Gina Poertner with KanBikeWalk reports that House Bill 2304 which would authorize a "Share the Road" license plate was not heard this session in the House Transportation Committee. However, the bill will still be alive in the 2010 legislative session.
The City Council of Osage City in February voted 6-1 to start construction on a two-mile segment of the Flint Hills Nature Trail. Crushed limestone will be laid from 17th to 13th Street and concrete from 13th to 9th Street. Funds for this project were made available from the federal Transportation Enhancement grant program administered by KDOT. The City Manager reports that federal stimulus funds may also be possible and that he will soon begin lease negotiations with Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy which is the Flint Hills Trail manager.
Each year more and more segments of the coast-to-coast American Discovery Trail are completed. Below is a description of the trail from the American Discovery Trail website:
The American Discovery Trail (ADT) is the nation's first coast-to-coast, non-motorized trail. It is a new breed of national trail - part city, part small town, part forest, part mountains, part desert - all in one trail. In 6,800 miles of adventure, discovery and fun, it stretches from Delaware to California. It reaches across America, linking community to community and providing trail users the opportunity to journey into the heart of all that is uniquely American - its culture, heritage, landscape, and spirit.
The trail will be primarily developed and managed by nonfederal governmental entities and nonprofit groups. In Kansas the southern route of the ADT essentially follows the Santa Fe National Historic Trail utilizing the Arkansas River corridor and Flint Hills Nature Trail. It is expected that a bill establishing the ADT will be re-introduced in Congress in 2009. Previous bills have passed the U. S. Senate but stalled in the U. S. House. Each year additional segments of the Flint Hills Nature Trail component of the trail are also completed. To see the ADT route in Kansas go to the American Discovery Trail website and click on Kansas on the map.