Cycle City has just opened a new Clay County store at I-35 and 291 Hwy just west of Liberty.  Their original Platte County shop is at I-29 and NW Barry Road near Zona Rosa. The new store will have a grand opening this Saturday, March 15, so head up north and check ‘em out.

Three new bike shops in three weeks. Wow!

Also check out their weekly rides.  They have a Monday night urban ride that I am already excited to get in on ASAP.

www.volkerbicycles.com

www.familybicycleskc.com

Tour of Missouri
The largest sporting even in the history of Missouri kicked off here in KC on the Country Club Plaza. It was a huge success. The KC stage is rumored to have attracted the most spectators and economic impact, even more than the finish in St. Louis.

Cyclocross National Championships
The cycling world’s focus returned the region in December when KCK hosted the Cyclocross National Championships.

Commuting

• A national ranking placed KC dead last for bike commuting among major American cities, yet all signs indicate the situation is rapidly changing.
• Bike to Work Week had another record year. Almost 400 people road nearly 20,000 miles, keeping 18,000 pounds on carbon dioxide out of the air and $3000 in the pockets of local commuters.
• New bike racks were installed in Downtown KCMO on 12th Street and at the Sprint Center.
• North Kansas City began planning to install bike racks along Armour Road in its business district.
• The Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation started a monthy Commuter Mocktail hour with free snacks and bike repairs.

Bike Culture

• An urban cycling culture continues to blossom in the Downtown/Midtown corridor where it is becoming obvious that all of the cool kids are riding.
• Critical Mass is setting new records, pushing 100 riders
• Alleycat races in the urban core keep multiplying and becoming more popular

Safety

• Fatalities and injuries remain hight, but efforts have been stepped up to make the city safer.
• The Share the Road Safety Task Force was formed with representatives of law enforcement, transportation departments, city officials, and advocates. It’s first enforcement operation demonstrated to all road users that you can get a ticket for disobeying traffic laws.
• The motorist who almost killed 13 year-od Juan Portillo pled guilty and will do jail time.
• Manslaughter charges were filed in the Gaunt and Chris Cooper killings, and trials are expected later in 2008.
• The Greater Kansas City Bicycle Federation starting distributing lights to cyclists in the urban core who might not be able to afford them.

Mountain Biking

• The Missouri General Assembly passed a new law to ease construction of trails in Missouri parks and conservation lands.
• Work began on a new trail system in Swope Park, finally brining mountain biking into the very heart of the city.

Advocacy

• KanBikeWalk was formed as the first state-wide group lobbying for the rights of bicyclists and pedestrians in Topeka.
• The nationally-syndicated Perils for Pedestrians program filmed an episode in the KC area.
• Bicyclists and pedestrians came together to help elect a bike/ped-friendly KCMO City Council, which resulted in the metro’s first political ad featuring bicyclists.
• After much advocacy, MoDOT consented to allow a bike/ped lane on the new Paseo Bridge, as soon as local governments find the money to pay for it.
• Local advocacy convinced the KCMO City Manger to hire the city’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator.
• A multi-year campaign by the Missouri Bicycle Federation resulted in an agreement for extending the Katy Trail State Park into the Kansas City suburbs.
• Advocates from across Missouri descended on Jefferson City to meet with legislators.
• Coverage of bicycling issues increased in the local news media.

Planning

• KCMO, Lee’s Summit, Grain Valley, and Blue Springs all worked to plan and/or expand comprehensive, city-wide trails networks.
• Overland Park began planning on-street facilities to compliment its excellent off-street trail system.
• Olathe created a ground-breaking bicycle transportation plan to integrate both on-street routes and off-street trails.

Things to watch for in 2008

• Funding bike/ped lanes for the Heart of America and Paseo bridges
• On-street bike routes in KCMO, plus more bike parking and the replacement of hazardous storm drains.
• A new planning and zoning code in KCMO that will make the city more friendly for bicycles, pedestrians, and transit.
• The Missouri Bicycle Federation will propose new laws for Complete Streets and stiffer penalties for motorists who kill or injure bicyclists and pedestrians.
• The Tour of Missouri will return for a second year.
• KanBikeWalk will ramp up its efforts to lobby for the rights of Kansas bicyclists and pedestrians.
• Advocates will continue pushing for bicycle accommodations on road projects like Missouri Routes 45 and 150, Lee’s Summit Road, and 127th Street in Olathe.
• Construction should begin on a new trail along the north bank of the Missouri River in Platte County.
• The Riverfront Heritage will near completion with the construction of critical links in the West Bottoms, Kaw Point, and under the A.S.B. Bridge.
• Planning will get underway for the Katy Trail State Park extension to Kansas City.

The Kansas City Star
Posted on Tue, Sep. 18, 2007

Respect bicyclists on the road
BILL GRAHAM COMMENTARY

The bicyclist guided his two-wheeler near the pavement’s outer edge, avoiding a narrow gravel shoulder and ditch to his right.

He leaned forward to pedal up a slight grade. Suddenly the sound of one car approaching from the front and another from the rear made him pause and nervously look back.

This was no chance encounter for the Tour of Missouri, which kicked off last week with a leg that included tour de Northland in Platte County.

No, this was a guy with a backpack and nice work clothes who pedaled up North Roanridge Road toward his job in the maze of businesses near the busy intersection of Interstate 29 and Northwest Barry Road.

I decided I could pass him on the left without colliding with the oncoming car. I was correct. But it was a little closer than I liked.

My fault.

Had I to do this encounter over again, I’d slow down, let the oncoming car pass and give more respect to the cyclist’s right to the road.

You see, bicyclists have the same legal right to use the pavement for transportation as a person piloting a motorized vehicle.

Haste makes us impatient, though.

We get bored driving the same old roads all the time and we start pressing the gas pedal to get wherever we’re going quickly. Improved street and highway designs and coordinated traffic lights have enabled us to keep rolling without the mental annoyance of a slow down.

Our brains are now wired to drive unimpeded to what we consider all-important destinations, just like we’re used to switching TV channels effortlessly with a remote control. We can daydream or talk to friends on cell phones with only passing attention to the road and the steering wheel.

So our habits are jarred when a bicyclist is visible through the windshield, moving at what seems like a slow speed with their body fully exposed to harm.

Well friends and neighbors, it’s time for an attitude adjustment on our part.

The Tour of Missouri was a most excellent addition to the state and we’re lucky it rolled through the Northland.

But what’s next?

I’d suggest we need to keep working on making bicycling a bigger pastime in our communities.

A starting point is for motorists to give cyclists more respect on the road.

Secondly, we need to support the bicycling community when they seek extra money for a highway project to ensure that extra space for bicyclists is added to the pavement width.

I rode a bicycle everywhere when I was a kid. We roamed the neighborhoods on bicycles like tribal nomads. When my dimes became few in college, I began riding a bicycle to class and jobs. I enjoyed it so much I began riding more than ever for pleasure.

People still do.

But the urban sprawl street designs of the 1960s into the 1990s were built with the automobile in mind, not pedestrians or bicyclists. The pace of driving, and life in general, has sped up, too.

That discourages bicycle use.

Among the instructions given to my child when he started middle school this year was the admonishment that bicycles were not allowed as transportation to school. It’s too dangerous because of all the automobile traffic around the schools.

That’s a badly designed school campus.

We’re more pedestrian and bicycle friendly in community planning now. Both Platte and Clay county leaders have done well at trail planning and building. They’ve pushed for bicycle lanes on highways.

Still, there’s plenty of work to be done to improve safety for bicyclists on the street and the highway.

It’s a pollution-free form of travel that helps the users save money and improve their physical health. Every time someone chooses to ride a bike instead of driving, we all benefit a bit.

So slow down and respect bicyclers on the road. Let’s look for ways to improve riding conditions on the pavement.

A bicycle on the street is a sign of good health, for the rider and the community.

To reach Bill Graham, call 816-234-5906 or send e-mail to bgraham@kcstar.com.

One of Shannon’s big projects right now is the City-Wide Trails Plan. By the end of the year it will give the Mayor and City Council a road map for an extensive trail system.  Like similar plans before in the past, we’ll have to see if the city will put its money where its mouth is.

KC Star: Kansas City is lagging area suburbs in trails for hiking, biking, and travel.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 13, 2007
Paseo project attracts single bid
Missouri law requires at least two, so officials are weighing their options.
By BRAD COOPER
The Kansas City Star

The Paseo Bridge project hit a snag last week when the Missouri highway department couldn’t get enough designers and contractors to bid on the $245 million job.

Only one team showed interest in the project, which calls for rehabbing or replacing the Paseo Bridge and widening four miles of Interstate 29/35 from North Kansas City into the downtown loop.

MoDOT officials were disappointed in the lack of interest. State law requires that at least two teams compete.

“We’re trying to regroup and look and see what we can do,” said Jennifer Benefield, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Transportation. “We haven’t determined what we’re going to do yet.”

The only team submitting qualifications was made up of Clarkson and Massman construction companies of Kansas City; Kiewit Western Co. of Omaha, Neb.; Parsons Transportation Group of Washington, D.C.; and TranSystems of Kansas City.

Benefield said the highway department was committed to completing the project by October 2011. It still hopes to award a contract by the fall with an eye toward starting construction next year.

The Paseo Bridge project will be handled in a way that is different from other highway projects in the state. Typically, a road is designed, sent out for bids and then constructed. The new process calls for designers and contractors to collaborate, working within broad parameters set by the state.

The “design-build” process was used in St. Louis, where a $535 million project to improve Interstate 64 is about to start. In that project, MoDOT got only two teams to join in the bidding.

The process is also being used for Missouri’s plan to repair or replace 800 bridges statewide by 2012. Four teams expressed interest in that project, but one dropped out.

It is unclear why there wasn’t more interest in the Paseo project. Benefield said the department would reach out to contractors to get a sense of what happened.

One guess is that many contractors are locked into highway construction elsewhere.

“Last year was a pretty good year for construction,” said Edward R. DeSoignie, executive director for the Heavy Constructors Association of the Greater Kansas City Area. “I don’t know if that’s having an effect on this thing. I’m just wondering if some of the people who would be looking at that are themselves kind of tied up on some other work.”

More info from MoDOT.