Mile 10 Campaign - BikeWalkKC Celebrates its 10th Anniversary!
This year, we celebrate our 10th anniversary! BikeWalkKC was officially launched in April 2011 as a nonprofit organization with a mission and purpose to serve the bi-state Kansas City metro area. We were Kansas City’s first professional advocacy and education organization dedicated to bicycling and walking.
We plan to spend the next 9 months celebrating accomplishments and, most importantly, focusing on a vision for Mile 20 and beyond. Through blog posts, e-news articles, and social media stories, you will learn more about BikeWalkKC and how your support was - and is - vital to our work.
In 2013, BikeWalkKC began working in earnest to address active living inequities with programming for children and women and professional development for city staff in Kansas City, Missouri and Lee's Summit. As our organization grew, we worked with our members and partners to tackle active transportation opportunities from multiple facets: community planning, education, outreach, and advocacy.
Safe Routes to School in Wyandotte County
The Unified Government of KCK brought in BikeWalkKC to expand and enhance its Safe Routes to School program. We started out with a Walking School Bus programs, and by the time the pandemic closed most schools, the KCK Safe Routes program had expanded schools in the KCK and Turner school districts with a full range of Walking School Buses, bike education, pedestrian safety, and technical assistance to improve schools’ drop-off/pick-up traffic flows.
Women Bike KC
As news started to show for the first time that there is a gender gap in cycling, BikeWalkKC joined many of our peer organizations around the country in creating an initiative for programs, classes, and events designed to close that gender gap. We started by forming the Women Bike KC advisory committee with some great volunteers like Caroline Helmkamp, Barbara Thomas, Martha Blackman, Sandra Callahan, and others.
Professional Development for planners and engineers
We launched a professional development program for local engineers, planners, and landscape architects. As local cities started building more bike infrastructure, it was important to make sure the people designing and building bikeways were fully trained on the new innovations like cycletracks that were emerging in other cities.
A new home for BikeWalkKC
As our programs and staff started to grow, we needed more space than our co-working spot. In late 2013 we moved into our first office at 20th and Summit in the Westside neighborhood.
Downtown’s first bike network
The City of KCMO delivered its biggest yet expansion of bike infrastructure with a network Downtown on streets like Charlotte, Holmes, and Southwest Boulevard. It was disconnected and incomplete, but since then has continued to be expanded and better connected over time.
Help Provide Bike Racks to Local Schools & Nonprofits!
Mile 10 Gift Opportunity
“Where do we park our bikes so they don’t get stolen?”
BikeWalkKC staff hear this question a lot from kids. Lack of adequate bike racks at schools and nonprofits that serve youth is a big issue. The fear of theft is one of the top reasons why kids don’t ride more to school and to afterschool programs.
There’s a pretty easy solution to the problem. Help buy the bike racks for those who need them!
Will you give a $10 (or more!) donation to improve bike parking at schools and nonprofits in the metro that want to offer bike parking, but don’t have the financial resources to do so?
Do you know a business or volunteer group that would be interested in helping purchase a set of bike racks? For as little as $600, you can help provide safe and secure bike racks for an entire school.
Make a gift today, or contact Amy Scrivner, Director of Development & Communications, to find out how you or your company can help!
BikeWalkKC is celebrating its 10th anniversary!
Read more about our Mile 10 campaign here.