Kansas Cyclist - Kansas Bicycle Guide and Reference

According to the League of American Bicyclists, Lawrence, Kansas is a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community and “is a leader in encouraging cycling and educational efforts to improve the safety of the activity,” and “The city stands out among cities in Kansas and the Plains region for its high level of bicycle use. According to the 2000 census, 1.3 percent of Lawrence’s population regularly bikes to work—almost three times the national average.”

But what do residents think?

In a post on the Media & the Environment blog (a collective effort of students and professors at the University of Kansas), Denzyl quotes Michael Hajdu, a member of the Lawrence Bicycle Advisory Committee:

“In America, the leading cause of death is lethargy and bad dietary habits. Americans are obese and diabetic and what we should be doing is looking at healthier living. Cycling is free. All people have to do is get out their cars and start riding their bikes.”

That’s all well and good if you have a bicycle friendly city, something that Lawrence is not. Cycling along 23rd Street, the pedestrian and bicycle trails end abruptly at different intervals. It occurs along many other streets and often there just aren’t any trails at all. It’s a situation that Dr Hajdu knows all too well.

“I found that being on the (Lawrence Bicycle Advisory) committee, that we are fighting an insurmountable battle because the entire society is so entrenched in the belief that cars are the only way to get around. And the city is limited in putting any effort into changing things.”

If its citizens are this discouraged, does Lawrence’s status as a Bicycle Friendly Community really mean anything?

Other Bicycle Friendly Communities in the region include Shawnee, Kansas, South Sioux City, Nebraska, and Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins and Longmont in Colorado.

How do these compare to Lawrence?

The St. Louis Regional Bicycle Federation is a bicycle advocacy group that serves the St. Louis area. They have produced a series of Public Service Announcements that are currently running on local stations. The spots aim to promote bicycling as a viable transportation alternative.

Very nicely done!

Cedar Falls, Iowa is looking at ways to enhance bicycling as transportation and to make the city more friendly to bicycle commuters.

Bob Morgan, a member of the committee studying the proposal, said that use of bicycles as practical transportation could grow. “Bicycling can do more for the city. It can reduce traffic. Bicycles don’t send noxious fumes into the air, they doesn’t pollute.”

The committee has asked the City Council to look at a comprehensive plan for bicycle transportation, including things such as bike lanes on new or reconstructed roads. It also asked the council to look at pilot projects to start this year and to plan for long-term adaptations to make streets more hospitable as bikeways.

Bike corridors would include more places to park bicycles, designated bicycle routes, bike lanes and separated facilities. In addition, an important part of a plan would be to educate cyclists and drivers to safely coexist. Statistics show commuting by bicycle is safer than by car, but that is not the perception.

In addition, the committee hopes that Cedar Falls can incorporate on-street bike facilities on the roads connecting Cedar Falls to nearby Waterloo, making bicycle transportation a practical alternative for commuters between the two communities.

Source: WCFCourier.com

The Missouri Bicycle Federation has released a document called A Vision for Active Transportation in Missouri (PDF). A post on their site describes the document and provides a summary:

The vision encapsulates much of what MoBikeFed members have been telling us and what the MoBikeFed board has been working for over the years into a single document. The vision lists concrete, measurable things we want to accomplish in Missouri in the next 5-10 years.

On February 26th, this detailed and ambitious vision will be part of the material presented at Bicycle Day at the Capitol, where bicycling advocates visit with state representatives and senators in Jefferson City to ask them to help make a more bicycleable and walkable Missouri.

Coincidentally, KCBike.info has published a copy of the Kansas City Bikeways (PDF) plan from 1980, a very interesting historical document detailing KC’s plans for a network of bikeways that would cover the entire city. It’s amazing (and discouraging) how little things have changed in 30 years…

America Bikes is a national group that advocates for federal transportation funding for bicycling. They have some interesting bicycling statistics for all of the states in the nation.

Here is their data for Kansas and neighboring states:

Where:

• Number = Estimated number of adults riding bicycles at least once a month in the summertime
• Funding = Transportation Enhancements funds since 1992
• Projects = Number of bicycle/pedestrian projects since 1992, including multi-use paths and walkways

Even though the number of Kansas cyclists compares favorably to other states in the region, its share of federal funding, and the number of projects built, falls woefully short.

On February 8th, the first Springfield Area Bicycle Summit was held in Springfield, Missouri. The event, organized by Ozark Greenways, the Ozarks Transportation Organization and the Advocacy Committee of Springbike Bicycle Club, brought together area business leaders, transportation planners, and bicycling and pedestrian advocates to discuss how the Springfield area might become a more bicycle-friendly community.

The goal of the summit was to build interest and support for developing the Springfield area as a bicycle-friendly community through public policy, community involvement and agency partnerships, which encourage both public and private investments.

The keynote address at the summit was given by Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission Chair James Anderson.

Springfield is also discussing a proposal for a network of bicycle paths, bike lanes, and bike routes throughout the city. Today, the city has about three miles of marked bike lanes and about 57 miles of marked bike routes. The plan would add 130 miles of marked lanes and 100 miles of signed routes. Many of the proposed bike lanes and paths are envisioned on roads that are currently too narrow to accommodate them. Widening the roads is a process that may take 50 years and over $50 million dollars, although advocates say that federal matching funds and grants to encourage sustainable transportation are available that would significantly reduce the size of the local investment.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation has additional coverage of the summit.

On February 5th in Kansas City, Missouri, the City Planning Commission met to discuss the new development code that regulates planning, zoning, parking, and other aspects of development in the city. One of the topics scheduled to be discussed was bicycle parking — long-term and short-term, and whether to include bicycles, pedestrians and transit in traffic analysis that is routine for motorized vehicles.

Let’s Go KC, an advocacy group that promotes transportation choice in the Kansas City region, invited members of the local cycling community to attend the meeting to show their support. Their blog reports that:

More than a dozen supporters of a livable Kansas City showed up at City Hall to advocate for the new development code. Despite opposition from big developers like Hunt Midwest and McBride & Sons, the City Plan Commission approved the addition bicycle parking for new apartment and condo buildings.

The Commission also approved a provision to include pedestrians, transit, and bicycles in the traffic studies that developers do to analyze the impact that new development will have on traffic. This is a huge step towards creating a full integrated transportation system that includes all modes.

The next step is the City Council and hearings before their Planning and Zoning Committee.

Visit the Let’s Go KC web site for detailed discussions of the proposed development code and the related issues. Eric and Noah have additional coverage of the meeting.

Salina, Kansas is in the early stages of creating a new “Comprehensive Plan” for the city. This plan will help to determine the future of the community, and covers topics such as transportation, health issues, arts and culture, tourism, development patterns, and land use, with the goals of identifying community issues, assets, and a vision for Salina.

The first steps in creating the plan is a series of public meetings, where citizens can comment on the directions they believe the city should move. These comments will help the consulting firm the city hired, Gould Evans Associates of Kansas City, to update the plan.

At the first meeting, local resident Phil Black spoke up about the need to take bicycle transportation into consideration in the plan. “There needs to be more than just a (bicycle) path here and path there,” Black said. Black and other local citizen are pushing for a comprehensive transportation plan that addresses not just motor vehicles, but facilities for cycling and walking as well.

The public comment period will continue through the end of February, and the public can also contribute their ideas on the City of Salina’s Web site; additional information on the project is also available from Gould Evans.

See also: Salina Journal article Salina Comprehensive Plan debated at public meeting

The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is in the process of updating the state’s long range transportation plan with the intent of improving the Kansas transportation network and strengthening the economic future of the state. The update process consists of three phases, the first two of which (analysis needs and developing the plan) have been completed. The third phase is releasing the plan for citizen and stakeholder comment, then refining the plan based on any comments received.

The draft long range transportation plan is now available, and KDOT invites you to review and comment on the plan. The draft document is available as a series of PDF files, which you can view on-screen (or print out).

Chapter 4, Multimodal Transportation, deals with issues important to Kansas Cyclists:

4.4 Planning for Bikes and Pedestrian Trails

When transportation infrastructure is built with bicyclists and pedestrians in mind, features like sidewalks, crosswalks, wide shoulders, marked bicycle lanes or dedicated-use trails are part of the planning. These improve safety, mobility and access for many users of the transportation system. They can also enhance community quality of life and economic viability.

Through its Transportation Enhancement (TE) program, KDOT has administered $66 million in federal funds since 1991 for trails and other transportation features that support bicycle and pedestrian travel in Kansas. Under the TE program, KDOT currently administers about $6 million a year in federal and local funds on pedestrian projects. Statewide, about 120 miles of trails have been developed under the TE program, but nearly 1,000 miles of proposed trails within communities remain. Kansas has also banked 700 miles of former rail right-of-way that could be converted to trails. The estimated annual cost of building these facilities over the next 20 years is $15 million per year (in constant 2006 dollars).

In metropolitan areas of Kansas, transportation planning that includes bicyclists and pedestrians has strong support. Stakeholders encourage KDOT to consider bicycle and pedestrian needs in every project and to take a leadership role to ensure that the transportation system is safe from the perspective of bicyclists or pedestrians.

KDOT also recently initiated the Safe Routes to Schools program, which provides funding to local units of government for infrastructure projects and education programs that encourage children to walk safely or bicycle to school.

Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding Needs

Definition: Construction of new bicycle and pedestrian paths and trails for transportation.

Projected Annual Need: $15 million in constant 2006 dollars. This includes $5 million needed to build all of the proposed trails in the state’s urban areas, and nearly $10 million annually to meet needs identified in rural areas.

Recommendations

Accommodate bicyclists and walkers KDOT and its partners should see that consideration is given to bike and pedestrian needs during the planning and design of transportation projects.

Emphasize bicycle and pedestrian safety KDOT and its partners should enhance education for cyclists, pedestrians and highway users about sharing the road safely.

The $15 million per year projection is only about one half of one percent (0.005) of the total $2.9 billion annual projection.

This number is also only for trails, and does not include important projects such as shoulder improvements and lane widening.

You can submit your comments online, via email (maggiet@ksdot.org), by fax (785-296-0287), or via mail (Maggie Thompson, Kansas Department of Transportation, Division of Public Affairs, 700 S.W. Harrison Street, Topeka, KS 66603-3754).

Comments must be postmarked or transmitted by the close of business on Feb. 22, 2008, after which the comments will be reviewed and the plan will be made final and published, according to KDOT.