KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City, Missouri, plans to add 15 miles of protected bike lanes by the end of the year and is asking for community input.
Maggie Green, Media Relations Manager for the city, said the addition of the bike lanes is part of an effort by the city to make its transportation system safer and accessible to everyone.
Green said the plan has been in the works for several years and will also form part of the city’s five-year plan to create a bike network in Kansas City.
“This idea of connectivity, I think, is becoming much more of a focus for us at the City instead of building bike lanes to nowhere, we're really trying to fill in the gaps, create a network so that it makes sense for people to move around,” she explained.
Kansas City built the Gillham Road Cycle Track last year. It was the city’s first protected two-bike facility and, according to Green, has been a success.
“Our spine sort of through the center of the city is the Gillham Cycle Track, which is really proving to be successful in slowing down traffic as a transportation option for people on bikes and scooters and making that corridor safer,” Green said. “We're hoping to have Gillham sort of be the spine and build off from there.”
In addition to the bike lanes, transit hubs and transit lines will also be added so people can safely access the lanes.
The City will host two virtual public meetings about this topic: On Monday, April 11, from 6 to 7 p.m., and Tuesday, April 12, from noon to 1 p.m.
“It won't cost taxpayers any additional funding. It's something that we're trying to do within our existing budget,” Green said.
The bike lanes also form my part of the city’s Vision Zero initiative, a move by the city to eliminate traffic fatalities and make Kansas City streets safer by 2030.
“We know we've heard from neighbors saying we want to slow cars down on our streets, we want to make it safer for kids to cross the street,” Green explained. “So that's something that we're trying to do more and more in our practice of building the infrastructure is that safety piece."
