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Apr
2
Taking the Drive out of Cliff Drive
April 2, 2008 | 5 Comments
KC likes to brag about the most per-capita freeway miles of any city. Strangely enough, this car-addicted city just took the wacky step of giving humans a bit of the road. Following the lead of great world cities like New York, London, and even Bogota, the KCMO Parks Board has initiated a program to make historic Cliff Drive car-free on the weekends.
Let’s Go KC: Car-Free Cliff Drive.
Categories: Transportation
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I hope that being car-free doesn’t mean being maintenance-free. We walked down there this week & there was lots of broken glass and tree limbs down. Also, some doofus used their car to try to break off the gate at the westernmost entrance. It is barely hanging on.
I grew up on Oakley and spent a lot of my youth exploring all over that cliff, one end to the other. I’d start at Indian Mound and end up at “Green Lake”. Now, over 60 and dealing with rhuematoid arthritis, I can only enjoy the beauty of the cliff from my car. I can’t walk that far anymore. Looks like one more thing Kansas City has taken from me.
The streets never were maintained well. There was always trash and even dead animals at times. But it was as close an area to what used to be the entire Northern Missouri area when Clark and Lewis explored, as there is close by. In places, you can look out over the flood plain and dream what it might have looked like in 1804. Not really all that long ago when you think of it.
Now, only the strong of leg will see it on weekends, not necessarily the strong of heart.
Gary, you still have the other four days of the week to visit Cliff Drive in your car. Besides, this is something the residents of the area really want. It’s too bad if someone from out of town (Liberty) disagrees.
Valentine – actually, what is too bad is that a lot of people from all around this area have been taking care of cliff drive using their own time and money – for a long time. Although we can’t remove dead tree limbs, we do other things like trash cleanup. Who? The local rock climbing community. Cliff drive, while scenic, also hosts the only outdoor, roped climbing in the KC metro. The next closest is about two hours outside of KC. Shutting off automobile access on the weekends seems just plain pointless.
I live two blocks from the entrance to Cliff Drive. If you haven’t visited lately it is amazing all of the work that has just started to happen to restore the byway. I have been bicycling all summer while the work has been underway. They have replaced the limestone curbs, and have rebuilt many of the historic rock walls. On the weekends, it is so peaceful when there are no cars down there. It has also stopped the idiots who have been dumping their trash throughout this Kansas City Treasure! You can still access the park Monday through Thursday after the work is completed which looks like a couple weeks. The pond is sadly littered frequently, and it looks like it needs to be dredged and restocked. Many of the wrought iron street lamps need to be painted, and their are still several areas that need to be addressed. Many of the trees have become too thick, and their are limited views. Cliff Drive has one of the best waterfalls in the State! Take a visit and see the improvements! Pack a picnic and explore the trails on the weekends! The