An Ambitious Bike Plan for Kansas City Prioritizes Safety

Alex Smith reports that the Kansas City City Council will soon vote on the Bike KC Master Plan [pdf], which would add "up to 658 miles of trails and lanes plus cycling programs at a cost of around $400 million."

Planners and the community have been working on the plan for three years, and the final product is a 156-page plan that "outlines a long-term development strategy for bike infrastructure throughout Kansas City that its designers say prioritizes safety and equity and includes a 5-Year Priority Plan, consisting of three phases of development," according to Smith.

Smith's coverage provides a thorough primer on the details and motivations of the Bike KC Master Plan. One particularly ambitious statistic reported here is sure to make bike advocates and planners in many cities envious: "As part of a focus on safety and accessibility, 59% of the completed bike network would be protected bike lanes, shared used paths or recreational trails, as opposed to conventional bike lanes or road 'diets' painted on streets, which restrict automobile traffic flow to make room for bike lanes." Bike advocates in Kansas City mostly support the plan.