Overland Park’s new bike plan moving forward
Overland Park has been working on a new bike plan over the past year, and the final draft is now available to the public. The plan is ambitious, but also very pragmatic. There is a good mix of bike lanes and buffered bike lanes on major thoroughfares, bike lanes and sharrows on neighborhood streets, signed bike routes, and expansion of the existing trail system.
Buffered bike lanes provide extra space between cars and bikes.When fully built out, Overland Park’s bike plan could have up to:
- 14 miles of new multi-use trails
- 165 miles of traditional bike lanes
- 45 miles of buffered bike lanes, providing more space between cars and bikes
- 30 miles of sharrows
- 3 miles of signed routes with no pavement marking
For example, Lamar will become a key north-south bikeway extending almost the entire length of the city. It will have a mix of sharrows and bike lanes, depending on the conditions along each segment of the route. Buffered bike lanes will be more common in southern Overland Park where roads are wider. Two examples include Switzer (buffered bike lanes south of 159th) and Quivira (buffered bike lanes south of 143rd).
Download the final draft (25 MB PDF)
Implementation
This plan will be implemented gradually over several years. Many of the bike routes will be installed as streets come due for repavement over the next decade. Existing four-lane thoroughfares will be restriped with ten foot car lanes and four foot bike lanes. Other routes in the southern part of the city will be implemented as new streets are built or old county roads are upgraded.
Next steps
The final draft is now going through the city legislative process. After a few committee hearings, the City Council is expected to give final approval in October or November.
