16. Plans for suitable pedestrian and bicycle access upon streets crossing I-29/35 and
I-35/70 will be considered during the design of the interchanges and bridges where
warranted by land use.

17. MoDOT will support the future creation of a bicycle and pedestrian connection across
the Missouri River on the Heart of America Bridge, M-9, in conjunction with local master
plans. This project may be funded by local or regional transportation sources."

More info at these web sites:

http://www.downtownkc.org/content.aspx?pgID=894
http://www.modot.org/kansascity/major_projects/documents/A_Summary.pdf

[Thanks to Eric for the tip.]

As we were saying...

2006-04-04T05:38:00.000-07:00

Reporter Karen Dillon, in this morning's KC Star points out that, as a city, we are unprepared for higher gas prices at the level of $4-6 per gallon. 11 cities in the 50 largest were ranked worse.

Even Mell Henderson, director of transportation with MARC stated, "I think right now in our community we sort of assume people have a car, and it is sort of laid out in a way that it only makes sense if you have a car,” Henderson said. “We have to rethink how our community is constructed so there are more places that we can get to either by foot or on bicycle.”

The story on the study is available at SustainLane which seems another great resource to which I will put a link on this blog.

Transit in Denver vs. KC

2006-04-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

All transit operators in the Kansas City area combined carry about 45,000 passengers per day.

In Denver it is 265,000 per day.

So what's up? Is the Denver metro area six times bigger?

Not exactly. The Denver metro area is 2.2 million while KC is 1.8 million.

Maybe they are just six times smarter?

How to Not Get Hit by Cars

2006-03-30T16:53:00.000-08:00

This came across one of my lists today and it seems like good advice.

One tidbit:

Around 44,000 people die in car crashes in the U.S. each year.
About 1 in 54 is a bicyclist.

We Copied that inane Cow Parade what about this?

2006-03-30T11:11:00.000-08:00

Laurie and I visited Chicago last summer. Without getting to Critical Mass or any events, we were really impressed. People ride everywhere and each neighborhood has its own unique little shop and they are all on the Chicagoland Bike Map.

For example, Pilsen, a predominately Hispanic neighborhood, has a shop, Irv's Bike Shop, with a good amount of low rider type bicycles with 80 spoke wheels and twisty handlebars. Other shops had folding bikes. Every shop sold fenders and they did repairs on old bikes. Unfortunately, we visited Yojimbos on Wednesday and he was closed.

We don't do this here in Kansas City. Look at what they offer on this page. Hard to imagine that here, but it's possible. We can have a city like that here in Kansas City. There is a different mentality in Chicago. People who use public transit aren't regarded as second class citizens or better stated, they all use it.

I'm not intending to bag on Kansas City all the time but it's frustrating to see what another city can do and we're not emulating it. I still have hope for my fair city, though.

KC bike/ped stats

2006-03-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

I've been wondering for some time how the amount of bicycling and walking the the KC metro area stacks up to the national average.

For some reason I had the feeling we might be a bit lower than the average.

Sure enough we are.

Bicycling and walking are 9.5% of trips nationally (2001 data).

In KC bike/ped makes up 4.3% of trips.

A Gallup poll says that 27% of adult Americans bicycle regularly (defined as at least once per month during the summer months).

In KC it is only 24% of adults bicycle even once during the entire summer.

Got some work to do . . .

Not Toys

2006-03-26T17:49:00.000-08:00

I haven't been to as many meetings as my wife, preferring a "bottom-up" rather than a "top-down" approach to bike/ped activism, but I've gone to a few. Invariably, the city officials refer to bike lanes and paths as recreational. In my mind, these are transportation issues. Stadium renovations are economic development, not recreational issues. If I didn't know better, I'd say the civic leadership would rather have me sitting on my posterior drinking overpriced bad beer watching someone else do something physical than riding my bike to work.

On KCUR's Up To Date awhile back, there was a discussion of bicycle transportation. One caller said the solution is "load them on the back of the car and drive out to 175th Street. You can ride safely out there." Perhaps but I doubt even that point. Too many soccer parents with SUVs jockeying around out there. I see little use in loading my bike in a vehicle and carrying it more miles than I may ride it. I just want to go get a cup of coffee or see what's in my own neighborhood. If I wanted something down in the area I refer to as Northern Oklahoma, I'd move there.

Simply put, bikes are not toys. I have several and I enjoy them, but they aren't toys. There is a fixed-gear commuter bike, simple for getting back and forth to work. I have a touring bike capable of carrying stuff, for shopping. I have one that I just own for historical and interesting value. I have too many bikes. But I use them, for doing what I have to do, shopping, getting to work, going places. Too often, people want the same Trek Madone that Lance rides. Nobody would drive an Indy car to work. Well, almost nobody. People drive cars that they enjoy but we don't consider them toys. I have something that costs me nearly nothing compared to the price of even the low end of the automotive market and I get frequently harassed for it.

Bicycles delight me. I love looking at them, thinking about them, learning about them, tinkering with them. I can somewhat justify my obsession by placing them with new riders. At any age, it brings back the joy that came with learning to ride without training wheels. It's independence, self-sufficiency. When we can get around without fouling the air, without conceivably funding the other side in the war on terrorism, it's a great thing.

I went to the MS150 Bike Fair yesterday and came home with a beautiful old $25 Nishiki bicycle, that I want to clean up and put on new tires and get it into someone else's posession to ride to work. I'd love to keep this one with the beautiful lugwork and classic old steel frame but I don't have room to keep them all, so sharing them is the next best thing.

Kansas City actually taking environmental steps?

2006-03-25T14:01:00.000-08:00

This Kansas City Star article about KCMO's "first environmental steps" (Feb 15th issue) is very interesting:

As early as next week, city council members could get a peek at a groundbreaking proposal from the city's environmental commission. The commission wants Kansas City to implement a far-reaching citizen-based initiative to combat global warming.

The program is based on the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, which has been signed by more than 200 mayors across the country, including Mayor Kay Barnes. It is an attempt to slow global warming. The mayors came up with the agreement after the United States spurned the Kyoto Protocol that was ratified by 141 nations. Those countries are introducing measures to try to stabilize dangerous greenhouse gas concentrations.

Barnes signature caught area environmentalists by surprise. Until then the mayor had not been considered environmentally astute. . . .

nitiatives of the climate protection program include:

? Maintaining healthy urban forests and promoting tree planting to absorb pollution.

? Increasing the average fuel efficiency of municipal fleets.

? Making energy efficiency in homes and businesses a priority, while promoting green homes and buildings and encouraging purchase of Energy Star appliances and equipment.

? Reducing sprawl, preserving open space and creating compact, walkable urban communities.

? Educating the public, businesses and industry through schools, jobs, and professional associations about how to reduce global warming pollution.

If successful, "you could end up with a sustainable city that not only works better and operates more efficiently at lower cost, but it's dramatically more beautiful than the asphalt jungle we look out the window today," said John Ware, an architect with Gould Evans Associates and an environmental commissioner who put together the climate protection resolution and report.

Judy Widener, Volker Neighborhood Association president, believes the global warming protection initiative will work because of lessons activists learned from the recycling effort.

The answer, she said, is grassroots.

This opens up some real opportunities for bicyclists and pedestrians in the city. Bike/ped should be a big part of the effort to make KC "greener".

A quick calculation based on MARC & census figures shows that if the MARC region moved from (current) 4.3% bike/ped mode share to (current national average) 9.5% mode share we would save these whopping amounts:

385 million kg of nitrogen oxide annually
5.9 million kg of particulates annually
107 million tons of carbon dioxide annually

Lighten Up

2006-03-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

Fotag writes of bike lights and his irritation with riders who won't use them. I concur with his assessment of the rear lights. The Blackburn Mars 3.0 is handy, clips on the back of my Bell Metro, and is visible from a number or angles and relatively cheap.

I haven't used a front light that satisfies me yet. Riding in the city, I simply need a "be seen" light most of the time with all the streetlights. I'm intrigued by the Schmidt and Shimano generator lights.

I currently using on my fixed-gear Stella a set of Reelights from Jim at Hiawatha Cyclery. Not that bright, but reliable and no batteries to and no stuff to remember. Just saddle up and ride. The lights are there.

Makes Sense to Me

2006-03-24T07:33:00.000-08:00

When Laurie and I visited Chicago last summer, we took the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation map one day and made a tour of Bike Shops. One thing that struck me was the number of folding bicycles in the stores. Another thing was the number of old heavy bikes on the road. Actually, I was impressed by the number of bikes on the road but that's another story.

Folding bikes make great sense for commuters. Especially in Chicago, where mixed-mode commuting has been the norm for years. Ride your bike to the El. Fold it up. Ride the El. Get off the El. Ride to work.

Here in Kansas City, where one of the perks of employment is free parking, taking money away from what could be more useful benefits, the parking lots are like missing teeth in the cityscape. As we grow into a more mature city, folding bikes would make part of a nice personal transportation plan.

On the Kogswell Owners Group list, Dan Gurney writes,

"Folders rock.

Folding bikes are to regular bikes as
Laptops are to desktops."

Let's build more sidewalks

2006-03-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

The thing about KC's poor walkability that always strikes me the most is that we have so many neighborhoods without sidewalks. The two big examples are the Waldo area and the older, north-central part of the Northland south of Vivian Road. The big reason they lack sidewalks is that most homes there were built before the areas were annexed into the city - they were built on unincorporated county land with few of the urban planning guidelines that govern development of incorporated areas. And this is just in KCMO, the problem is even worse in many of the suburbs.

The problem today is that sidewalks are the responsibilty of the property owner. If the original developer of the subdivision didn't build sidewalks, then the current homeowner has to pay for it. There are some ways to get city assistance, but the bulk of the responsibilty falls to the individual and their neighbors.

So, let's lobby our City Council members to make sidewalks a priority for city infrastructure spending. If we can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on projects like arenas, stadiums, bridges, fire stations, etc. then we can also spend a few million to make sure all parts of the city have basic sidewalk infrastructure in place. It's also something that the often opposing north and south halves can join together to support.

team cycling makes for great friends

2006-03-22T16:06:00.000-08:00

Our cycling team has members from 21 years old to 76, slow riders to very, very fast. One thing we have in common is the friendship bonds that have been created. Four years ago at age 57 I rode my first MS150 on a mountain bike and not involved with any team. Couldn't understand why about half way my entire body locked up. Bought a road bike, actually trained, lost 40 pounds, recruited 10 more riders, formed a MS 150 team (TEAM MO-KAN-DO). This year we expect to have 75 team members at all age and experience levels. Group or team cycling is a great experience. We start training early Spring and by the time the MS 150 rolls around we are pretty much ready to go. Not everyone rides the total distance, but everyone has nothing but fun throughout the entire spring into fall. You don't have to be an avid cyclist. You only need to want to stay healthy, get in shape, maybe experience weight loss, and meet some really great folks.

I am excited about this blog site. Even though I own a running shoe store, it's about time the cycling community began to talk.

Make KC more inviting for walking

2006-03-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

Ron McLinden of the Sierra Club has a great letter in the KCStar today:

If Kansas City is to move up in walkability, we need to make our streets more inviting for walking. Our streets should encourage walking as part of people’s daily lives rather than a separate activity that involves driving to a park.

We could start by acknowledging that streets are more than just vehicle travel lanes. Streets are public space for all, including people not riding in motor vehicles, and they must be safe to cross as well as walk along.

We’ll make progress when the region’s traffic engineers — and The Star — lose their auto-centric view of streets and the urban environment.

The first step is the hardest and the happiest.

2006-03-17T16:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I woke up early, made coffee and checked my email. There was an ad on Craigslist for a couple bikes for $60.00. They were unsuspended Mountain Bikes, which are a great base for a commuter bike. So, I snapped them up. The seller told me he'd be home at noon, so I was there, cash in hand.

They needed a little work. The tires were flat from disuse. The brakes needed a tweak. I doubt that there was 50 miles on the 2 of them. But they had nice steel frames, which I like. They didn't need too much, or so I thought.

Little by little, by way of backstory, I've been getting my fellow team members at Whole Foods Market to ride to work. So, my intention in purchasing these two bikes, was to fix them up and hand them over to team members, not to make a fortune.

So, last week, our frozen foods buyer, Charlie comes to me and tells me he's ready to go look for a bike. The wheels start turning in my head. Breezer? Electra? What does Acme have? He says, "I need something for a 57 year old fat guy."

Since we were both free on Thursday, I had him meet me at Acme Bicycle Company around noon. I loaded up my truck with the 2 Raleighs and headed over there, grabbing a file on my way out of the garage to take off the "lawyer lips" which annoyed me each time I had to take the bikes off of the truck rack. One was 20 inches, the other 22. He's a taller guy but the smaller bike fit him about right. Christi was there to make certain he was fit right. She told me the shifters weren't repairable.

"I guess they just want you to buy a new bike when the shifters go bad. You'll have to take a hacksaw to that part and put on some new shifters. This one has seven speeds and they want 8, 9, 10 speeds now."

"How about friction? That's what his other bike has and it's a lot less fussy to maintain." So she handed me a new set of thumbshifters and a used one for the other bike. I went to work with a a hacksaw and file, removing the offending pods and smoothing away the excess metal. Installing the new ones was simple, with just a few tweaks the bike was shifting like a new bike. The new Tektro cantilever brake went on the front where the cheap Shimano Alivio had broken, exposing the brake spring beneath the flimsy plastic. They also needed a few tweaks to line up the brake pads.

Charlie got on his bike and rode around the alley, somewhat haltingly. "Like riding a bicycle" is after all, just an expression. Riding is a skill. It comes back to you but you have to practice.

But as we were leaving, he said, "This is going to be fun. I can ride the mile to work and back, ride to the coffee shop and ride to church." He had a big grin on his face, like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Do you think having a basket will make me look like a dorky 57 year old guy?"

"Charlie, I use one. Anyway, being a 57 year old guy means you don't have to worry what anyone thinks.

So, we put a nice Wald basket on the front handlebars. He can carry his lunch, carry home groceries.

One step. One "old fat guy" (in his words, not mine) gets a little healthier, the air gets just a little less exhaust and the roads get clearer. One more parking place is available. Change comes slowly but good things can happen.