Bicyclists attend Paseo Bridge groundbreaking

Paseo Groundbreaking

Ground was broken for the new quarter billion dollar Paseo Bridge today. The bridge, which links north and south Kansas City, will be named after Senator Kit Bond.

Senator Bond gave a rousing speech about the benefits of the project for the city and the benefits in general of keeping America's transportation infrastructure updated and functional.

A group of bicyclists rode to the groundbreaking 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.

Click for many more event photos on Flickr and by photographer Mark Breeding.