I was invited to sit down as a participant on a panel of bicycle commuting “experts” in Kansas City today. I was joined by KCMO’s Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, a Bike Patrol police officer for one of the local suburbs and another man who’s been commuting by bike for over a decade. Between comments on the radio station’s websites being proxied to the panel and local callers, we covered a lot of good points. The diversity of opinions among those on the panel also shone through.
You can listen to the podcast recording here, and I may be able to upload it to a more permanent spot if it goes away. It’s also worth mentioning that one of the people who called in is a riding buddy of mine who didn’t even know I was on the panel. I kept quiet on the air, though.
Transit use is on the rise in Kansas City, and so is multi-mode commuting using bicycles combined with transit. While $4 or $5 per gallon may not get the wealthy motorists off and their single-occupant three ton vehicles off the road, it is getting more cyclists on the road where they can be seen. In my opinion, the more bicycles a motorist sees in a day, the more aware they’ll tend to remain.
Is commuting by bike making waves in other cities’ local media. It seems to be a popular discussion topic around Kansas City lately.