Next week, May 12th-16th is National Bike Week. Many cities, including Kansas City are putting out a Car-Free Challenge to see how many trips by car you can save by riding your bike. I'm committing to riding as often as I can. While I think it is a fantastic initiative, daily commuters of Kansas City have one major challenge facing them and that is a safe way to get across the Missouri river. I've taken a number of harrowing trips across our existing bridges and none have been pleasant, especially at rush hour. Good news is on the way. I found out today from the Missouri Bicycle Federation that plans are underway to build a new Paseo Bridge. The construction company has found that they can add a separated bike/pedestrian path to the bridge for virtually no additional cost. I think it's still going to take some pushing and convincing in city hall, but it's a good sign. I also read that KC has now adopted "Car-Free Weekends" on Cliff Drive on the city's NE side. Streets are closed and only open to pedestrian, bicycle and skate traffic. They are baby steps, but still very encouraging in a country obsessed with the automobile. Other countries have integrated a car-free lifestyle into weekly activities and are setting the bar for the rest of us. So come on Kansas City! Lets get out and get moving gasoline free!
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