OLATHE, Kan. — From protected bike lanes to greenways, city leaders in Olathe, Kansas, want you to think outside the box when it comes to the future of transportation in downtown.
The city is hosting an open house Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at city hall to gather ideas from the public and present concepts a consultant put together.
As crews work on building a new courthouse in downtown Olathe, the city sees it as a good time to reconfigure the transportation infrastructure and personality of the downtown. With feedback from the open house, it will put together an "active transportation plan."
The goal of the plan is to integrate the busy streets, quiet streets, trains, bicycles and more in a way which makes people feel safe and promotes getting outside and living a healthy lifestyle. Engineers say no idea is too wild.
"If you had a wish list with the biggest pocketbook you want, what do you want? We can see what those ideas are and then once we figure out what people want, we can prioritize what gets built first," said Zach Baker, an engineer on staff with Olathe who is working on this project.
After Tuesday's meeting, Baker will work with his counterparts to create a more defined plan. He hopes to present that draft to the city council in November. Council members will decide how to set aside money for the proposed projects over the next several years.
The city is also collecting information about its active transportation plan through a survey online at envisionolathe.com.
