Transcript Leawood Bicycle Friendly Community 2010 Year in Review

City of Leawood
Bicycle Friendly Community
The Year in Review
What are traits of a Bicycle
Friendly Community?
 Welcome cyclists by providing wellengineered bicycle facilities.
 Creates new places to ride.
 Educates motorists and cyclists on the
rules of the road.
 Encourages people to bike for
transportation and recreation.
How did BFC start in Leawood?
 A Goal of the Green Initiative Task Force is to
improve green mobility.
 GITF presented the idea of becoming a Bicycle
Friendly Community to the Park Advisory
Board.
 Park Advisory Board recommended the city
apply for the award to the City Council.
 The City Council directed staff to apply for
recognition.
The Bicycle Friendly
Community Program
 is administered by the League of
American Bicyclists.
 Has four different levels of recognition:
Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
 Applications are reviewed by national
experts and local cyclists to determine
recognition and provide feedback.
HOW
do you become Bicycle
Friendly?
(The 5
“E’s”)
 Communities are judged in 5 categories:
1. Engineering
2. Education
3. Encouragement
4. Enforcement
5. Evaluation & Planning
BFC Feedback…
Our Strengths:
1. Over 200 children were provided bike safety
instruction through rodeos.
2. Bike officers are Safety Ambassadors and
active in Share the Road Safety Task Force
with MARC.
3. The City has improved intersections with
traffic signals capable of detecting cyclists.
BFC Feedback…
Two Most Important Items to do:
1. Adopt a complete streets policy that would
ensure that new or major reconstructed
roads accommodate pedestrians, cyclists,
and motorist alike.
2. Increase bicycle education opportunities for
adults. Find ways to deliver education to
motorists. Set annual education participation
goals with an eye to increase participation
each year.
WHY should Leawood
become a BFC?
 For Our Health
 For Our Community
 For Our Future
For our Health
 1 out of every 5 children are considered
obese.
 The average person loses 13 lbs. the first
year of commuting by bike.
 Three hours of cycling per week can
reduce risk of heart attack or stroke by
50%.
For Our
Community
 25% of all trips are made within a mile of
the home.
 40% of all trips are made within two miles
of the home.
 50% of the working population commutes
5 miles or less to work.
 It takes the average cyclist 15 minutes to
travel 3 miles.
For our Future
 Bicycle Friendly Communities have a high
quality of life that translates to sustainable
development, business growth, and even
increased property values.
 Notification of Grants and Funding.
 Recognition and Promotion. Only 2 Kansas
Cities have been awarded Bicycle Friendly
Community status.
WHAT have we done?
 Bike lane on 123rd street-State Line to Mission
Road trail entrance. (Engineering)
 Facilitate a Bicycle Rodeo (Education)
 Provide multi-use trails (Engineering)
 Provide Bicycle Officers (Enforcement)
 Provide bicycle helmets at cost for resale to the
public. (Encouragement)
 Establish a Bicycle Friendly Citizen Committee.
(Encouragement)
Goals
for the future to improve
Bicycle Friendliness:
 Encourage employers to become Bicycle Friendly by
providing secure bike parking and showers for
employees. (Encouragement)
 Provide bike racks at all businesses and public facilities
for customers and visitors. (Encouragement)
 Provide classes to first time riders to teach safe riding
in traffic. (Education)
 Provide Safe Routes to Schools program at all schools.
(Encouragement)
 Review our Bicycle Master Plan Map annually.
(Evaluation)
 Adopt a Complete Streets Policy. (Engineering)
Let’s go for the
GOLD…
as we continue to
“Grow with Distinction.”
Leawood, Kansas
1948-2010