Advocacy in the Wake of Tragedy: What we can learn from a stoplight at 51st and Troost

By Avery Jones, BikeWalkKC Community Organizer For years, neighbors and students raised concerns that the intersection at 51st Street & Troost was unsafe. When Yuxi Wu, a University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) conservatory student who planned to graduate with a degree in piano performance, was tragically struck and killed on September 26, 2024, the concerns […]

Is equitable enforcement possible?

How KCMO can limit harm and traffic violence with its Automated Enforcement Policy By Avery Jones, BikeWalkKC Community Organizer In the wake of rising concern with instances of police bias and violence within traffic stops, a growing number of city officials and transportation advocates alike have turned toward automated enforcement systems as the solution. Red-light […]

Niná’s 4 tips for getting stuff done

Niná (pronounced Nine-uh, and “No ‘Ms. Niná.’ It’s just Niná”) Whiteside-McCord won safer streets for her neighbors and the families served by schools in her neighborhood, but she didn’t do it alone. The redesign of a formerly complicated and dangerous intersection in front of the Ewing Marion Kauffman School just off of 63rd Street in […]

Do you know the difference between advocacy and organizing?

By Avery Jones, Community Organizer, BikeWalkKC In the realm of social changemakers, we often hear people label themselves and their work by a variety of names that may, at first, seem interchangeable. Aren’t organizers and advocates all the same archetype of person beyond a few minor differences we don’t need to concern ourselves with? No, […]

Press Release: Applications now open for BikeWalkKC’s Community Transportation Academy

CONTACT: Amy Scrivner Director of Development and Communications, BikeWalkKC 513-919-9613 amy.scrivner@bikewalkkc.org Kansas City, MO (June 11, 2024) — BikeWalkKC will launch a free Community Transportation Academy this August. Participants will learn about the history of the Kansas City region’s transportation system and how it was built; explore what has worked and what has not; identify […]

Safer crossings for Kauffman students

City leaders are finalizing safety improvements that will encourage slower, more predictable car traffic and make it easier for pedestrians to cross Meyer Boulevard. Following the Meyer Boulevard Walk Audit, one of the key recommendations made in the report was the need for more safe crossings. This was especially important for the Ewing Marion Kauffman […]

From wobbly to wonderful with East High School Bike Club

By Shelly Harbert, BikeWalkKC Youth Education Instructor Being an instructor for the education department at BikeWalkKC comes with a wide variety of meaningful experiences. We typically teach our BLAST course (Bike Lesson and Safety Training) at local grade schools, instructing students from third through sixth grades. Watching the grade schoolers improve their bike skills or […]

Join BikeWalkKC for National Week without Driving!

In too many parts of the Kansas City region, owning a car is the only way to fully participate in the community. Car ownership should not limit a person’s ability to live a full life, especially when you consider that: The average cost of owning a car has increased to over $12,000 a year. More […]