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As families return from the
suburbs to the urban core, people are starting to realize that part
of the original charm of our neighborhoods is their
walkability. For years our City traffic engineers have
concentrated on moving the largest number of cars through our
streets, as efficiently as possible.
Consideration for pedestrians, bicyclists, and people with disabilities is an
afterthought.
Walkability means more than sidewalks and the occasional bike trail. It is a commitment
to making our streets safe and friendly to all those who use alternative modes of transportation.
Those modes include walking, bicycling and mass transit.
I will push for follow through on hiring the full-time bicycle and pedestrian coordinator which
was budgeted for years ago. I will work closely with that new hire
to pursue a commitment from Public Works
to utilize traffic calming techniques whenever
appropriate and to design our streets and neighborhoods with all modes of transportation in mind.
I advocate the creation of a Citizen's
Transportation and Pedestrian Commission to advise the City on
making our neighborhoods safer, so our children can walk to school,
transit-dependent neighbors will have safer access to bus stops
and we can all enjoy the characteristics which make our urban neighborhoods so desirable.
I will make it my personal
responsibility to ensure that Kansas City's
Walkability Plan
is actually used as the guideline for which it was intended.
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