We need slower design speeds for the benefit of all. This might be accomplished by narrowing the lanes and striping in bike/ped lanes on the left-over pavement.

Ideally, though, cyclists and pedestrians should be separated from auto traffic.

Where should the bicyclist ride? The so-called Hike and Bike trails are often inadequate for bike riding, especially as a form of commuting. Sidewalks are innappropriate for bike riding. It isn’t about being affluent or impovrished. It just isn’t that simple. Banishing bikes from the streets is not the answer. What next? Motorcycles? Huge SUVs piloted by a single Johnson County commuter? Should we only allow piece of shit pick-ups belching smoke and loaded with a gang of laborers? Jeez! What a maroon.

OTOH, I am not convinced that bike lanes would have necessarily prevented some or any of the area’s recent accidents. There is no assurance that such lanes will be recognized any more than the cyclists already on the road today. But then I might be biased. The existance of a bike lane does not prevent my collarbone from aching due to an injury incurred in a hit and run incident on one of my recreational bike rides a few years back. If you ride, make sure you can be seen. This advice I give to motorcyclists as well. My wrist aches for a similar motorcycle incident this past fall.

At any rate, I refuse to relenquish the roads completely to the automobile. However, I *will* keep my eye out for Tony’s clunker.

Again, I feel sorry for anybody who gets hit by a car when on a bike, it was only funny in that one scene in Wayne’s World but for the public to take up arms for the cyclists would clearly only be a concession that would benefit those with money, leisure time, spandex and nice bicycles. I agree, KC just isn’t safe for bicyclists but that is not such an important problem for the wealthy, upwardly mobile and very vocal contingent that requires everyone in this town to pick up the bill . . . I think the MODot money would be better spent on potholes considering Missouri roads are still the worst in the nation. Sorry, the best thing to do for bikers is tell them to stay off the road . . . Which is no great injustice.

I know that you’ll probably hit me back with the “quality of life” argument about luring people back to the city and all of the income that a state of the art biking trail might generate but that pretty much falls across the same lines which justify the current (empty) condo craze and I don’t wanna get into all the reasons there are to rebuke that kind of nonsense . . .

Don’t worry, we’re going to implement the Kyoto protocols locally and that will fix our cycling problems.

Also, this might come as a shock, but people die in car wrecks, flying in planes, and riding on trains. Does that mean we should all just stay home? This anti-cycling attitude sounds like oil company propaganda – “Don’t get off your ass – buy more gas!”

It should be UNACCEPTABLE in any American metropolitan area for there to be this many cycling-related deaths.

AFFORDABLE and healthy transportation like cycling should be encouraged and made SAFE. Also, some people actually ride bikes BECAUSE THEY CAN’T AFFORD A CAR.

The KC Metro area needs to get its act together and find a way for bikes and cars to co-exist and educate people about it.

Also, while I don’t want anyone killed for the sake of a joke I’ll just note that this world is topsy turvy when lettuce will kill you and you’re much safer and actually helping those during the morning commute by driving an SUV.

Harsh times, wear a helmet . . . And unfortunately the environment isn’t worth ending up on somebody’s windshield like a fly with tragically good intentions.