To: Ronbodine@...
Ronald-
If you could spend 2 minutes sending an email to MoDOT, encouraging
them to include good on-road bicycle accommodations on a major road
widening project, I would appreciate it.
There is a very short fuse on this (only now until Friday) and to
make an impression on this issue we are going to need a LOT of
responses quickly--at least 100 and preferably over 200:
http://mobikefed.org/Route150The issue is this:
MoDOT is widening Hwy 150 from Grandview to Lee's Summit. This is
just south of the Longview Lake area.
Hwy 150 will become a 4-lane road with 11-foot lanes, no shoulder.
We have talked and talked with MoDOT about including on-street
bicycle facilities.
In the end they had a "budget crunch" and the on-street bicycle
facilities will be omitted.
Instead, they will apply for Enhancements funds to build a
"trail"
alongside the road on one side. Also they want to post "share the
road" signs for on-road bicyclists, who they know will, by the design
of the project, be using the full right-hand lane.
Not coincidentally, the Enhancements funds available will not even be
enough to complete the entire "trail" (3 communities, each can apply
for $500,000 in Enhancements funding--that's not enough to pave the
entire trail).
Each end of the project is already built up--neighborhoods,
commercial areas, etc. Within a few decades they are projecting
complete infill. So this will essentially become another urban
arterial. And ANOTHER urban arterial in KC with no bicycle
accommodations:
http://mobikefed.org/Route150One reason thing we are letting MoDOT know how we feel about this
project, is there are several others around the region and around the
state that are in a
similar situation-- for instance, the upcoming Hwy
45 project.
We would like to work towards the time when MoDOT automatically
includes good bicycle accommodations on ALL projects--wherever they
are built. They won't start doing this unless citizens start asking
for it:
http://mobikefed.org/Route150If you enjoy commuting on Bannister, College Blvd, 63rd Street,
Independence Ave., North Oak Trafficway, and similar multi-lane busy
roads in the metro area--that's what 150 Hwy will become. Just
another of our typical high-speed, high-traffic major streets with no
particular on-road bicycle accommodation.
Incidentally they haven't thought at all about how to deal with
intersections/traffic signals on the bicycle 'trail'/sidepath and
didn't even realize it was an issue.
Again, there is a short fuse on this--they are only accepting
comments to be part of
their official record of the recent public
meeting until Friday, March 10th.
http://mobikefed.org/Route150Thank you! Letting MoDOT know how you feel about these projects
really *does* make a difference.
--Brent
====================================================
Dr. Brent Hugh, LCI #1335 Director@...
Executive Director --- Missouri Bicycle Federation
www.MoBikeFed.org 816-695-6736
====================================================
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