KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bicycle riders in Kansas City will have an easier time navigating downtown streets beginning sometime next year.

The City Council recently approved plans to paint 12 miles of downtown bike lanes in 2014. The project will also provide links to the city’s east side and to bike routes just over the state line in Kansas.

The approval for downtown striping is part of the “Bike KC” program adopted in 2002. Progress on implementing the plan has been slow. The program envisioned a 600-mile system, but signs marking the first 175 miles only started going up this spring.

Next year’s project will also complete some unfinished links to downtown Kansas City, Kansas and a popular bicycle commuting route to Johnson County, Kansas.