KCStar supports bike/ped river crossing

Recent the KC area's Northland Chamber of Commerce made a big splash by adopting a resolution in opposition to a bicycle/pedestrian path on the proposed new Paseo Bridge. This would be the first really good, safe bicycle/pedestrian crossing of the Missouri River in the Kansas City area.

Today the KCStar came out with an editorial supporting MoBikeFed's position--that the new bridge should accommodate bicycle/pedestrian traffic:

Pedestrians and bicyclists ought to be able to use a modern Paseo Bridge to get across the Missouri River.

Unfortunately, the Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce doesn’t agree. Chamber officials recently announced that they do not support construction of a pathway for pedestrians and bikers when the state of Missouri builds a new Paseo Bridge.

Chamber Executive Director Sheila Tracy said the path could be costly and was not a priority for the organization, which wants to make the bridge “a Kansas City icon.”

Why not build an icon that serves all travelers? To achieve that goal, the state must design a striking span accessible to as many people as possible, given its potential cost of $250 million.

Motorists obviously will be the chief users. But the Paseo Bridge should last for decades. Bike and pedestrian traffic could grow in the future, especially as the Northland gains population and new trails link different parts of the Kansas City area.

MoBikeFed's view is that all new bridges should accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic--all the more so when other bridges in the area do not do so. Including bicycle/pedestrian accommodation within new construction is by far the most economical way.

A minor controversy about the Paseo project revolves around whether including bicycle/pedestrian paths on an interstate freeway bridge is safe. MoBikeFed has compiled an extensive list of such bridges around the country. The safety record of these facilities is excellent.