PRESS RELEASE: Paseo Bridge, why bicycle/pedestrian path is needed now

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
4/19/2008

Contact information:
Dr. Brent Hugh
Executive Director
Missouri Bicycle Federation
876-695-6736
director@MoBikeFed.org

Bicyclists, Pedestrians, Transit Users, Trail Supporters to Attend Paseo Bridge Groundbreaking to Support a Bike/Ped River Crossing

Statement by Missouri Bicycle Federation Executive Director Brent Hugh:

A group of bicyclists rode to the Paseo Bridge Groundbreaking today to support the creation of the new bridge and to encourage the inclusion of a bicycle-pedestrian path on the bridge as it is built.

Kansas City does not have any way for bicyclists and pedestrians to safely cross the Missouri River where population density and bicycle and pedestrian use is highest--near downtown.

Bicycle and pedestrian groups have been working to create such a river crossing for over 15 years.

MoDOT designers have found a way to include a 10-foot separated path on the Paseo Bridge deck at no additional cost as part of the Paseo project.

All that is needed is the bridge approaches.

Kansas City, Missouri, has expressed its strong support for creating a bicycle/pedestrian crossing on the Paseo bridge through two city council resolutions passed unanimously--one by the current city council and one by the previous city council.

The city is currently working with MoDOT to find ways to design, fund, and build the bicycle/pedestrian path as the Paseo Bridge is built.

The result could be a safe Missouri River crossing for bicyclists and pedestrians at a fraction of the cost of any other way of doing it and years sooner than any other proposed solution.

In short, we have a chance to save money here--many millions.

Hopefully our city and MoDOT leaders will have the foresight to grasp the opportunity.

At a time when fuel prices are at an all-time high and greenhouse gas emissions are a global concern, we cannot wait years to create important bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

We need it now.

Kansas Citians walk and bicycle at less than half the national average.

That is because our bicycle and pedestrian facilities are somewhere between dismal and non-existent.

Cities around the U.S. and around the world have worked hard to make themselves bicycleable and walkable.

How can Kansas City attract businesses and employees from those cities when we have nothing similar and a delay of years before we can make the simplest, most inexpensive, and most logical changes?


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The Missouri Bicycle Federation, founded in 1994, represents the interests of bicyclists, walkers, runners, and trail users throughout Missouri. Through its network of affiliated clubs and groups, MoBikeFed represents over 15,000 Missouri citizens and speaks for the 2 million Missourians who bicycle regularly and the 5.8 million who walk.

The Missouri Bicycle Federation is working to realize its vision of active transportation in Missouri by creating a world-class bicycle and pedestrian network in Missouri, building a movement around walking and bicycling, encouraging more walking and bicycling, and increasing safety for all road users.

Find out more or join the federation at http://MoBikeFed.org


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