Attend one of the upcoming public meetings to learn more about the new document and provide feedback.
City staff have been hard at work updating a key document known as the Streets Design Guide, and they’re ready to share it with the public! Make plans to attend one of the upcoming meetings:
- Wednesday, September 17 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Gregg/Klice Community Center (1600 E. 17th Terrace)
- Monday, September 22 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Northland Neighborhoods, Inc. (5340 Chouteau Trafficway)
- Wednesday, September 24 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Hillcrest Community Center (10401 Hillcrest Road)
You care deeply about safer streets in your community. Learning about how streets are designed is important for residents like yourself because you can use this guide to advocate for change in your neighborhood. When there is a crash, you can point to what you learned about street design and tell your councilperson, “This crash happened because this street makes it easy for people to speed. Our city’s own street design guide calls for this street to be redesigned for safety.”
The Street Design Guide is not just a tool for city staff. It is also a tool for neighbors who want a better future for their family and community.
Read on for more information!
The City of Kansas City, Missouri relies on a number of plans, guidelines, and other documents to determine how they build, evaluate, and maintain the system of roads, sidewalks, trails, and other facilities that make up the city’s transportation system. One of the key documents in this toolbox for staff and elected officials is the Street Design Guide.
Want to know more about the document and why it matters for transportation advocacy? Check out our FAQs below:
What is the Street Design Guide?
The purpose of the SDG is to help focus Kansas City’s (the City’s) street design, construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation projects on safety, multimodal access, context sensitivity, and speed management.
In other words, the guide is meant to streamline how staff make our transportation system work better for everyone.
Why is KCMO updating the document now?
A lot has changed with transportation policy in KCMO (thanks in large part to the voices of everyday people like YOU). This includes:
- Complete Streets ordinance
- Vision Zero Action Plan and High Injury Network
- KC Spirit Playbook
- Climate Protection and Resiliency Plan
While these changes are good for multimodal transportation, they need to be in alignment with other key transportation policies and guidelines. Updating the Street Design Guide now makes sense as a way to capture those elements in the city’s broader transportation efforts.
Where can I go to learn more about the Street Design Guide?
There will be three public meetings for the Street Design Guide later this month:
- Wednesday, September 17 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Gregg/Klice Community Center (1600 E. 17th Terrace)
- Monday, September 22 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Northland Neighborhoods, Inc. (5340 Chouteau Trafficway)
- Wednesday, September 24 from 5:30 to 7:00 PM at Hillcrest Community Center (10401 Hillcrest Road)
Not sure how to prepare for the public meetings? Check out our blog post on the subject or watch the video for our Advocacy 102 training.
What happens after the public engagement?
The Street Design Guide will likely need to go to the City Council for final consideration and adoption. BikeWalkKC is keeping a close eye on the guide and will let you know if there’s additional advocacy opportunities to speak up for it at City Hall.
If you’re not already, be sure to join our mailing list and sign up for Advocacy Alerts to stay engaged on these and other opportunities to use your voice to speak up for safer streets in KCMO and beyond!
* * *
KCMO’s transportation system has undergone a number of changes in recent years to work better, especially for people who walk, roll, bike, and use public transit. The updated Street Design Guide is meant to bring those elements into greater alignment and ensure that multimodal transportation remains a priority for KCMO today and into the future.