Last night the Overland Park Public Works Department presented its second annual bike master plan update to the City Council, and previewed the projects in the works for 2018.
2017 Highlights
Bidding problems with construction contracts delayed several projects until 2018, but a few key segments did get built in 2017:
- 143rd and 159th Streets in southern OP
- Lamar, Lowell, Grant, Grandview, and 99th Terrace in northern OP
Coming up in 2018
Bike route projects planned for northern Overland Park in 2018
Downtown and northern Overland Park network
- 30 miles of bike routes covering most of OP north of I-435 will include a mix of on-street bike lanes and sharrows.
Southern Overland Park projects
- 133rd and 137th Streets
- Metcalf Avenue (159th – 167th): bike lanes and sidepath trail
- Quivira Road (151st to 159th): 5′ shoulders and sidepath trail
Data and Metrics
Overland Park is collecting and reporting what is likely the most comprehensive bicycle data set of any municipality in the KC metro area.
Crashes and Safety
A detailed analysis of the city’s crash data showed that while many crashes occurred across the city, none of them were on streets that been marked with bike lanes or sharrows. Half of all bike crashes involved teenagers or children.
Bike Counts
Counting the number, time, and place of people biking shows that biking happens all over the city, and for a mix of transportation and recreation reasons. The total count of people biking is up 20% from 2016.
Automobile Speed Study
Before/after studies of new bike routes show no negative impact for people in cars, and showed a traffic calming effect that benefits everyone using city streets. For example, speeds on Switzer slowed from 54 mph down to the posted speed limit of 45 mph.
Citizen Satisfaction Survey
The city included bike infrastructure in its annual survey for the first time. Overall, citizens are satisfied with the addition of bike lanes and support continued public funding of bike plan implementation.
Read the Full Report
You can download and read the full report on the city’s web site, here at Exhibit A.