Stopping at City Hall en route to the Heart of America Bridge ground breaking ceremony
This morning MoDOT and City officials held a ground-breaking ceremony for the new bike/ped path being added to the Heart of America Bridge. There was a huge crowd of cyclists, including several who turned out for KCBike.Info’s ride from Midtown to the event.
Several folks spoke at the ceremony, all commenting on the need for local and state governments to better integrate bicycling, walking, and transit into the transportation network. Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation Executive Director Brent Hugh gave some history of the project and thanked thousands of individuals who wrote letters and made phone calls demanding better river crossings in the region. Mayor Mark Funkhouser spoke to importance of become a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly city as key to KC’s future. 2nd District Councilmember Russ Johnson, who is a cyclist, emphasized that even a car-centric city like ours can and must provide more transportation for it citizens. Missouri Highways and Transportation Commissioner Stephen Miller gave an excellent speech about MoDOT’s efforts to better include multi-modal transportation in future projects, and revealed that he is a cyclist himself.
City and MoDOT officials, and bicycle advocates, breaking ground on the new HOA Bridge bike/ped path.
Other speakers included MoDOT KC chief Beth Wright, City Councilman Ed Ford, KC City Bike/Ped Coordinator Deb Ridgway, Riverfront Heritage Trail director Darby Trotter, and North Kansas City Assistant City Administrator Mike Smith.
Construction will start in earnest this month, with an anticipated completion by October 2010.
