By Avery Jones, BikeWalkKC Community Organizer
Kansas City might see some very substantial changes to a highway that has shaped historically disconnected the East Side. On April 7 at 5:30 p.m. at St. James United Methodist Church, the Reconnecting the East Side team, led by KCMO Public Works, will present the final two options they are pursuing for the future of the storied highway. The project is focused on the portion of US Hwy 71 Swope Parkway to the east, Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the north, and East 85th Street to the south.
Context of the project
This planning of this project is part of a larger, nationwide movement toward repairing the rifts that highway projects left on predominately Black and brown neighborhoods in the U.S. A similar Kansas City project, “Reconnecting the Westside,” is also underway. The construction of Highway 71 spanned 50 years and forced more than 10,000 families to relocate. Strong east-west neighborhood connections, businesses, and culture were all disrupted in order to allow suburbanites to drive to downtown Kansas City more swiftly.
The Reconnecting the East Side project launched in 2024 with a community engagement phase that included listening sessions, neighborhood meetings, and art-based engagement that uplifted the history and collected hundreds of comments from community members on how they would reimagine the highway. City planners and engineers used this information to guide plans for three possible reconfigurations of Hwy 71.
How the new Highway 71 could look
The project team explored 3 major options for reconfiguration of the highway:
- Return to grid - return the highway to regular block-by-block streets (this has been ruled out by the project team at this point).
- Parkway - make the street an at-grade, high volume boulevard similar to Ward Parkway
- Freeway - a higher volume highway that would remove stoplights. This could be raised high above ground or depressed below ground level.
BikeWalkKC’s preferred vision is to turn the highway into a parkway
The parkway option was the most popular option during community engagement events, and it best fits the original goals of the project to “physically restore the heart of the East Side." The parkway would maintain off ramps that make it easier for people to hop off and support area businesses, while the freeway option would encourage people to drive on by. This is important given that project goals included opportunities for rebuilding the social and economic aspects of what was lost. Pedestrian bridges over a freeway, while they do physically allow someone to walk east-west, still do not address socioeconomic repair. The project’s freeway option information page even points out that, “reduced north–south pull-off access and wider physical separation may weaken local connections." For a project with “reconnection” in the name, we are hopeful that restoring connections will be the top priority.
The bottom line
Historically, the US has prioritized speed and efficiency of its highways. Highway 71 prioritized suburban efficiency at the expense of urban neighborhoods. The highway cut through yards, demolished homes, and compromised the safety of neighbors trying to get around their neighborhoods. Reconnecting the East Side is an opportunity to repair and reclaim these spaces for residents while meeting the demands of our region’s transportation infrastructure.
Get involved! Attend Community Summit #4 to hear the city’s final draft recommendations for the project and share your feedback.
Tuesday, April 07, 2026 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
St. James United Methodist Church
5540 Wayne Avenue
Kansas City, MO 64110
Avery Jones is BikeWalkKC's Community Organizer and a unicorn of love and light. She lives for moments of joy and community, and once witnessed half the bus erupt into a gospel number in four-part harmony. You can reach her at avery.jones@bikewalkkc.org.