KANSAS CITY, MO Burns & McDonnell is designing a strategic new bicycle route in Kansas City, Kansas, that's a key part of the Healthy Community Vision being pursued by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas.

The 12th & 10th Street Bikeway will begin at Metropolitan Avenue near the Kansas River and extend 4.5 miles north to Quindaro Boulevard following 12th Street, Argentine Boulevard, and 10th Street. The route will link residents with important government, commercial and employment centers. It also will take bicyclists by several city parks and recreation areas including Parkwood, Northrup and Heathwood Parks, and Big Eleven Lake.

Unified Government Mayor/CEO Mark Holland said the $1.2 million project is a key element in the "Healthy Communities Wyandotte" plan to create a downtown Healthy Campus. The new bikeway fulfills the Unified Government's concept of a "living corridor" linking neighborhoods and downtown.

"The new 12th & 10th Street Bikeway will allow neighborhood residents from throughout the city to safely and easily access our beautiful parks and downtown on their bikes," Holland said. "I can't think of a more healthy way to bring our community together and symbolize what we're seeking to accomplish."

Design work is well underway, and the city is expected to seek bids early next spring with construction starting soon afterward.

Ron Schikevitz, a Principal and Project Manager at Burns & McDonnell, said the 12th & 10th Street project is the latest of several bikeways the firm has designed in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

"We are passionate at Burns & McDonnell about encouraging and promoting bicycling in our community and providing a safe, convenient way for people to enjoy the activity," Schikevitz said. "I'm particularly proud of our partnership with the Unified Government in our planning and design efforts to support the expansion of their bicycle facilities."

The 12th & 10th Street Bikeway plan calls for separate striped and signed bike lanes in each direction for the majority of the length of the project. In areas where dedicated bike lanes cannot be safely provided, pavement markings called "Sharrows" will be provided to convey the expectation that the roadway is to be shared between cyclists and motorists.

Other recent major bikeways designed by Burns & McDonnell in the Kansas City metropolitan area include Southwest Boulevard and Merriam Lane, which provide continuous on-street bike lanes from the Johnson County line to downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and dedicated on-street bike lanes in Leawood as part of the reconstruction of 143rd Street between Nall Avenue and Mission Road.

The firm also recently designed the on-street bikeway along the new Chouteau Parkway in the Northland, and the protected trail on the Heart of America Bridge in downtown Kansas City - the first dedicated non-motorized facility on a Missouri River bridge crossing in the metro.

The 12th & 10th Street Bikeway project in Kansas City, Kansas, is being built as a cooperative effort between the Unified Government, the Kansas Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and the Mid-America Regional Council.