Plan for hundreds of miles of trails clears City Council

By CAROLYN SZCZEPANSKI

Known for its nation-leading urban sprawl, Kansas City has spent almost three decades spinning its wheels when it comes to accommodating pedestrians and cyclists.

As far back as 1980, the Department of Parks and Recreation put together a plan for Kansas City Bikeways. But it went the way of side ponytails and parachute pants before it could gain any traction.

In 1991, the Mid-America Regional Council initiated MetroGreen, a proposed network of trails that would span seven counties and 1,140 miles. That idea got no further than assembling an unwieldy gaggle of public officials in the same room at the same time.

In 2002, Kansas City earmarked $1.7 million for Bike KC, an effort to advance a network of cycling provisions on public streets. But four years later, the city couldn’t even scare up a map of its progress.
 
All those years and all that paper have resulted in a paltry 30 miles of trails in Kansas City. Last week, the City Council passed another far-reaching vision for hundreds of miles of pedestrian and cycling paths. This time, though, activists are optimistic it won’t be another map to nowhere.