Council asked to place bike racks in NKC's downtown

By: Jeffrey M. Salem

With parking at a premium in North Kansas City, where 25,000 metropolitan residents assemble to work each day, one planning commissioner wants to allow parking on the sidewalks of downtown.

No, not for vehicles — for bicycles.

David Katz, planning commissioner, opined to the City Council last week that adding bicycle racks throughout the city's downtown could free up coveted parking spaces while adding an inviting and environmentally-friendly ambiance to the area.

Katz said the planning commission had been reviewing the city's parking codes at the last few meetings and discussion about the lack of bike racks in the downtown area surfaced.

“We wanted to incorporate (bike racks) into the city's parking ordinance,” he said in a phone interview. “We talked about requiring bike parking as we'd require vehicle parking in some zones.

Two zones encompass much of the city's downtown, generally along Armour Road from Howell Street west to Burlington Street: C-2 and C-2B. Currently, the C-2B zone requires off-street vehicle parking in close proximity while C-2 zoning does not have a vehicle parking requirement.

Katz said much of the bike-rack discussion had been just that, discussion, and no formal decisions had been made, but there “seemed to be a verbal consensus” among the commission in favor of putting bike racks downtown.

“(Bike racks) give a safe, legal way for people on bikes to park,” he said. “And more people on bikes free up more parking spaces.”

Katz said it also could make the downtown more inviting and said the racks should fit the streetscape of the downtown, too.

“That can create more pedestrian traffic,” he said. “They'll say, 'This is an inviting place where I'm encouraged to get out and walk around.'”

The council's only comment from Katz's suggestion came from Councilwoman Bettie Miller.

“I think it's a good idea, and it's been well thought out,” she said.

Any changes to the city's parking ordinance approved by the planning commission would have to be approved by the City Council before taking effect.

Pat Hawver, director of public works, said he was looking into feasibility and cost of placing bike racks throughout downtown and would report back to the City Council.

Staff writer Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or jeffsalem@npgco.com.