Nothing spooky about safe streets! October 2025 newsletter

All aboard the Hale Cook Elementary Bike Bus!

Kiley Sutter has led his share of rides as the owner of Velo Garage in North Kansas City, but his newest bike club is a team effort: 

“I already loved riding to school with my daughter, so the idea of starting a bike bus made a ton of sense. From our first meeting there has been an energy to this idea that keeps growing, and I hope to see even more kids join each week.”

This is the first bike bus up and rolling in the KC metro, but there are more families and schools in the organizing stages. Interested in starting a bike bus? Click here to learn more and get in touch with Ellen Schwartze!

Week Without Driving

Shawn's low vision makes it less safe for him to drive, but a city built for cars makes it difficult to travel any other way.  Let’s be real: Our streets aren’t designed for people who don't drive. Our #WeekWithoutDriving blog series hands the mic to Kansas Citians who know first-hand the struggles of getting around a city that was built for cars. Click here to read Shawn's story

Have a story of your own to share? Email us at info@bikewalkkc.org

What are those red markings on Main Street?

New transit-only lanes enhance public transportation efficiency on the Main Street corridor. These lanes are designated for RideKC streetcars and buses only, and are identified with a combination of curbs, medians, solid white-red-white lines, red filled pavement markings, and signage. Click here to learn more

Making room for the new pedestrian plaza

The Jazz District bike share hub is temporarily closed during construction of the new 18th & Vine Pedestrian Plaza. We'll be back soon! In the meantime, use the app to find a bike near you.

Questions? As always, the bike share customer service team wants to hear from you! Get in touch: info@ridekcbike.com or tap the ? button on the RideKC Bike app.

Midwest is BEST!

Our policy team recently connected with other Midwestern sustainability advocates at the RE-AMP Summit in Cedar Rapids, Michigan. The RE-AMP Network is a collective of organizations working to equitably decarbonize the Midwest by the year 2050. They have been a growing partner for BikeWalkKC, supporting the development of resources like the VRUSA comparative analysis and our Community Transportation Academy.

BikeWalkKC's tips for safer streets on Halloween

1. Advocate for safer streets that prioritize the safety of our most vulnerable neighbors. Plan and build communities for people, not cars.
2. Walk, bike, and take the bus more often. When people experience life outside of a vehicle, they develop empathy for others that walk/bike/bus. And fewer drivers means fewer serious crashes.
3. Prioritize the safety of people when you drive. Stop for pedestrians. Give bicyclists plenty of space. Slow down.

BikeWalkKC shares the view of the researchers that rather than place the responsibility of safety on individual children, making the physical streets and sidewalks safer is a more effective strategy to eliminate pedestrian deaths altogether. The only way forward is together, and reflective tape and glow sticks won't get us there. If we want safer streets on Halloween, we have to advocate for safer streets every other day of the year too.

Staples JA, Yip C, Redelmeier DA. Pedestrian Fatalities Associated With Halloween in the United States. JAMA Pediatr. 2019;173(1):101–103. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.4052

What we're reading

Support for Saswat Das & Family | A driver hit pediatrician Saswat Das while he riding his bike on September 17, 2025. Dr. Das suffered a traumatic brain injury and is remains in the neuro ICU. (GoFundMe)

One Problem, Two Responses: What Philly and Charlottesville Reveal About School Transportation | Charlottesville is using quick, inexpensive fixes to make school streets safer for families who walk, bike, and drive. (StrongTowns)

Johnson County couple got e-bikes to stay active. Now new rules could make that hard | “I just worry that these restrictions will push me back into the house again,” Jessie Mehl said. (KC Star)

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