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.
For 2021, we plan to spend time 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 2014, the Kansas City metro experienced a boom in support for walking, bicycling, and other forms of active transportation. Leawood, Kansas adopted its first bicycle master plan, KCMO began implementing more visible "ladder" sidewalks near schools and bus stops, and KCMO and KCK collaborated for the first bi-state bike lanes in the region on Southwest Boulevard. BikeWalkKC members were instrumental in all of these efforts as we focused on creating a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for everyone who walks and bikes.
KC Women's Bike Summit's inaugural event
First KC Women’s Bike Summit
The KC Women’s Bike Summit was born when people who attended our Women Bike KC programming asked for more social and educational opportunities. With presentations from “Biking with Kids” to “Dealing with Crashes and Minor Injuries,” we covered topics with speakers from a wide range of backgrounds.
Our partners like Sisters That Are Riding Strong (S.T.A.R.S) and the Mid America Regional Alliance ensured that attendees had the resources they needed to keep riding and building relationships with other bicyclists after the Summit ended.
Kansas City residents reported that street harassment kept them from the active life they desired
Anti-Harassment policy in KCMO
Harassment was a hot topic at the Women’s Bike Summit, as attendees related stories of how other road users’ threatening behavior made the women feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods. BikeWalkKC launched a formal survey, asking KCMO residents to share their experiences of harassment while walking, biking, and bussing. We brought the survey data, letters of support, and signatures from our online petition to our partners in city hall, where we advocated for a formal anti-street harassment policy. City Council unanimously adopted “Safe Streets KC,” also known as Ord. No. 140777, § 1, 10-2-14.
You can read the report here: Harassment Toward Vulnerable Road Users in Kansas City.
L to R: Maggie Green (BikeWalkKC), Mayor Mark Holland (Unified Government), Aaron Bartlett (MARC), Lideana Laboy (UG Public Works), and Paul Jones (UG Health Department) for Safe Routes to School Wyandotte County
Safe Routes to School in Wyandotte County
BikeWalkKC formed an official partnership with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS and school, law enforcement, and parent stakeholders to make it safer for kids to travel to school. We worked together to implement an integrated plan to build new sidewalks and educate families in walking and biking safely in their neighborhoods.
Bike share doubled its geographic coverage with federal grants from MARC
Bike Share Expansion and public investment
Our Bike Share program marked its second anniversary with an expansion that nearly doubled its size and geographic footprint to areas like Westport and the Country Plaza. While the program was one of the few in the US that started out 100% privately funded, this year’s expansion was funded by federal transportation grants from the Mid-America Regional Council. Federal funding continues to be a critical part of Bike Share’s continued growth and sustainability.
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!
Did you know BikeWalkKC is celebrating its 10th anniversary?
Read more about our Mile 10 campaign here.