KCRag Forum

beautyfromashes wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 11:08 pm It looks like they’re getting ready to residewalk and pave 19th as well after the main structure at Corrigan is done. Will there be bike lanes there too?

Nope.

As usual, the city doesn't clear bike lanes of snow and pushes what they plow into them.

Saw this in two different bike lanes

I think the word "clear" is a pretty generous term for what they do to the driving lanes.

ETA: Not saying they should be dumping in the bike lanes - it's pretty much like the bike lanes don't exist when it snows. It's wrong.

WSPanic wrote: ↑Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:27 am I think the word "clear" is a pretty generous term for what they do to the driving lanes.

ETA: Not saying they should be dumping in the bike lanes - it's pretty much like the bike lanes don't exist when it snows. It's wrong.

When we were pushing for the Armour bike lanes, this was one of Public Works's reasons against bike lanes - that they would just plow snow into them.

Snow plows should push the snow as far to the right of the lane as they can without risking damage to the parked cars, but that means that a lot of snow will still end up on the unprotected bike lane. Also, clearing more than the width of the blades would require multiple passes, which takes time they may not have.

What we need are more protected bike lanes which would hopefully force the city to form a team specifically to clear protected bike lanes like DC has: https://ddot.dc.gov/page/clearing-snow-bike-lanes

The issue isn't just bike lanes and the fix would be relevant. The city is supposed to maintain access to bus stops and crosswalks under ADA and they aren't. I saw someone jump over a pile of snow across the street from city hall on Monday while the street was clear.

They need to be more particular about where they push snow in general.

NKC pushes into the center of the street in their downtown. It's not ideal but they would rather block turn lanes than parking and I can appreciate that. Meanwhile KC pushes snow into cars downtown, I saw one pile taller than someone's tires against their tailgate.

From watching communication, I learned that NKC takes the time to pre-treat and plow it's brand new cycle track in an unfinished development while KC can't keep a bike lane clear on N. Oak which is a priority corridor. (the bus pulls into the bike lane so not clearing it impacts transit riders)

Merriam Lane/SW Blvd is a mess.

New draft Bike Plan is out: http://kcmo.gov/planning/wp-content/upl ... 9Feb03.pdf

bspecht wrote: ↑Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:38 pm New draft Bike Plan is out: http://kcmo.gov/planning/wp-content/upl ... 9Feb03.pdf

Public meetings on tap: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BikeKC/even ... e_internal

Make sure you show up and demand funding!

RFP out today to design a PROTECTED bike lane on Grand -- traditional lanes north of 670, cycletrack south of 670 to connect with 27th.

https://fox4kc.com/2019/05/13/neighbors ... end-wreck/

It definitely seems strange that with the visibility problem identified months ago, nothing has been done about it yet.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the spectrum, a cyclist was apparently hit on Richards Road in front of VML this morning, an area with very good visibility and lots of cyclists. A co-worker saw an ambulance pulling up to a vehicle stopped in the road, and he could see a bicycle and a person sticking out from under the stopped vehicle. Since I haven't found any news reports yet I assume (hope) the cyclist was ok.

scooterj wrote: ↑Tue May 14, 2019 10:38 am https://fox4kc.com/2019/05/13/neighbors ... end-wreck/

It definitely seems strange that with the visibility problem identified months ago, nothing has been done about it yet.

Meanwhile, at the opposite end of the spectrum, a cyclist was apparently hit on Richards Road in front of VML this morning, an area with very good visibility and lots of cyclists. A co-worker saw an ambulance pulling up to a vehicle stopped in the road, and he could see a bicycle and a person sticking out from under the stopped vehicle. Since I haven't found any news reports yet I assume (hope) the cyclist was ok.

A SMALLER CAR FLIPPED A SUBURBAN. BLAME THE BIKE LANES.

Ingraham's daughter was driving her Chevy Suburban down Central and was crossing Armour Boulevard when the driver of a smaller car hit her and flipped the Suburban on its side.

Now, they're calling for changes to make the street, lined with protected bike lanes, safer for everyone.

They are not calling for making the street safe for everyone, they are calling for making the street safe for people to fly down the street at 40+ MPH.

I think this is a legit complaint though. I cross Armour every day, sometimes in a car, sometimes on a scooter, usually on foot. It's VERY hard to see oncoming traffic at some intersections without having to slowly creep out into the bike lane and sometimes into the traffic lane. Some parking needs to be removed for better visibility.

As much as I like the bike lane design and road diet it is difficult to turn as a driver getting onto or crossing Armour at most intersections (that don't have a light).

Am in the camp that urban design should cater to pedestrian first, bikes/scooters second and cars third but if prioritizing bikes over autos causes accidents, it's a problem.

Good opportunity to take a couple of parking spots out and replace them with plants. Perhaps MAC might like to sponsor.

earthling wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 9:11 am As much as I like the bike lane design and road diet it is difficult to turn as a driver getting onto or crossing Armour at most intersections (that don't have a light).

Am in the camp that urban design should cater to pedestrian first, bikes/scooters second and cars third but if prioritizing bikes over autos causes accidents, it's a problem.

I agree with the overall sentiment that some parking could be removed to improve sight lines, however the data is apparently showing that the bike lane/road diet has decreased crashes overall despite this news coverage. We should be using data and not inflammatory news coverage to make decisions.

Besides, its not entirely clear the sight lines were the problem rather than speed.

And by the way, I also use Armour nearly every day- either by vehicle or bike. The current design is 1000% safer/better than what it was before IMO- mainly because of reduced speeds.

And while I'm still ok with making improvements on whats there today, sometimes our "compromises" end making everything worse because they get rid of what makes the improvement worth while.

Isn't the visibility problem directly tied to the neighborhood handwringing any reduction in street parking?