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Prairie Village Leaders Approve Plan To Expand Bike and Walking Options

Prairie Village, Kansas
A bike plan for Prairie Village includes 40 miles of new shared and bike lanes.

Updated, 10:53 a.m. Tuesday: The Prairie Village city council approved the bike and pedestrian plan on Monday evening by a vote of 7-5. City leaders said that the plan was still conceptual and that details of the new sidewalks, trails and lanes would be worked out with public input in future stages of planning and development.

The original post continues below.

Years of planning by Prairie Village, Kansas, cycling advocates have led up to a vote Monday evening by the city council.

On the agenda is a plan to greatly expand Prairie Village’s cycling and pedestrian infrastructure with 36 miles of new shared lanes, 4 miles of new bike lanes, 1.6 miles of new sidewalks and 2 miles of new trails.

Credit Prairie Village, Kansas
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Prairie Village, Kansas
A proposed bike plan for Prairie Village expands on existing infrastructure and would connect with trails and lanes in neighboring cities.

The plan, developed in conjunction with TranSystems, a Kansas City-based engineering consultant, and funded in large part by the Mid-America Regional Council, would also connect with trails and lanes in neighboring cities.

Cycling advocates say Prairie Village is falling behind other parts of the metro area in cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

Opponents to the plan say it would be disruptive to neighborhoods and that residents haven’t been given ample notice.

Planners have held two public meetings and other outreach efforts.

Alex Smith is a health reporter for KCUR. You can reach him alexs@kcur.org.

As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
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