Attend the meeting on August 21 to learn more and share your priorities
On Tuesday, August 21 between 6:00-8:00 p.m., the City of Kansas City and Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) are holding the final public meeting for review and input of the Midtown Complete Streets Plan. This plan will determine the future of several key streets, including:
- 39th Street,
- 43rd Street,
- Broadway Boulevard,
- Southwest Trafficway, and
- Wornall Road.
Whether you live, work, have children attending school, or travel along any of these routes, your input matters. We hope you will plan to attend and add your voice to the conversation.
How did we get here?
The Midtown Complete Streets project is an outcome of the new Midtown-Plaza Area Plan, which identified several streets that could be good candidates for road diets with things like bike lanes, wider sidewalks, etc. BikeWalkKC advocated strongly for the inclusion of road diets and new bike lanes during this process. The current project is now studying those streets closer to decide exactly what changes can be made.
BikeWalkKC has worked in partnership with the City by conducting a Bicycle Demand Analysis to provide input about biking and walking in the midtown corridor. The streets identified in the plan have three main attributes: 1) high levels of demand for biking, walking, and transit; 2) high population densities; and 3) a diverse mix of uses. Furthermore, these routes have reported high crash rates and high rates of motorist speeds.
The City applied for and received Planning Sustainable Places (PSP) funding to study the routes and develop the draft plan. The goal of this grant was to conceptualize and implement a multi-modal complete street network for all road users and enhance liveability and commercial viability.
What happens at the public meeting?
The City invites the public to review the draft plan and provide feedback about priorities for the project. We encourage you to attend to help show the strong support our community has for improved biking and walking in midtown! This plan is an opportunity to begin transforming prominent streets in Kansas City’s most walkable neighborhoods. It is important for you to weigh in with your ideas for more walkable streets in Midtown KCMO. You can help shape the future of walking and biking in KCMO by attending the public meeting on August 21.
And then what?
Once community input is complete, the City will work to secure funding and finalize the design. BikeWalkKC will remain committed to ensuring that any design includes the best possible biking and walking facilities as integral elements. Once the projects are “shovel ready,” BikeWalkKC will work to convince the City to invest the appropriate funds to bring this design from the paper to the pavement. When that happens, we will need the public’s help with reaching out to the City to convince them that this is a project that deserves to be undertaken now!
