Kansas City, Bike Friendly? (Lee's Summit, Overland: real estate, high crime, neighborhoods)

[ryanelguiri]

Hi everyone - Thanks for all of the last posts on Kansas City. I'm potentially looking at a job opp in Kansas City next week.

The job would be near Huron Park in Kansas City, Kansas.

I'm a triathlete and relish any opportunity to ride my bike into work. In Buffalo I rarely get in my car in the summer, so I was wondering how bike friendly Kansas City is? I don't mind riding 10-20 miles into work a day, but I know some cities riding a bike is essentially asking for danger, while in others they are much more respectful and the city has bike lanes, paths, etc.

If anyone could give me a heads up, that would be great. In terms of location, city or suburbs would be fine, safety is more important to me. I don't have a problem with city living, and also walking everywhere. I've lived in Spain in Madrid and Sevilla and I'm used to long walks and going through some sketchy areas.

Thanks for any input in advance.

[kcmo]

First off, KCK (Kansas City, Kansas) is sort of the dirty “stepchild” of KCMO. The city really seems to have a hard time with reviving its urban core and urban KCK is really nowhere near as built up as urban KCMO.

Having said that, the city has some great neighborhoods that might fit your needs perfectly. If you are used to Spain, I think you would be fine in most parts of KCK.

KCK is very isolated from both KCMO and most suburbs. There is almost no transit between them other than some routes to Downtown KCMO.

I would take a hard look at Strawberry Hill which is within walking distance of Huron Park. It's a neat little historic pocket in eastern KCK overlooking the west bottoms and downtown KCMO. Basically everything southeast of Huron Park.

Another area of KCK you might check out is the Westheight area which is a bit further west, but you could bike it. Westheight is west of 18th.

If you want a more established urban area with more to offer and less "shady", then you will have to go to KCMO. The River Market is right across the Lewis & Clark Viaduct (couple of miles from Downtown KCK) and the lower level of that is actually a bike trail so you could bike to KCK. There is also frequent bus service between Downtown KCMO and Downtown KCK and there will soon be MAX buses between KCMO and KCK which will be an incredible improvement. If you lived in KCMO, all transit buses have bike racks including those going to KCK.

KCK has high crime, but most of the bad areas are north of downtown and in the Quindaro area. The areas south of Downtown are more sketchy than unsafe.

Suburban options would include Platte County and Clay County North of the river just across the Fairfax Bridge or Johnson County to the south, but you would definitely have to drive from those areas.

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

First off, KCK (Kansas City, Kansas) is sort of the dirty “stepchild” of KCMO. .....

Oh for crying out loud ...

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by Samantha S

Oh for crying out loud ...

Lol!!!!

I know....(shaking head)....it is just beyond..well..beyond anything but laughter....

[kcmo]

Wow, you guys seriously can not handle it when people tell things like they are can you? I have nothing against KCK and I actually made it clear that there are some good options there. I guarantee you that most people in JoCo would simply say stay out of KCK period. Why? Because it is what it is. KCK has a pretty bad reputation in metro KC (outside the exurban speedway area) and much of it is deserved because the city really has a long way to go before it really begins to be a competitive urban living option to KCMO.

Don't come to KCK expecting to find a St Paul, MN or Covington, KY with a lively and thriving urban core and plenty of hip neighborhoods to choose from in a "second urban city". You will quickly find out what I mean by stepchild. KCK is a very high poverty, blue collar, industrial area where most of the more stable areas are simply working class minority neighborhoods. Although there are some pockets of charming areas, you have to lean more to the urban pioneer and be ok with more grit and riff raf in KCK than you would in most of the more desirable parts of KCMO.

It is no secret that KCK is the stepchild of KCMO. It always has been. That's not an insult, that's just the way it is.

Do either of you care to add anything productive to the thread? I'm sure this person would love to hear all about the Blue Valley area of Overland Park. Seems like that is exactly what they are looking for. What do you know about KCK? Anything?

Back to the topic.

I never really answered your original question.

Is KC bike friendly?

No not really. Again, I'm just being honest. Is it any worse than Buffalo? Probably not, but it's certainly not the friendliest city out there. As a matter of fact that trail I mentioned before connecting downtown KCK and KCMO could and should be a very popular trail. It's interesting, it crosses over rivers and cool bridges and connect to downtowns together. It has incredible views of the skyline. But it does have some connectivity problems. I believe you still have to take some streets etc to get into Downtown KCMO. But I think the biggest problem is that few people use it and that lack of use makes it more difficult to improve it and it certainly makes it less safe or at least more intimidating to use. I don't think it's unsafe, but when you are the only person in such a large, industrial area like that, it's less than ideal.

However once again, Downtown KCMO (river market, downtown, crossroads) will be more bike friendly than KCK because there are more peple biking there. You can actually get around quite well in the urban core of KCMO via bike and transit or a combo of both and again, you could easily drive to KCK from downtown KCMO or take a bus (with or without a bike).

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

Wow, you guys seriously can not handle it when people tell things like they are can you?

I would love to tell things like they are with respect to your posts and I often do ... but then I restrain myself and edit them so that I don't violate the TOS of the forum!

Let's just say ... um ... your eyes are turning brown ...

[kcmo]

So, once again you have nothing to contribute other than ruining yet another thread? Anything?

All your posts say the same thing.

Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission schools are the best, I personally love Johnson County, I have a great JoCo realestate agent I can recommend.

Just copy that into your buffer and post it in every thread and it will save you a lot of time. Or better yet, make it a sticky thread!

[Samantha S]

Originally Posted by kcmo

So, once again you have nothing to contribute other than ruining yet another thread? Anything?

All your posts say the same thing.

Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission schools are the best, I personally love Johnson County, I have a great JoCo realestate agent I can recommend.

Just copy that into your buffer and post it in every thread and it will save you a lot of time. Or better yet, make it a sticky thread!

Samantha ruins threads by pointing out when I'm full of crap!

I am consistent in my preferences and I share them when people ask. (Unlike you, who is even willing to contradict himself if it makes for a good JoCo-bash!) When the questions get repeated, the answers will also. Surely this is not surprising to anyone. Others have their preferences and recommendations too. TabulaRasa, for example, speaks often about Lee's Summit. You don't begrudge her that preference. Only JoCo ...

BTW, I never said my real estate agent worked solely in JoCo. You assumed and added that part ... cuz ... well, that's just what you do. In truth, he has also assisted us in buying/selling property in MO. <GASP!> Yes! You heard right! Samantha owns property in Missouri!!! WHO KNEW????

[kcmo]

please explain where I am full of crap? still waiting.

you don't like how I described KCK? Is that really it?

[CrownVic95]

Originally Posted by kcmo

please explain where I am full of crap? still waiting.

you don't like how I described KCK? Is that really it?

kcmo, it is long past time for some self reflection.

In almost every thread, you figuratively step on the rake and crash the handle into your head by framing your comments as part of the war (in your mind) between Missouri and Kansas. You almost always see an opportunity for a Kansas put-down and you almost always seize it. It destroys your credibility - thread after thread.

It is really a shame, because you have a lot of detailed knowledge that could/would be taken more seriously if you could/would agree to a cease fire. Please do yourself and the forum a favor - think about it.