The Kansas Department of Transportation recently announced the winners of their “Put the Brakes on Fatalities” poster contest, in which kids ages 5 through 13 were invited to create artwork on the theme of traffic safety.

The Kansas poster contest is part of a national Put The Brakes On Fatalities Day, held annually on October 10th to raise awareness of the importance of traffic safety. The goal is to encourage everyone whether as a driver, passenger, pedestrian or cyclist to take extra caution each and every day to prevent crashes from occurring.

Three winners — one in each age category: 5-7, 8-10, and 11-13 — were selected in each of six Kansas regions, and they each received a free bicycle and helmet. Three statewide winners (one in each age category) received a family vacation at select destinations in Kansas.

The following are a few of the winning entries on such important topics as bicycle safety, driving while distracted, and pedestrian safety:

“Look Both Ways, Share The Road”
Kassie Zimmer, Age 5, LaCrosse, KS

“We All Deserve A Chance To Live”
Joseph Bennett, Age 11, Manhattan, KS

“Distractions Can Be Deadly”
Logan Proffitt, Age 9, Columbus, KS

“Signs Are Important!”
Stephanie Barrientos, Age 7, Dodge City, KS

Congratulations to all the winners, and thank you for leading the way in improving traffic safety. Everyone can learn for your example.

From the Concord Monitor in Concord, NH:

As of Jan. 1, 2009, a new state law will require motorists to allow bicyclists at least three feet of clearance when passing, with an additional foot required for every 10 mph increment above 30 mph.

New Hampshire becomes the 20th state in the nation to implement the so-called “three-foot rule.”

Provisions in the new law will also address rumble strips, which can force bicyclists into traffic, and drain gates, which can cause accidents when bicycle tires sink into the grooves.

The new law was passed with the support of the Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire, a Concord-based pedestrian and bicyclist advocacy group, but the impetus for the law was a local citizen, Judy Andersen, an avid cyclist of 30-plus years, who read an article about a similar law being passed in Maine, and decided that the Granite State should have it’s own version of the law.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that her husband is a State Representative, who sponsored the bill. Still, Judy and BWA education and safety director Dave Topham personally lobbied the Department of Transportation, Department of Safety and Department of Motor Vehicles, and voiced their support at hearings for the bill at the statehouse.

As the advocacy group says on their web site: “BWA-NH is very pleased with this result after just six months of submitting a bill deemed controversial by some parties, likewise we wish to express sincere thanks to Representative Gene Andersen of Lebanon as the sponsor who made everything happen. Bicyclists and motorists need to understand that our shared roadways are meant to transport people via any type of legal vehicle. HB-1203 helps to further legitimatize the bicyclist as a true vehicle operator by making both motorists and road construction crews more aware that our roadways are meant for more than cars. Also, a word of thanks to everyone who sent emails and letters to the House and Senate Transportation committees or testified in person during the hearing process. The NH legislators heard you loud and clear.”

Read more: Law: Make way for bicyclists, full text of HB-1203

The League of American Bicyclists has just released their first annual ranking of Bicycle Friendly States, scoring all 50 states on more than 70 factors in 6 key areas: legislation; policies and programs; infrastructure; education and encouragement; evaluation and planning; and enforcement.

Kansas is located in the middle of the country geographically, and its bicycle friendliness is smack dab in the middle of the pack of as well: #25.

The league doesn’t provide a lot of detail, but here’s what they had to say about Kansas’ ranking: “Kansas has a statewide route network, and a legal BAC above .08%, but has no accommodation or complete streets policy.”

Here’s where Kansas ranks compared to its neighbors:

#21 Iowa
#22 Colorado
#25 Kansas
#28 Missouri
#33 Nebraska
#39 Arkansas
#43 Oklahoma

The most bicycle-friendly states in the nation are Washington, Wisconsin, Arizona, Oregon, and Minnesota; the least bicycle-friendly states are West Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and North Dakota.

The annual state rankings are the first part of this new program. States are encouraged to further apply for award recognition of bronze, silver, gold or platinum status, similar to the League’s popular Bicycle Friendly Community program. Award recognition will be accompanied by technical assistance and further support as states work to become more bicycle-friendly.

Results of a 2007 survey from the Centers for Disease Control:

More than one-fourth of all Americans are obese, a number that has grown by almost 2 percentage points since 2005.

In only one state — Colorado — are fewer than 20 percent of the residents obese. The rate is above 30 percent in three states: Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.

In Kansas, 27.7 percent of residents were obese in 2007, up from 25.9 percent in 2006 (and up from 15.9 percent in 1995).

Nationwide, the CDC said 15.3 percent of American adults were obese in 1995; in 2005, 23.9 percent were. Now, it’s 25.6 percent.

Jennifer Church of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s Office of Health Promotion, said state efforts now are focusing less on education and more on changes to environments or policy. Public works and city planners must join health officials in the assessments, she said, so that issues such as safe bicycle and walking paths are considered.

In addition to 27.7 percent of Kansans being obese, an additional 36.1 percent are overweight, and near one quarter did not participate in any physical activities within the last month.

Read more from the Wichita Eagle: Obesity up in U.S. and Kansas

In an editorial in The Des Moines Register, Rox Laird writes:

With gasoline nudging $4 a gallon and people increasingly aware of the need to walk or bike more and drive less - for their health and the health of the planet - interest is growing in transportation alternatives to automobiles.

The trouble is, it is nearly impossible to navigate the modern city without an automobile. It’s time to rethink the way we design cities.

Transportation planners in the Des Moines metropolitan area are beginning work on a new transportation plan for the next three decades that will help determine how tax money will be spent on streets, highways, rails, trails and public transportation. For Des Moines, this is a perfect time to start thinking about how to modify the plan to make it easier for people to choose alternatives to driving. There is no reason a new Des Moines plan that would make it easier for people to get around without automobiles could not be a model for other cities in Iowa, and the nation.

In the 20th century, the mass production and mass consumption of automobiles liberated cities, and we have built a marvelous network of streets and highways that allow people to live far from work and to travel great distances with relative ease for shopping, entertainment and other activities.

The automobile not only changed cities, but the way we live by allowing us to work in one town, to shop in another and to transport kids to school, baseball practice or violin lessons in still another, all the while traveling distances that would have consumed a day or more in our ancestors’ time.

Today, the transportation system of greater Des Moines consists of a 2,700-mile network of streets and highways. According to a study by the Des Moines Metropolitan Planning Organization, 93 percent of all trips are made by automobile, 5 percent on foot and 1 percent each by bus or bicycle. The vast majority of driving trips are not commuting to work - which represent just 16 percent of the total - but for personal trips for church, recreation, shopping, running errands or going out to eat.

Making these trips by car is largely a personal choice, to be sure, but the choice is greatly influenced by a lack of alternatives. If people could walk to the corner store, or wander in and out of shops along Main Street, they might be encouraged to do so. But few urban residents have that option.

Laird writes that the movement toward making cities more walkable and bikeable is an effort to “turn back the city-planning clock to rediscover what worked in the past and what still works in most every small town in Iowa.”

But, he says, no changes will take place “until the public demonstrates that it is ready to embrace a new direction in how cities and communities are planned. So, citizens should let their elected officials know they are ready for urban planning and commercial and residential development that account for means of transportation other than just automobiles on four-lane streets.”

Kansas City Mayor Mark Funkhouser has a vision of KC becoming a platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Community, and he has announced an action plan to make KC more bike-friendly, and to achieve the coveted designation, by 2020.

The Bicycle Friendly Community program is an awards program administered by the League of American Bicyclists that recognizes municipalities that actively support bicycling. A Bicycle-Friendly Community provides safe accommodation for cycling and encourages its residents to bike for transportation and recreation.

There are four levels of certification — bronze, silver, gold, and platinum — with platinum being the most bicycle-friendly of all. Only two US cities are currently at the platinum level, Davis, California, and Portland, Oregon.

Two Kansas communities have reached the bronze level: Lawrence and Shawnee. No cities in Missouri are currently listed, though several are moving toward achieving the designation in the next few years.

“Kansas City is a beautiful city, but we need to do more to make it an ideal place to bicycle so folks can better enjoy its beauty,” Mayor Funkhouser said. “Also, with the rising cost of gasoline, and an increased interest in ‘green’ solutions, more and more people are bicycling to and from work. Our city should provide an environment where this is a safe and viable choice.”

“We have lots of work to do to make Kansas City more bike-friendly,” said Councilman Russ Johnson, who rode to thr press conference in part to show how difficult it can be to navigate Kansas City on a bike. “We have bike trails and bike lanes that go for a mile or two and then abruptly stop, giving way to busy streets. But we’re taking steps to change all that and make Kansas City a much better place to bike.”

Complete coverage at KCBike.info, Kansas Cyclist.

What single silver bullet can simultaneously reduce air pollution and oil dependency, roll back urban congestion, and fight obesity?

It’s not a pill, nor a complicated formula concocted by the World Bank. People around the world are turning to bicycles by the millions, as governments rush to create incentives for the low-tech transport alternative to gas-glugging, smog-making, traffic jam-producing automobiles.

Some 130 million bikes were produced worldwide in 2007 — more than double the number of cars rolling off assembly lines (52 million). Bike production took off in the 1970s, and after a brief dip, has been soaring since 2001, according to an ”Eco-Economy Indicators” report issued by the Earth Policy Institute.

Although more than 80 percent of all bicycles produced today are made in China, rising wealth led many Chinese to set aside their bicycles in favor of cars. But in the face of rising urban pollution and congestion, Chinese authorities are insisting that bike lanes be re-established in major cities. In Beijing, bike rentals are being strongly promoted.

China is following a growing trend in Europe and developing country smog centers such as Mexico City, Bogota, and Seoul, South Korea. The latest master plan for New Delhi, India, for example, calls for fully segregated bicycle lanes on all main roads to reduce growth in fossil fuel consumption.

Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and the German city of Freiburg are all investing millions in infrastructure to encourage more people to bike to work. In Amsterdam more than 55 percent of those who travel five miles or less to work already ride bikes. The government plans to spend $160 million by 2010 on bicycle paths, parking, and safety, according to the Earth Policy report.

Paris now has some 20,000 bikes available for rental by credit card, scattered around the city at strategic sites. Six million people used the new rental program during the first three months after it was launched last year.

The United States lags far behind this emerging trend, with less than 1 percent of workers commuting by bicycle. Overall, bike ridership has dropped by 32 percent since the early 1990s.

But, the report notes, there are positive signs as well: “Aided by $900 million a year in federal funding for promotion of biking and walking for 2005 to 2009, the installation of bicycle facilities — including parking, bike-friendly roads, and designated lanes — is proceeding at a record pace” in the United States.

Several large cities, including New York, plan to double bike and pedestrian routes by 2030. Washington, DC is set to begin a bike-sharing program like that in Paris, and even hilly San Francisco is considering a similar program, according to the Worldwatch Institute, an environmental think tank.

Bicycle advocacy groups are expanding, and a “Complete Streets” movement has blossomed in recent years, bringing together a broad coalition of citizen and environmental groups demanding more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly roads. Six states and more than 50 cities, counties, and metro regions have now enacted some form of Complete Streets legislation.

With more than half of the world’s population now living in cities, and given the steep health and economic costs of continuing reliance on oil-fueled cars, many analysts expect the lowly two-wheeler to continue to become more and more fashionable.

Written by Alison Raphael of OneWorld US.

The Iowa Bicycle Coalition’s Mark Wyatt has put together a presentation that he uses when talking with bike clubs, civic meetings, and special events.

The presentation is titled “More Iowans Biking”, and is used to promote bicycling as a safe and enjoyable recreation and transportation alternative, and to encourage improvements such as Complete Streets, Safe Routes to School, and motorist and cyclist education.

For a real eye-opener, view slides 17 through 37 to see obesity trends among U.S. adults, 1985-2005. The explosion of obesity is just incredible.

Nicely done, Mark!

The month of May is the official National Bike Month as designated by the League of American Bicyclists.

As part of National Bike Month, communities around the country sponsor activities and events to celebrate bicycling and get people riding. A focus of the month is Bike-to-Work Week from May 12-16, and Bike-to-Work Day on Friday, May 16.

In addition, the League of American Bicyclists offers a list of 50 ways to celebrate Bike Month.