Yesterday the KCMO City Council finally approved a complete overhaul of the city’s outdated planning/zoning/development regulations. The new development code is a huge step towards more compact, sustainable, and multi-modal development.
Two critical bicycle-friendly provisions are included in the new code:
- Bike Parking: new businesses and multi-family housing required to provide bicycle parking for visitors and customers, as well as enhanced bike parking for residents and employees.
- Traffic Impact: developers must now study the impact on bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit users when their projects generate additional automobile traffic.
The new code will start being phased in over six months and be fulling enforced in one year. By this time next year we should start seeing many more bike racks in front of new developments. It was a big fight to get these things in there, so this is one time where your letters, emails, and phone calls made a big difference.
