KANSAS CITY, Mo. — You can help plan the future of two major roads in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, during pop-up events happening Tuesday.
Leaders in Kansas City, Missouri, and with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority are in the process of evaluating 11th and 12th Streets from Wyandotte Street to Troost Avenue. Those two roads are the busiest corridors for RideKC’s bus service in the downtown area.
The goal is to improve bus reliability while improving safety for bus riders, walkers, bicyclists and drivers.
During events Tuesday, and with an online survey, project leaders hope to collect feedback on how they might turn the roads into complete streets.
“That’s what I’m most excited about when we think about complete streets, no matter if you’re walking, no matter if you have a car, or riding a bike, or taking transit, the street is safe and accessible to you,” explained Maggie Green, the media manager for Kansas City. “To me, that is what is truly exciting about the city’s commitment.”
Pop-up events to gather feedback from the people who use the roads will take from 7 to 9 a.m. at the intersections of 12th Street and Grand Boulevard and 11th Street and Grand Boulevard, and from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. team members will be at Oppenstein Brothers Memorial Park at 1123 Walnut St.
“It’s a way to engage with people who are here, people who are already here riding the bus, using the bike facilities,” Green explained the purpose of the events. “We’re wanting to hear from folks in the community using these facilities, using these corridors. What do they want to see, what works well, what could be planned for the future.”
If you can’t meet with project team members Tuesday, you can complete the 14-question survey online on the city’s website.
Team leaders hope to submit recommendations to the city in spring 2022.
The project lines up with the city’s 2017 commitment to complete streets. In 2020, it adopted a Vision Zero resolution to prioritize plans that help the city reach zero traffic fatalities.
According to data from the police department from 2015 to 2020, 501 people died in traffic crashes in the city, and 21 percent of those fatalities involved a pedestrian or bicyclist.
