On August 26, Kansas City hosted a public session for the KC Spirit Playbook, a 20-year plan for development, open spaces, housing, trails, transit and livability. This is meant to replace the previous 20-year FOCUS (Forging Our Comprehensive Urban Strategy) plan.
This was the second public session focused on the topic of mobility (roads, parkways, trails, safety, and how we get around our city). A few Sierra Club members were present to listen and ask questions about Kansas City’s goals and how our city will be held accountable to this plan.
Some takeaways:
1. Planners explained how Kansas City is among the least dense (most spread out) of our peer cities, and how we have more roads than we can maintain. We have roughly double the number of freeway lane miles per capita of all our peer cities. The presenters shared how this negatively impacts air quality and impacts climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are high in Kansas City, compared with our peer cities, especially due to people living in the suburbs and driving to the urban core. We are also among the lowest for transit ridership. (50-minute marker of this video).
2. Kansas City ranks extremely high for traffic injuries compared with our peer cities, and there is a huge disparity issue depending on where you live in KC. In the last 10 years, 883 people died, 4,345 were seriously injured (paralyzation, head injuries, broken bones), and 220,401 were injured due to traffic crashes in KC. This has also resulted in $15.4 billion lost by the city in economic productivity. Compared with our peer cities, we are in the top two (50% higher than the United States average) in most fatal traffic crashes per capita. Depending on your zip code, this changes dramatically. If you live on the east side of Kansas City (east of Paseo), you’re 3x more likely to die in a traffic crash. (1:07 minute marker of this video)
Some questions we asked during the session included, “Does this plan have any teeth to keep a developer to certain parameters?” and "Is the plan just a vision with no regulation attached to it?” The KC team explained this is an overarching plan with general goals and guidelines, and upon completion, they would use it to inform more specific plans.
Another question we asked was, “Since we’ve built more roads than we can maintain, is a part of this plan to determine whether to remove future roads from the plan we don’t need? For example, the future Line Creek Parkway, estimated to cost around 90 million dollars, will be going through an old forest in the Northland and opening it up to development.”
The city planners said this will guide how we plan and prioritize projects; however, specific roadways, like the Line Creek Parkway, would be part of follow-up discussions. Once this plan is adopted, they said, it can and likely will have recommendations on what type of capital improvement projects go forward and what those recommendations are. So if the public—through this conversation—decides that not investing in as many arterial streets is important, it definitely could impact future roadways.
We will be attending future sessions on the KC Spirit Playbook and keep you updated on what’s happening in our city.
Please click here to watch the mobility strategy sessions.
KC Spirit Playbook Mobility Strategy Session (June 24, 2021, runtime 1:32:51)
KC Spirit Playbook Mobility Strategy Session (July 27, 2021, runtime 1:20:37)
KC Spirit Playbook Mobility Strategy Session (Aug 26, 2021, runtime 1:28:46)
To watch additional presentations from the KCMO Planning Department, visit their Youtube channel
Please click here to download the PDF from the presentation.
Background:
In our previous E-Newsletter, we explained how the Sierra Club is helping shape KC’s future by participating in the KC Spirit Playbook strategy sessions and keeping up with developments. The city is undertaking this planning effort to shape the city for the upcoming 20 years. We need the help of environmentally-concerned people to keep making the city more sustainable.
These strategy sessions are ongoing and you can sign up and stay informed here. By signing up at that link, you will receive surveys and invitations to strategy sessions.
You can view past sessions on their Youtube channel here
City Planning and Development Department- KCMO - YouTube
Here are previous sessions you can view:
Presented by City Planning and Development Department - KCMO
KC Spirit Playbook Town Hall Presentation (Aug 27, 2020, runtime 18:56)
Making a Great City: The KC Spirit Playbook (November 18, 2020, runtime 1:14:46)
KC Spirit Playbook Mobility Strategy Session (June 24, 2021, runtime 1:32:51)
KC Spirit Playbook Mobility Strategy Session (July 27, 2021, runtime 1:20:37)
KC Spirit Playbook Mobility Strategy Session (Aug 26, 2021, runtime 1:28:46)
Presented by BikeWalkKC
Let's Talk: KCMO Spirit Playbook (Aug 11, 2020, runtime 52:38)
Presented by Sierra Club
KC Spirit Playbook (June 4, 2021, runtime 1:01:47)
Please share this information with anyone who may be interested in attending future sessions.
To stay up-to-date with future strategy session dates, follow KCMO’s Planning and Development department on Twitter (@kcmoplanning) and register your email with us at playbook.kcmo.gov.