I first started biking around campus for a couple blocks before I started biking in other areas of Kansas City. I felt very unsafe because their are no bike lanes located on campus, so you are forced to ride alongside cars. I thought people were more patient around a biker near the campus then they were outside of campus because they knew we were in a school zone, so I felt that most people would reduce their speed to pass me. Both of the campuses for UMKC are quite hilly, so it was hard to get up hills on Rockhill Rd and Cherry St without feeling like you were disturbing the drivers trying to ride behind you. Since the sidewalks are smaller on campus, it seems impossible to ride on them without impeding on the path for pedestrians. The only sidewalk that seemed wide enough was on 51st which leads to the student union.

The second trip that I took was along the Gilliam Cycle track starting at 31st St, and ending at Messenger Coffee on 17th. I had a different experience riding on Gilliam Rd then I did riding on campus. The buffer between you and the car lane made me feel much safer, and it simplified the riding experience as a whole. Once I got to the intersection at 22nd where Gilliam Rd changes to Oak St, I started to go further into the downtown area. This area has just recently put buff outs around street corners to help slow traffic down, and I thought this really helped me as a biker know that a car was going to stop at an intersection. These buffers also limit the view of the driver, so they need to be more careful. Once I was finally on Grand Blvd, the protected bike lanes turned into regular paved bike lanes. As a regular driver on this road, I know that their are people that abuse these bike lanes and use them as regular traffic lanes, so I did not feel as safe as a biker on these roads.

As a whole, I think biking around campus could be improved with the addition of protected bikes lanes on streets such as Rockhill Rd and Cherry St. Rockhill is currently a four lane road, and traffic studies do not support the need for that many lanes. By implementing protected bike lanes, we would be increasing connectivity to surrounding areas where students live such as Troostwood, Country Club Plaza, and Brookside. These additions could also improve the car dependency of students on campus which would further reduce the amount of vehicles on the roads near campus.