An Experiment in Crowdsourced Mapping

Last week I put together a quick experiment in crowdsourcing recommendations for bike lanes. The website allows you to draw a line for a suggested bike lane, and the results tab creates a heatmap of the cumulative recommendation from all users. In the week since it has gone live, there have been over 800 new…

Untangling the Westport Parking Controversy

A plan to replace a parking lot in Westport with new development is drawing criticism from both ends of the pro and anti-urban spectrum.  People on the pro-car, anti-urban side are criticizing the development because it removes parking spaces and increases density, which triggers their ‘where am I going to park/this neighborhood is unsafe’ reflex. On…

Rosedale Bike Lanes

Rosedale Completes Its Streets

Over the past few years, a combination of infrastructure investments, new development, and entrepreneurial energy is revitalizing Rosedale and contributing to Kansas City’s urban renaissance. Since moving to the Rosedale over two years ago, I’ve witnessed a transformation that is quickly accelerating. This is the first post of a series highlighting the improvements as well as some…

Creepy Car Cave Proposed for Crossroads

True North Hotel Group is working to build a $16 million creepy car cave at 20th and Main.  The creepy car cave would feature a dark and foreboding parking lot with a 115 room hotel precariously elevated on stilts above the lot.  The design maximizes the amount of space devoted to automobiles along the prominent…

Cyclist Perspective on Grand Boulevard Concept

“A Long Road for a Grand Boulevard – Part 2” illustrates how thoughtful design can improve Grand Boulevard for all users. This post highlights a few refinements of this concept from the cyclist perspective. I agree with the overall premise of protected bike lanes and the approach to phasing from paint to full infrastructure.  After all, protected bike lanes…