Bike the Overpass
Published December 20th, 2006 in Advocacy, Rides, suburbsOlathe is opening a new overpass over I-35 tomorrow and Dale Crawford wants bikes to be some of the first vehicles over the new bridge. Sounds like a great opportunity for cyclists to be visible at a high-profile event, especially considering recent efforts to create a new bike plan in Olathe.
Be the first to Bike the Overpass!
When: 10:30 AM, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006
Where: 127th and Mur-Len (east side of the overpass) in Olathe,
KS
The horse-drawn Mahaffie Stagecoach will be the first "Official"
vehicle over the long-awaited 127th Street/I-35 Overpass in Olathe.
Lets make bicycles the second to cross. (Well, we may have to wait for
dignitaries and invited guests.)
While there is no documentation to prove it, I'd bet bicycles
were travelling down the Santa Fe Trail and Kansas City Road before
automobiles. After all bicycles, in one form or another, existed long
before our gas guzzling roadway partners. Let's show our presence by
respectfully showing the leaders of Olathe, Johnson County and Kansas,
bicycles are a viable component of our transportation system. Does
anyone ride a hgih-wheel? That would be even better!
The more the merrier.for a peaceful, respectful demonstration of
bicyclist's presence and rights to the road and to show support for the
Draft Olathe Bicycle Transportation Plan (www.olatheks.
<http://www.olatheks
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)
minutes of travel time for bicyclists.
See Olathe press release below.
Dale Crawford, JCBC Advocacy Chair
2 Responses to “Bike the Overpass”
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I totally missed the fact that there was an official ceremony. I’ve already ridden over it thrice. I took my bike to church on Sunday and 127th is the quickest route. I also went from my apartment at 119th and Ridgeview, down to “Harold”, east across the bridge to Strang Line Rd. (or is it called Mur-Len there?), and back north to the JO Transit Park and Ride next to Steak and Shake.
Definitely adds a lot of climbing and some extra distance to my commute, but the trade-off is amazing when I think of how horrible it is to get buzzed by crazy drivers who just *HAVE* to get to those highway on-ramps in record time.
Also, the drainage grates on the 119th street overpass will swallow any tire narrower than 1.75″, forcing cyclists halfway out into the lane. Drainage on the new 127th street bridge is very bike-friendly. Most of the grates are out of the road completely until you hit the actual elevated part, where the grates have square cut-outs that can be painlessly ridden over with a bike.
Haven’t ridden the 127th overpass yet with my bike, but I ride 95th and 87th regularly. They are NOT bike friendly. I’m well aware of the 119th overpass grates. Good to hear they’ve been improved on 127th.