A big crowd of 50 or so people turned out last night to meet with consultants from George Butler Associates and share concerns about traffic and parknig along Armour Boulevard in Midtown. The City's Public Works Department has hired GBA to study the corridor and made suggesitons for future improvements.
Some of the common concerns expressed by neighborhood residents include:
- The removal of stoplights has made it more difficult for pedestrians to cross Armour, especially for kids walking to school at Academy Lafayatte and the Foreign Language Academy.
- The Acacemy Lafayatte principal sent letter expressing her concerns for safety of kids walking to/from school.
- A road diet to reduce the road from four lanes to two lanes would slow down traffic.
- The lack of adequate speed enforcement by KCPD means any existing or future improvements are limited in their effectiveness. It was noted that Jackson County Legislator Scott Burnett has arranged for mobile radar signs in multiple Midtown locations due to perceived lack of responsiveness by KCPD.
- The lack of crosswalks and the use of less visible crosswalk designs makes crossing Armour dangerous
- Many people bike on Armour and appreciate the sharrows, but would like to see dedicated bike lanes or a cycletrack
- The introduction of angle parking would increase parking capacity
- Improving the conditions for walking and biking would lessen the demand for cars and parking in the neighborhood
About the study
The traffic and parking study is funded by the City Councilmembers Jan Marcason and Jim Glover in response to concerns of residents in the Hyde Park neighborhood. MAC Properties is renovating many of the historic apartment buildings along Armour Boulevard and converting them from Section 8 to market rate. This has led to an increase households with cars in these historic buildings that have limited off-street parking.
The study will last for three or four months. If you missed the Hyde Park meeting, there will be other public meetinsg for everyone to learn about the process and share their concerns and ideas. Stay tuned for the dates of future public meetings.
Bike facilities on Armour
In late 2010 the Parks Department tested KCMO's first sharrows on Armour Boulevard. These shared lane markings are used indicate designated bike routes when there is not enough space, support, or demand for dedicated bike lanes. The sharrows were well received and are now used in several places around the city.
If a road diet is implemented on Armour BikeWalkKC believes it woudl be a great opportunity to upgrade the sharrows to a dedicated bike facility. By repurposing some of the space the road could accommodate full bike lanes or even a cycletrack that uses a barrier to separate bikes from automobiles.
Visit our Armour Boulevard page to learn more about the study and see some images of how Armour Boulevard could become a more livable street that is safer and more enjoyable for everyone.
KSHB-TV 41 was at the meeting and broadcast this report: