Jonas, Craig, Sarah, Brendan, and Laura,
As a UMKC alumnus, I recently became aware of an issue that is of great interest to UMKC students.
Bicycling is traditionally a very common and useful transportation alternative for university students. In the recent past it has not been very viable in Kansas City's urban core. The amount of bicycling around UMKC is disappointingly small, and we pay the price in increased traffic congestion and overloaded parking facilities.
Now the BikeKC initiative has come before the Kansas City Council. BikeKC, which will create a network of on-street bike lanes and routes around the city, is designed to make bicycling a viable transportation option in Kansas City. BikeKC has been years in the making, but because of reservations about the plan by a few key city council members, it has been held in committee since September 2001.
Now, at the request of Mayor Barnes and because of a groundswell of grass-roots support, the committee will again consider the BikeKC proposal on August 7th, 2002. However, key committee members still oppose the BikeKC. It will take significant community support to overcome this opposition.
I hope SGA will consider coming out with an official announcement in support of BikeKC. I also hope that UMKC students will support BikeKC on an individual basis.
Support from UMKC would make a big difference in the effort to pass BikeKC. The opposition to BikeKC comes mostly from large companies with deep pockets (for example, large developers who don't want to give up real estate in their developments to create more right-of-way for bicycle and pedestrian facilities).
It would help the BikeKC cause immensely if a few large and respected organizations like SGA publicly supported it.
Here are some reasons SGA should support BikeKC:
* BikeKC will directly benefit UMKC students by making bicycling
a viable transportation option in the area around campus. Bicycling
is a natural for a university community. Students need an
inexpensive, safe, and quick way to get around campus and
the surrounding community. Most universities around the country
support large bicycling communities and UMKC could, too. BikeKC helps
make that happen.
* For students, living close by in the dorms and bicycling to school,
shopping, and work is a very inexpensive living arrangement. Availability
of the bicycling option helps make UMKC more affordable for students
in this time of budget crises and large tuition increases.
* The very first bike routes to be put in place by BikeKC will be
centered around UMKC. UMKC will see direct positive results soon.
* Promoting bicycling is a VERY inexpensive way to help alleviate
some of UMKC's parking problems. When I was a student at UMKC, I know
for a fact that MANY students living as close as Twin Oaks drove
autos to UMKC and used valuable on-campus parking. Most people
living so close could easily bicycle to UMKC many or most trips.
* BikeKC has a great deal of grass-roots and community group support.
Supporting BikeKC is a community-friendly move for SGA & UMKC.
Please email or call me if you have any questions about BikeKC.
Below is a letter I wrote to University News urging UMKC students to support BikeKC (before realizing University News doesn't publish in the summer . . . oh, well), a list of web pages with further information about BikeKC, and a list of Kansas City Council email addresses.
I do hope SGA will support the BikeKC initiative. Support could be as simple as writing an email to KC council members (addresses) below, saying that you as an SGA officer support the BikeKC initiative and think it would be beneficial to UMKC and to the community as a whole.
Please help!
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Brent Hugh
UMKC alumnus (MM 1995, DMA 2000)
(816)356-1740
5916 Arlington Ave Raytown, MO 64133
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Letter to UMKC Students
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BikeKC is a proposal to create a network of on-street bike lanes and routes around the Kansas City area. Details about the plan can be found at www.bikekc.org.
Bicycle riders, groups, clubs, and shops around the area strongly support BikeKC and have worked hard to get it passed. BikeKC will come to a vote before the Kansas City Council in the next week or two.
If you would like to see KC become a more bikeable city, now is the time to let your City Council member know about your feelings.
Why should UMKC students support BikeKC?
* University communities like UMKC are an ideal setting for bicycle use. You need an easy and inexpensive way to get around, and biking can be part of the answer. The very first bicycle lanes and routes to be put in place cover the area around UMKC, the Plaza, and downtown. Imagine being able to easily and safely bike from your apartment to school, to work, to the grocery store. Think of the money you would save! That is the idea behind BikeKC.
* On-street bike paths and routes such as those proposed in BikeKC increase bicycle safety, reduce friction between bicycles and autos, and are effective in increasing bicycle use. You will be able to bicycle farther and feel safer while you're riding.
* Bicycling, even just a few miles a week to work, school, the store or the park, is a healthy and eco-friendly alternative. Bicycles don't pollute and they don't kill innocent bystanders like cars do (30,000 deaths/year from automobile pollution in the U.S. alone).
I urge UMKC students and staff to let the Kansas City Council members know that you support BikeKC. Some key City Council members oppose the plan. Grass-roots effort has been important in overcoming this opposition to BikeKC, and more is needed to push it over the top.
Please be polite and persuasive when you write the City Council, 24th Floor, 414 E. 12th St., KCMO 64106, call (816) 513-1625, or email (find email addresses at www.kcmo.org).
posted by Brent Hugh at
Sunday, August 25, 2002 |
permanently archived here
