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Independence, MO —
The verdict is in – not many people like the appearance of the U.S. 40 corridor.
“It is old and dilapidated,” said Wesley Hougland, an Independence resident. “Something needs to be done right now to improve it.”
About two dozen residents and business owners attended a public open house meeting Tuesday at Noland Road Baptist Church to discuss the future of the U.S. 40 corridor from Kansas City to Blue Springs. This is the first of three meetings this week that are sponsored by the Mid America Regional Council. The second meeting is at 5 p.m. today at Brush Creek Community Center in Kansas City, and the third is at 5 p.m. Thursday at William Bryant Elementary in Blue Springs.
The meetings are part of the Creating Sustainable Places Initiative through MARC. The U.S. 40 corridor is one of six corridors that has been selected for improvements in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The others are North Oak Trafficway, the Rock Island Railroad line from downtown Kansas City through Lee’s Summit, Troost Avenue, Shawnee Mission Parkway and Metcalf and State Avenue.
The goal of the meetings is to involve residents to discuss the status of the corridor, in this case U.S. 40, and how it can be improved. These activity centers or transportation corridors, according to MARC, will provide the framework for future economic growth and development in the area.
The focus of the project is on three intersections along U.S. 40 – Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Noland Road in Independence and Adams Dairy Parkway in Blue Springs. After these initial meetings, conceptual plans will be developed to address the redevelopment and growth potential along U.S. 40. These plans will be presented to the community at a series of meetings later this fall.
After a general discussion about the corridor as it is now, residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting had an opportunity to answer questions via an electronic keypad about what they would like to see happen on U.S. 40.
The most important need to be addressed was improving the overall appearance and aesthetics of the highway. Following in close second was greater diversity in the businesses along the highway.
“When the corridor was initially built, 40 was the highway out of Kansas City. That was it,” said Britt Palmberg, a consultant with Design Workshop. “But once I-70 took over, a lot of the development moved further out of this area. The road is really bigger than it needs to be for the amount of traffic, which means a lot of excess room. That room can be used for development or for things such as bike paths and sidewalks.”
Palmberg said another idea for the U.S. 40 corridor is to build new residential areas. He said in order to increase economic development along the highway, new residents have to move to the area. One way to encourage population growth is new residential structures.
“The only way to promote retail development is if more people move back. That is how you support retail businesses,” he said. “A lot of the existing structures are older, so the idea is if we build new structures, we get more people back in.”
The verdict is in – not many people like the appearance of the U.S. 40 corridor.
“It is old and dilapidated,” said Wesley Hougland, an Independence resident. “Something needs to be done right now to improve it.”
About two dozen residents and business owners attended a public open house meeting Tuesday at Noland Road Baptist Church to discuss the future of the U.S. 40 corridor from Kansas City to Blue Springs. This is the first of three meetings this week that are sponsored by the Mid America Regional Council. The second meeting is at 5 p.m. today at Brush Creek Community Center in Kansas City, and the third is at 5 p.m. Thursday at William Bryant Elementary in Blue Springs.
The meetings are part of the Creating Sustainable Places Initiative through MARC. The U.S. 40 corridor is one of six corridors that has been selected for improvements in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The others are North Oak Trafficway, the Rock Island Railroad line from downtown Kansas City through Lee’s Summit, Troost Avenue, Shawnee Mission Parkway and Metcalf and State Avenue.
The goal of the meetings is to involve residents to discuss the status of the corridor, in this case U.S. 40, and how it can be improved. These activity centers or transportation corridors, according to MARC, will provide the framework for future economic growth and development in the area.
The focus of the project is on three intersections along U.S. 40 – Prospect Avenue in Kansas City, Noland Road in Independence and Adams Dairy Parkway in Blue Springs. After these initial meetings, conceptual plans will be developed to address the redevelopment and growth potential along U.S. 40. These plans will be presented to the community at a series of meetings later this fall.
After a general discussion about the corridor as it is now, residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting had an opportunity to answer questions via an electronic keypad about what they would like to see happen on U.S. 40.
The most important need to be addressed was improving the overall appearance and aesthetics of the highway. Following in close second was greater diversity in the businesses along the highway.
“When the corridor was initially built, 40 was the highway out of Kansas City. That was it,” said Britt Palmberg, a consultant with Design Workshop. “But once I-70 took over, a lot of the development moved further out of this area. The road is really bigger than it needs to be for the amount of traffic, which means a lot of excess room. That room can be used for development or for things such as bike paths and sidewalks.”
Palmberg said another idea for the U.S. 40 corridor is to build new residential areas. He said in order to increase economic development along the highway, new residents have to move to the area. One way to encourage population growth is new residential structures.
“The only way to promote retail development is if more people move back. That is how you support retail businesses,” he said. “A lot of the existing structures are older, so the idea is if we build new structures, we get more people back in.”
