Overland Park, KS – I live in a much different Kansas City than my mother did when she moved here from South Dakota in the late 1950s. She didn’t need a car. Kansas City had street cars and corner grocery stores. She said people even called it the Little Apple back then. Since then, the Kansas City area has sprawled out and having a car is almost the only way to get where you need to go.
We don’t have many convenient public transportation options. We have buses, but they’re limited in coverage and frequency, so driving is often the easiest way to get places, despite how costly it can be.
For four years, I lived across the street from my job, which meant I walked to and from work. My coworkers were jealous because I rarely had to put gas in my car, while many filled up their cars a few times per week. Not driving was a significant cost savings for me then and continues to be for me today, as I ride my bike to work most days. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I made a career change and picked up a job as a produce manager at a local supermarket. Because the costs of car ownership add up so quickly, from maintenance to gasoline, riding my bike to work was the obvious option. About half of my ride is on designated biking trails and the other half is on the road. I do what I can to be safe on my commute—my coworkers sometimes call me Blinky because I am always decked out with lights—but I wish there were safer options for biking and walking. I only drive when the weather is too cold and wet, but if there were better transit options, I would definitely take advantage of them.
I love riding my bike for its health and financial benefits, but I know that it’s not the right option for everyone today, especially given the lack of protected infrastructure. I wish decision-makers would dedicate funding to expanding transportation options beyond driving so that people have more affordable options for getting around. Then, we’d be one step closer to the Kansas City that my mother lived in.