Headlines

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Cycle lanes have been in the news recently, as have the many often entirely misguided arguments that opponents use against them. . . .

So perhaps it’s time to demolish 10 of the most common myths about cycle infrastructure. Do by all means suggest more in the comments below.

1. Cycle lanes increase congestion (and thus pollution)
2. Hardly anyone uses them
3. They’re only used by white, middle-class men/commuters
4. They’re bad for business

Some of the noisiest opponents of recent London bike lanes have been individual business owners, who argue that a separated bike lane and any loss of parking will be fatal to their enterprise.

In broad terms, however, this is completely wrong. Towns, cities and individual high streets are changing in how they compete. The growth of internet shopping means they must appeal more as destinations, which is hard to do amid wall-to-wall traffic.

Studies have shown that shop owners tend to overestimate the proportion of customers who arrive by car, and that consumers on bikes often purchase more in the long term.

Perhaps the most comprehensive study of the real-world impact of cycle lanes, undertaken in New York City, found businesses on streets with separated bike routes grew on average more quickly than those without. In contrast, I know of no evidence that points the other way.

5. They’re dangerous for pedestrians
6. Cyclists just break laws, so they shouldn’t get lanes
8. We’re not the Netherlands/Denmark

The slightly trite riposte is that at one point even the Netherlands was not the Netherlands.

Link: 

Ten common myths about bike lanes – and why they're wrong | The Guardian

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Fifty years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, one of the most famous athletes in America was an African American who had set countless records in a sport that had long shunned people of color. Major Taylor was a championship bicycle racer around the turn of the century, when cycling was America's most popular sport.

His remarkable career is the subject of a new book by our guest Michael Kranish. He writes that Taylor had to compete in the Jim Crow-era, when white promoters in both the North and South tried to keep him out of races, and white riders cursed and insulted him and sometimes tried to injure him in races. Taylor's talent made him such a sensation that he became a popular attraction at races in the United States, Europe and Australia.

Michael Kranish is an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. . . . He spoke to FRESH AIR's Dave Davies about his new book, "The World's Fastest Man: The Extraordinary Life Of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's First Black Sports Hero."

Link: 

Uncovering The Story Of Cyclist Major Taylor, America's 1st Black Sports Star : NPR

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/18/733690233/uncovering-the-story-of-cyclist...

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

It connects Kansas and Missouri, and now a developer is dreaming up a tall order for the Kaw River Bridge.

The plans focus on a railroad bridge that is more than 100 years old. Mike Zeller hopes to breathe new life into the area by creating something that's never been done before now.

The bridge has been sitting vacant for more than 40 years. Broken wood and vines are covering the old Kaw River Bridge, but now it's getting a much needed revamping.

"What we're going to do is combine a New York City-like high line trail with native plants and arts, with a Kansas City food hall, with a swinging venue, and it's all going to be out here 40 feet above the Kansas River," Zeller said.

Zeller said he has a dream to connect Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, and give people who visit a unique experience right on the river. He plans to use cantilevers to expand the 18 foot width of the bridge to 30 feet on each side.

Link: 

Developer plans to connect KCK and KCMO by giving old Kaw River RR bridge new life as "high-line" style trail | FOX 4 KC

This bridge was planned as part of the Riverfront Heritage Trail cross-river connections years ago, but the project never was completed due to various problems and issues.

http://kcrivertrails.org/home/

It will be interesting to see how this proposal develops.

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Sparkling streams, hills and hollows, shady rivers, mountain views, waterfalls, swimming holes, historic sites, bustling cities – the Arkansas High Country Route has it all. An Arkansawyer might tell you, “That route don’t go no where — It just runs around everywhere!” Indeed, this route is designed to connect many of the interesting places in west-central and northwest Arkansas.

The route is comprised of three large adjacent loops: the South Loop, the Central Loop, and the Northwest Loop. The South Loop, on map section 1, begins and ends in Little Rock. The Northwest and Central Loops, on map section 2, begin and end in Bentonville and Russellville, respectively. A cyclist can choose to ride one or more of the loops, or ride the perimeter of all the loops – it’s up to you.

An additional choice on the South Loop features two singletrack options, using the entire Lake Ouachita Vista Trail (LOViT), and the southern portion of the Womble Trail. Both are International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) EPIC trails.

Since the routing on the three loops is roughly 50% gravel and 50% pavement, and the climbs/descents can reach gradients between 17 - 21%, choose your bike carefully. Riders who are in a hurry will choose a race geometry gravel bike. Those who choose comfort over speed will elect for full suspension or fat tires to pad the ride. Much of the gravel roads are easily ridden, but there are sections with washboards and cathead boulders. A minimum of 37mm tires with some tread is highly recommended. A wide variety of road conditions exist.

Link: 

New 1171-mile Arkansas High Country Bicycle Route announced - Rivaling Missouri's Katy/Rock Island/Butterfield systems 1079 miles, but the Butterfield mileage will soon be increased by 260 miles . . . | Adventure Cycling Association

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

Interstates 35 and 70 were built through Kansas City as part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, and were also tied to midcentury "urban renewal" efforts. 

"Where we put highways and where we tore down buildings was all about: We're going to create a city for another generation, but really we just killed it for a generation," says Staub. He’s chair of Kansas City's Parking and Transportation Commission and vice president of the River Market Community Association....

According to a recent study by the Mid-America Regional Council, a lot of Kansas City residents are interested in making downtown more walkable and reconnecting the Central Business District to the River Market and Columbus Park, which also need to be reconnected to each other.

Staub says those areas have been "strangled by the freeway," which he sees as preventing "natural synergies between the neighborhoods."

Link: 

Kansas City looking at removing downtown freeway to improve walkability, connectivity | KCUR