KSHB 41 Traffic anchor/reporter Daniela Leon covers all sorts of transportation topics across Kansas City. Send Daniela a news tip.
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Reconnecting communities displaced by infrastructure projects is an ongoing goal for Kansas City.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Transportation gave the city of Fountains $1 million to improve connectivity in the Westside neighborhood, a predominately Hispanic neighborhood, as part of a pilot program.
According to DOT, when I-35 was built in the late 1960s, it isolated the Westside community from economic opportunities in the Central Business District, and the construction of I-670 in 1990 worsened the situation.
WATCH: City officials spoke about the project in a Friday morning news conference
Last week, Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas and the City Council passed an ordinance approving a contract with engineering consultant firm WSP to execute a design professional services agreement for a planning study that outlines the Westside vision.
"There's just a lot of transaction and a lot of opportunities for things to go in two different kinds of directions, either for bad or for good," said Francisco Murgia, the co-owner of Café Ollama.
Café Ollama is a Hispanic-owned coffee shop in the Westside and is located feet away from the I-35 viaduct and Southwest Boulevard.
We obtained video of the intersection between Southwest Boulevard and Pennsylvania Avenue, where cameras caught drivers routinely missing red lights, crashes, speeding, and other close calls.
Murgia says drivers coming from I-35 north use the intersection to access Kansas City attractions like Union Station and the KC Wheel, but he says drivers aren’t always cautious.
"There's always a lot of congestion; there's always a lot of people that are going at high speeds," Murgia said. "It would be amazing to be able to add bike lanes, to add walking pads, to create an activity center."
On the other side of the I-35 viaduct sits the rest of the Westside community with homes nestled next to I-35.
"I love that the city is growing, but I think we are growing faster than we can handle," said Lucas Orozco, a 30-year Westside resident.
Orozco's front yard is feet away from I-35, and says his proximity has led to issues with grass maintenance near the corridor and opened the door for slide-offs near his front yard, where his children play.
"A kid shouldn't have to be mindful of a car tumbling down the highway," Orozco said. "I've asked MoDOT (the Missouri Department of Transportation) for guardrails, and they claim they didn't have funds multiple times."
KSHB 41 reached out to MoDOT about the guardrails near Orozco's house.
A MoDOT spokesperson said via email that installing guardrails in an area where it's not warranted poses a threat to travelers and added that the grant money belongs to the city and would be used for improvements along the corridor on the city's right of way.
According to city documents, some of the issues slated to be addressed using federal funds are the age of the current viaduct, which is over 70 years old, decisions on major reinvestment along the corridor, and noise and air pollution impacts.
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KSHB 41 Traffic anchor/reporter Daniela Leon covers all sorts of transportation topics across Kansas City. Have a story idea to share or a question about something in your neighborhood? Send Daniela a news tip.