KCMO continues to take baby steps in the implementation of the BikeKC plan for bike routes and bike lanes around the city. The latest development is the addition of bike lanes on a new segment of North Congress Avenue near Zona Rosa. The lanes start at Park Hill Middle School and go north to the new Springs Aquatic Center, just behind the Tiffany Springs automall.

The city's bike lane development has been slow and piecemeal, relying on the street paving schedule. The perfect example are the two random blocks of Barry Road between Congress and I-29. The North Congress lanes are actually quite good, connecting residential areas with high school, middle school, the Zona Rosa mixed-use town center, ball fields, and aquatic center. Since there is no parking along Congress, these bike lanes are free of the dreaded door zone.

One thing to watch out for are the new double roundabouts on either side of Hwy 152. There are no bike lanes through the roundabouts, so you need to merge with traffic at those points. There is also some variation in signage, so it looks like the city is still experimenting with a signage standard. The Barry Road lanes were due to be extended west with current road widening, but sadly right-of-way constraints will probably require shared-use lanes instead of dedicated bike lanes.