Your advocacy is making a difference for safer places to bike, but we need to keep up the momentum.
Thanks to your advocacy, the City of Overland Park recently launched a pilot to install “No Parking” signs to keep people from parking in bike lanes along Indian Creek Parkway. Here’s what you can do to keep up the momentum and help make the pilot permanent:
- Submit a report to OPCares if you see a vehicle parked in the bike lane (more details on how to do this below). Ask City staff to enforce the no parking restrictions.
- Attend a City Council meeting (first and third Mondays at 7:30pm at City Hall) and tell leaders directly that you support the pilot and that you want to see no parking signs along all bike lanes.
- Use this link to send an email to city leaders asking them to make the pilot permanent and expand it to other parts of Overland Park.
Read on for more details!
The City of Overland Park has made considerable progress when it comes to improving biking in recent years. That includes implementation of the bike master plan, installing bike parking around the downtown area, and improving guidance for the use of electric bikes.
However, cars parked in bike lanes is an ongoing issue. BikeWalkKC has increasingly heard from our members about this issue in Overland Park. When bike lanes are obstructed, it forces riders to move, sometimes quickly, into the street, which creates a dangerous situation for both riders and drivers.
At a recent Overland Park City Council meeting, some BikeWalkKC members expressed appreciation for the City’s commitment to creating more bike lanes, but also explained that those efforts are undermined when the City allows drivers to park in the bike lanes.
Thanks to your emails to City Council Members and your attendance at council meetings, the city is finally taking action. City leaders recently installed no parking signs along the portion of the bike lane on Indian Creek Parkway that runs from Roe Avenue to Nall Avenue.
While this is an encouraging first step, it is only a pilot program. That means that staff are trying to determine the viability of the program. In other words, without further advocacy, there’s no guarantee that the no parking signs will remain in place. Here’s how you can help to make this pilot permanent (and expand it):
- Submit a report to OPCares: Fill out the form to send to city staff if you see any vehicles parked in the bike lane where the “No Parking” signs are placed. You can take pictures to add as attachments and submit your report anonymously if you wish.
- Attend a City Council meeting: Follow the lead of other advocates and go to share your voice with city leaders in person! The council meets on the first and third Monday of each month at 7:30 at City Hall and they invite public comment for the first part of the meeting. If you’re planning to speak, fill out a request form beforehand and check out our Advocacy 102 training for tips on effective public speaking.
- Send an email to city leaders: If you aren’t able to go to City Hall, you can still help by sending an email to city leaders. Use our form to tell city leaders why you support the “No Parking” pilot and how it can help you to ride safely and more often around Overland Park.
- Encourage your friends to do the same: At the recent Johnson County transportation talk hosted by BikeWalkKC, we had several people ask the question “Does my voice really matter?” The answer is absolutely! The only reason why this pilot came to fruition is because people spoke up for it. If we want the pilot to become permanent, we need even more people to speak up in support.
A common phrase that we say at BikeWalkKC is that advocacy is a contact sport. That means we have to engage directly with decision makers to realize the changes we know are possible. YOUR efforts are already making a difference in Overland Park, and now we have a chance to go even further.