Highlights of the ride included the Shunga trail and Kansas’ first bicycle roundabout, passing by the Governor’s mansion, state capitol building, and a trek over the cobblestones in a beautiful old Topeka neighborhood.

Dale Crawford, Mark Rainey, Alan Apel, Ron Johnson, Gina Poertner, Randy Rasa, Diane Novak (L-to-R)

KanBikeWalk is a non-profit, statewide organization whose mission is to promote a safe bicycling and walking environment for Kansans through education and advocacy. KanBikeWalk advocates for bicycle and pedestrian issues with the goal of making Kansas a premier bicycling and walking state through improved safety/education programs and infrastructure improvements at the local and state level.

As a 100% volunteer organization, KanBikeWalk is reaching out to you as a member of the bicycle and walking community. We all walk and bicycle for transportation, recreation, tourism, sport and/or exercise. We need your help to make Kansas a safe and friendly state to bicycle and walk in. Please join us!

KanBikeWalk Annual Meeting
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008
1:00-4:00 p.m. (or as long as you can stay)

Location:
Clubhouse Inn
924 SW Henderson Rd.
Topeka, Kansas 66615
(see map)

Please RSVP to Gina at so we can plan set-up for the room.

We also believe in having fun! So please join us for a Pre-Meeting Bicycle Ride (weather permitting) through Topeka:

KanBikeWalk Pre-Meeting Bicycle Ride
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.
Starting at the Clubhouse Inn (see above)
Length: 18-20 miles (see route map).

Board members Alan Apel and Randy Rasa will be our ride leaders. To check the status of the ride in regards to weather, see KanBikeWalk.com.

If you have questions about the Annual Meeting or Pre-Ride, feel free to contact any of the KBW officers.

Meeting Agenda:

• Welcome and Introductions
• Orders of Business
• 2008 Year in Review- Our accomplishments this year.
• Open Forum/Roundtable - A discussion of issues affecting Kansas bicyclists and pedestrians
• 2009 Activity Goals
• Summary and Closing

For more information about KanBikeWalk, see our website at KanBikeWalk.com.

We look forward to seeing you!

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.

Traffic hums along at 40 mph at S.W. Huntoon and McAlister on Topeka’s west side, and Don Robinson looks for his break.

Robinson’s head darts back and forth, scanning traffic on S.W. Huntoon from the east and west, as he looks for a clearing so he can cross the five-lane street in his motorized wheelchair.

On this Tuesday morning, he only needs to wait about a minute before he sets sail.

Other days, the wait is much longer, and with heavier traffic, crossing the street is much more dangerous.

Such is the life for Robinson and others in wheelchairs who not only have to contend with traffic but also whatever sidewalk conditions they are dealt.

“No, I don’t feel safe at all,” he said. “Especially at an intersection where people can turn right on a red light — or those where people can turn left at a green light after the traffic has cleared — because all they’re looking for is if the traffic has cleared.”

Robinson and others in wheelchairs say navigating around town is even more difficult in neighborhoods that don’t have sidewalks.

Complicating matters, some sidewalks may not be equipped with curb cuts, making going from one block to the next a difficult — if not impossible — proposition.

Mike McGee, Topeka’s deputy director of public works and ADA coordinator, said the city doesn’t have a sidewalk construction program at this time, meaning no plans for new sidewalks are on the table. Sidewalks are apparently “not at the top of the city’s priority list” and “many neighborhoods still don’t have sidewalks and may never get them”.

Read more: Wheelchair-bound Topekans ‘don’t feel safe’ on city’s sidewalks

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

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.

State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator Becky Pepper, in an email to bicycle clubs and advocacy organizations within the state, said:

The T-LINK task force will develop recommendations for an approach that recognizes all forms of transportation and serves the future of our state. We have heard from Governor Sebelius that bicycle and pedestrian needs will be paramount to the discussion of a new transportation program!

As a companion to T-LINK, staff from KDOT and members of the task force will be travelling the state in September to assess needs through Local Consult Meetings. These meetings will take place in Ulysses, Hays, Hutchinson, Abilene, Topeka, Olathe, Wichita, and Pittsburg. I encourage all bicycle and pedestrian providers and advocates to attend a Local Consult meeting! The input received at these meetings will shape the language of the transportation program.

For additional information, meeting dates, and continuous updates about T-LINK progress please visit kansastlink.com.

The tentative schedule calls for the following Local Consult Meetings:

• 09-11-2008: Ulysses
• 09-12-2008: Hays
• 09-18-2008: Abilene
• 09-19-2008: Topeka
• 09-22-2008: Olathe
• 09-23-2008: Hutchinson
• 09-26-2008: Pittsburg
• 09-30-2008: Wichita

Check with kansastlink.com for details…

See also: Governor Announces Transportation Task Force (PDF), Letter From Governor Sebelius (PDF).

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 effort to see more sidewalks throughout Eudora, officials from Eudora USD 491, the city of Eudora, citizens of Eudora and Safe Kids Douglas County have formed the Eudora Pedestrian Safety Committee.

The group first met early in the spring and met again May 23 to discuss grant applications for the areas of Eudora that most need sidewalks.

The committee would like to one day see a safe path for students to go over Kansas Highway 10 to the high school and middle school, but the construction of such a bridge currently is cost prohibitive. Dreese also said it would be difficult just to coordinate the required cooperation between the many organizations both private and public that would build the bridge.

Eudora Schools Interim Superintendent of Schools Don Grosdidier said it also would be unwise to build sidewalks along Church Street until there was a safer way for students to cross K-10.

“Until that bridge situation is taken care of, it’s not real feasible to put the sidewalks in there because you’re encouraging more kids to walk and it’s not really a safe place to walk and cross there,” he said.

After the May 23 meeting, the committee decided to pursue grant money that would go toward the installation of sidewalks along Elm Street between NES and the Eudora Community Center.

“We want to be as smart about this as possible and do what we can with the money we have,” Dreese said. “Our idea now is to get everybody together in Eudora and not only deal from a safety perspective, which is what most of this grant money is for, but also from a health and recreation perspective. The idea is that you’ve got a growing little town, so you plan ahead.”

Oct. 8 is International Walk to School Day for students in kindergarten through second grade, and the committee plans on having a communitywide summit sometime that month.

“We don’t want to just have a meeting, we want to make things happen and move forward,” Dreese said.

Read more from The Eudora News: Pedestrian safety committee formed

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.”