If you’ve read my About Me or Issues pages, as well as many of my Facebook posts, you know that the City of Prairie Village Bike-Ped Plan is important to Prairie Village, to my family, and probably to yours.

The Bike-Ped Plan is a conceptual plan approved by the City Council of Prairie Village in May of 2018 after a full year of planning and community input. It was partially funded with $75,000 in the 2019 budget and currently has $140,000 proposed in the 2020 budget to continue implementation of the overall $500,000.00 plan.

The benefits of a walk-able and bike-able community include healthier living through regular physical activity and better air quality through reduced vehicle emissions. Both of these on top of a more socially active community where you see and interact with your neighbors in a slower moving environment. Yes, please!

Living on 71st Street six houses from State Line, I’m super-pumped to know that a sidewalk on State Line from 71st to 74th streets is on the proposed plan – one of only a few sections of new sidewalk proposed. The majority of the pedestrian plan that runs along Prairie Village streets relies on existing sidewalks. The overall goal is to make sure that sidewalks and bicycle paths are connected in a system of routes to and from popular destinations in and around Prairie Village, including parks, schools, and retail centers.

Pedestrian Plan – Ward 3 Detail

Here is a detail from the proposed overall Pedestrian Plan showing just Ward 3 from 71st to 75th streets north to south and from State Line to Roe/Tomahawk east to west. It shows new sidewalk (solid brown) from 71st to 74th on State Line and on Cherokee from 75th Street to meet up with existing sidewalk not far from Global Montessori. It also shows a new shared use path (solid green) from Tomahawk to Windsor Park behind Brighton Gardens connecting Windsor Park with Porter Park.

Sidewalks and Shared Paths are only slightly different from one another. The latter is typically wider than a sidewalk and often in a friendlier running surface, like asphalt, but I don’t know what the plans are for these. Below are examples of each.

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Bicyle Plan – Ward 3 Detail

Below is a detail from the proposed overall Bicycle Plan showing just Ward 3. It shows several shared lanes (gold) including all the way across 71st street, 73rd street from State Line to Cherokee, and more including along Village Drive and 74th Terrace.

There are NO bike lanes proposed in Ward 3. As a matter of fact, there are actually very FEW bike lanes proposed at all in Prairie Village in the currently proposed plan. Four miles to be exact.

The ONLY bike lanes in the plan for Prairie Village are along Mission, between the PV Shops and Indian Hills Middle School at 63rd Street, and along Nall (which may actually be a partnership with Overland Park except between 75th and 83rd). Everywhere else is Shared Lanes. Shared Lanes use arrows in the lanes, called “sharrows”, to alert drivers that cyclists may use the full lane and that everyone should “share” the lane.

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Other Public Works Plans that will enhance the Bike/Ped Plan

Below is another map of Ward 3 with the 2019 planned residential paving, micro-surfacing, and crack seal maps overlaid for this year. (Check out my post on the microsurfacing and crack seal programs for definitions.)

The Paving program (green lines) will replace existing damaged or deteriorated concrete curb, sidewalks (where there are currently sidewalks), some driveways, new sidewalk where there is none and updating ADA (American’s with Disabilities Act) pedestrian ramps. The existing asphalt pavement will either be: 

1. Reconstructed full depth, or 
2.  Mill pavement between two and three inches then resurfaced with two or three inches of asphalt. Full depth pavement repairs will be performed as necessary

So, check out what may be happening on your street!

All of this planned work will make walking and cycling in Prairie Village that much more enjoyable. I’m very excited for more bike-friendly roadways and longer stretches of sidewalk to connect our parks and such. I haven’t seen or heard of any implementation yet this year, but it’s been raining a ton, and I’m sure we’ll start seeing sharrows popping up as we get into summer.

Speaking of summer, I hope you are ready. Seniors are graduating, kiddos only have a few days left of school, and it’s finally getting warm around here. Enjoy the Spring weather while it lasts!

Take care and reach out if you have any questions or concerns,

#ShowUp
#Breathe
#DoYourBest
#BeKind