Missouri Bicycle News Article

Missouri bicyclists,

This is it!

We've been working for years (since 1991 at least) to get a safe bike/ped crossing of the Missouri River.

Now MoDOT has definite proposals on the table and they need your input.

If you are in the Kansas City area, please strongly consider attending this meeting--even if just for 10 or 15 minutes. Otherwise you could send comments to Lee.Kell@modot.mo.gov (see below for some suggestions).

Kansas City Bicycle/Pedestrian River Crossings Public Meeting:

Time: Tuesday, October 10, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Place: Mid-America Regional Council's offices, 600 Broadway,
downtown Kansas City
Format: Open House. Come, chat, ask questions, leave comments.

We've worked hard to let MoDOT know that lots of people care about having a good, safe Missouri River Crossing for bicyclists, walkers, and runners in the Kansas City area.

So having a good turnout at this meeting is really important to reinforce this to MoDOT.

If you want a good, safe Missouri River Crossing that meets the needs of all users, now is the time to stand up and be counted.

If you can't make the meeting but would like to offer comments, you can email Lee Ann Kell of MoDOT (Lee.Kell@modot.mo.gov).

Points you might make in your comments
* We need a safe river crossing and the sooner the better.
* We should strongly consider dropping the third lane on southbound Heart of America so as to make good bike/ped facilities on BOTH sides of Heart of America.
* 8-foot paths on each side of the Heart of America Bridge, separated from traffic by concrete barriers, would meet the needs of both pedestrians and bicyclists.
* Even if the new Paseo Bridge does not have bicycle/pedestrian accommodations built now, it should be constructed so that they can be added later.

To get a better idea of the area, take a look at the aerial photo:

http://maps.google.com/?q=Kansas+City,+MO&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=39.120122,-94.573252&spn=0.024172,0.050426&t=h&om=1

If you'd like the reasons for the above suggestions, email me & I will send you all the details.

I will be there the whole time (as one of the representatives of the "Core Team" that has been looking at the options), so please, come and talk to me!

We really, really need input from real people on this issue right now.

Hope to see you there!

--Brent

Related:

News: Senator Bond find $750,000 for bike/ped retrofit of KC's Heart of America Bridge

News: Area bicyclist calls for safe river crossings in Kansas City area

News: KC: MoDOT's commitment for bicycle/pedestrian access across the Missouri River

News: New Paseo Bridge to include space for bike/ped

News: Bicyclists attend Paseo Bridge groundbreaking