The G.O. Bond is a once in a generation opportunity to build a city for the future. Investment of this magnitude should be aimed at improving mobility and quality of life for all Kansas Citians. And with changing demographics, demand for walkable neighborhoods will only continue to grow. For too long the city has undervalued pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. As a result the city's most vulnerable citizens have poor access to jobs, healthy food, and school. And KCMO will struggle to retain the next generation of citizens as peer cities invest heavily in multi-modal transportation and neighborhood livability. BikeWalkKC recommends the inclusion of the following in the bond package.
Recommendation 1: Develop and adopt a comprehensive mobility plan and a series of modal master plans.
KCMO is long overdue for a comprehensive transportation policy update. We recommend spending the first five years of the bond addressing immediate needs (keep reading for our recommendations for that) concurrent with a massive transportation planning process that will guide the remaining 15 years of the bond. With or without the bond package, Kansas City must create a vision for mobility and access. And it must create new master plans for biking and walking.
Recommendation 2: Fix what we have and build no new roads
Any transportation related spending out of the G.O. Bond should focus on maintaining the infrastructure we have. The anemic street resurfacing program should be beefed up. Any major street reconstruction should be for the purpose of complete streets upgrades, not increasing capacity.
Recommendation 3: Update and implement BikeKC Plan
BikeWalkKC recently conducted a state of the art bicycle demand analysis that confirms the need to prioritize the urban core with the city's limited bicycle infrastructure funding. The city has several planning projects in the works that will recommend several miles of new bikeways in the heart of this high demand area. The first five years of the G.O. Bond should work toward implementing those recommendations as well as filling the network gaps identified by the BikeWalkKC demand analysis report.
Recommendation 4: Address the $1billion sidewalk backlog and the $10million in needed ADA corner improvements
Our SidewalksKC Report recommends immediately creating a priority pedestrian network as a way to prioritize the sidewalk investments from the G.O. Bond. At the same time, the city should embark on a new pedestrian master plan. The bulk of the transportation funding from the G.O. Bond should be put toward improving sidewalks.
Recommendation 5: Implement the recommendations from the road diet policy
Adoption of the city’s Road Diet Policy was an important step toward improving traffic safety and building high quality bicycle and pedestrian environments. But it has not been adequately funded. BikeWalkKC urges KCMO leadership to set aside funding in the G.O. Bond to implement the road diet policy. This will repurpose excess roadway capacity for other uses and make the city much more pedestrian friendly.
Recommendation 6: Create a new traffic calming program
Broad support for the neighborhood-led campaign to install a protected bike lane on Armour Boulevard is a sign that people want traffic calming. It is time for the city to develop and fund a program for neighbors to request basic traffic calming improvements.
