mattstephenskc

Alright, KC Mizzou fans—who’s ready for the face-off with Bama on Saturday? #MIZKC

Don't miss KC Library's next installment in the Making a Great City lecture series, to be hosted at the Plaza Branch at 6pm, Tues, Sep 30. Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, will address the US’s housing affordability crisis. RSVP at kclibrary.org/events/housi....

Fun with the American healthcare system, episode #5384: During a recent routine gynecological visit my wife was informed of some abnormalities. The doctor we've known for years, who delivered one of our children, assured us she wasn't concerned, but surgery could be involved. Then it got worse. 1/

Gosh, Brent. This royally sucks. I had no idea ACA was so worthless. I wish I had some hope that universal healthcare was a political possibility in the US. I share your hatred of our current system.

‘Car Brain’ is killing us—literally As millions of Americans take to the road this weekend, we would do well to rethink how we behave behind the wheel.

A tad belated, but always timely: “Mental Health Awareness Month shouldn’t just be about personal coping strategies and mindfulness reminders. It should include a reckoning with the systems that make us sick in the first place.” www.fastcompany.com/91330344/car...

Sight triangles done right make an extraordinary impact on intersection safety.

The response to our coverage about the Charlie Kirk assassination. We received a lot of responses to our Charlie Kirk coverage.

I felt a little more human and a little more hopeful after reading this. Warning: It's long. But I thought it was worth the time and effort to read. (Thank you, Isaac and the team at @tanglenews.bsky.social.) www.readtangle.com/charlie-kirk...

Two-way cycle tracks along the road or with their own layout Two-way cycle tracks can either be placed along the road or with their own layout away from the road. There are binding rules for their placement along the roads. The design of track termination and i...

The Cycling Embassy of Denmark has a pretty thorough article detailing when/where and how it’s appropriate to install bidirectional cycletracks: cyclingsolutions.info/two-way-cycl....

All considered, two-way, protected cycletracks are safer on arterials and collectors than unprotected lanes or mixing with car traffic. And I’m thankful for those we have.

It depends on context. All else being equal (key consideration), unidirectional is logically safer in places where there’s a higher number of intersections/curb cuts. However, there hasn’t been enough research to compare the two statistically. Extant studies don’t control for key variables.

I now own my 2020 VW, free and clear! Payoff day feels great. 😊 #smallwins

Thoughtfulness may well be my favorite trait a person can embody. Kindness is up there with it. If everyone were thoughtful and kind, the world would be alright.

Yes, the risks are real. I’m sure the risk of the kinds of collisions I’ve been narrowly avoiding are less severe than the risks of available alternatives. The safest option is unidirectional, protected lanes or separated tracks.

Yeah, I had a few incidents back to back that shook me; now I’m hyper vigilant. But hypervigilance is not a fun experience. It’s a product of fear, which bike facilities are supposed to combat.

All I know is I’ve encountered many close calls on contra-flow bike lanes and zero on same-flow lanes, from motorists turning right onto the street.

I’ve certainly become more vigilant and, well, slow, especially in the stretch between 33rd and 39th Streets. And I appreciate the existing cycling infra tremendously. Just wish we could get more unidirectional lanes, including on Broadway.

Right turns are only a problem when riding against the flow of traffic because of the direction drivers look. So, when a cyclist is coming from the right and a driver only looks left, the driver doesn’t see them. This only happens when the bike lane runs opposite to the flow of car traffic.

Shit. That’s crazy.

The main way that direction comes into play is that motorists are accustomed to only looking intently in one direction (left) before turning right onto a street. That introduces more risk to a lane moving in the opposite direction than one going in the same direction. I’ve encountered this often.

Fellow fans of bike lanes: are you fans of two-way cycle tracks running adjacent to two-way streets?

I am generally not a fan, as I do not feel safe riding against the direction of car traffic or across the paths of motorists turning into said traffic lanes from side streets & driveways.

Wow 🤯

I must’ve missed something. Kirk’s shooter was a right winger?

Besides this issue, I’m a big fan of Speck’s book. On this issue, however, I think he overstates his case against “sight triangles” on nearly every point. Hoboken’s success seems to prove that the pros of visibility outweigh the cons, at least as they’ve implemented it. Thoughts?

Would love to invite a dialog about the contrast of Rule 66 of Jeff Speck’s Walkable City Rules to the city of Hoboken, NJ’s famously successful Vision Zero campaign, which has relied heavily on “daylighting” to improve visibility at intersections. Speck critiques the practice.

En route from KC to Louisville, a solid 90% of motorists were driving 10+ mph above the speed limit (some much faster) *in construction zones* along I-70 and I-64. That’s not bad road design. That’s heartless insanity. Incredibly discouraging.

Leading starts with listening.

MIZ 🏈

Is that what it is? My voice has been messed up for the past two weeks, especially while out on bike rides.

That’s one I’m considering.

Anyone know a RE development firm or other business in the AEC space that’s hiring comms people or would consider someone without industry experience for some kind of mgmt role? I’m looking for an on-ramp into the industry.