Parade web site

• Google Map of parade route, parking locations, and bike routes (zoom in to see bus stops and get transit directions)
• More parking info at Westport web site.
• Bus re-routes for parade day.

Competition will be fierce. Our suburban neighbors in Overland Park are also applying. Further afield are St. Louis, Springfield, Lawrence, and Topeka. KC does have the advantage of being at the crossroads of several national network carriers and having one of the globe’s forty private network access points. Google’s network would also be a natural compliment to the City’s Green Impact Zone, the initiative to focus green technology investments in a disadvantaged area on the East Side.

Check out the GoogleKC bid site at googlekcmo.com.

The I-70/I-435 intersection is getting completely rebuilt. Eventually there will be six full lanes under I-435, reducing one of the metro’s biggest freeway bottlenecks.

Several bridges are being rebuilt between the Loop and Van Brunt. Eastbound I-70 will be down to two lanes for most of the year, making the evening rush hour really bad.

MoDOT has all the details.  Now is a good time to get acquainted with bus routes from Eastern Jackson County, including the #170 Blue Springs Express and the #24 Independence Express.

On the sprawl side, the infamous Tomahawke Ridge leapfrog development will likely pass the KCMO City Council’s Planning & Zoning Committee and go onto the full City Council.  That meeting happens on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber.

On the sustainability side, the Mid-America Regional Council unveils a new long-range transportation plan that calls for a shift in land use.  The plan encourages new development adjacent to existing development and within reach of existing infrastructure.  It’s meant to let suburbs grow more efficiently and help urban reas redevelopment more successfully, all while better supporting transportation options like public transit, bicycling, and walking.

Let’s Go KC: Learn about the new land use and transportation plans proposed for Greater Kansas City

MARC: Transportation 2040

Many Kansas City Councilmembers have been very vocal about sustainability, and this week the Tomahawk Ridge issue will demonstrate whether or not they have the courage to practice what they preach.

The Daily Beast: America’s 75 worst commutes.

Fortunately MoDOT is rebuilding the entire I-70 and I-435 interchange, with six full lanes on I-70. Unfortunately there is still no real progress on regional public transit to increase express buses or add commuter rail in the I-70 corridor.

Given funding constraints and typical weather patterns, the city’s plowing program is designed to handle 1-3 inches of snow followed by rising temperatures.

• Staff has been cut in half since 1988, while the number of streets has grown.
• Use of private contractors to supplement residential plowing was eliminated in the 2009-2010 budget cuts.
• Insufficient funds to maintain and replace vehicles caused several breakdowns and took plows off the road.
• The city has fewer vehicles and staff per mile of street than most cities.
• The city can only afford to plow residential streets for 12 hours per day, not 24 hours like they do on main streets.

So fixing the problem requires more money and more people. Some other strategies could include:

• Provide funds to hire more people and replace old equipment.
• Return to use of private contractors to supplement residential plowing.
• Provide funds for 24 hour residential plowing.
• Prioritize hospitals, schools, bus routes, hills, and known trouble spots.
• Fund the purchase of GPS system for tracking and coordinating plows.

This discussion will be repeated with the entire City Council at 1:30 p.m. Watch on Channel 2 or online at www.kcmo.org/kccg.

Today the City Council’s Planning & Zoning Committee will consider the Tomahawke Ridge project, a proposal to add 300 acres north of the airport and beyond the reach of snow plows, ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks.  Can we afford to add more streets when we don’t have the resources to plow the ones we already have?

P&Z Committee: 1:30 p.m.  Council Chamber, 26th Floor of City Hall, 12th and Oak.

Olathe and KCMO both report big problems on residential streets.  In KCMO, big areas of Midtown and Waldo are in especially bad shape.  Even some main roads in Midtown are still slippery.  KCMO has stopped plowing residential streets, hoping that leaving snow on top of the ice will help with traction.  The city promised to spread sand on side streets today, but few people seem to have seen it happen.

Supposedly a big problem for KCMO is last year’s budget cut. The city stopped hiring private contractors to plow side streets and is now relying on a smaller crew of city employees.  This left the city with no flexibility to deal with a bigger than normal storm.  City crews couldn’t get to many side streets before the snow compacted down into ice.

With frigid temps and more snow on the way, it will be a long road out of this mess.  How are conditions in your own neighborhood?

The development is meant to provide “workforce housing” for the airport and I-29 business corridor. This means working class folks being shoved into a bad location far from public transit, fire/police/ambulance service, etc.  They will be completely car-dependent in a location that will require extensive driving to access employment and shopping.  Given the orientation of local roads, most of the shopping will probably be done in Platte City and Smithville, not Kansas City.

The City has some good plans in place to guide development in this area.  The question is whether or not the City Council will follow its own plan and the good advice of its professional staff.

It’s not that the City doesn’t need new development, it’s that we don’t need it at this location. Tomahawke Ridge is a perfect example of leap frog development. It will be in the middle farm fields, far from existing neighborhoods and services.  A City Staff Report (MS Word) recommends against the development for several reasons:

• Fire Chief Smoke Dyer says fire trucks will take twice as long to respond than the current city standard: “There is no doubt in my professional opinion that we cannot provide adequate fire protection services to a subdivision situated at this location“.
• KCPD says their response times would almost 70% longer than the average, and stretch the resources of the North Patrol.
• MAST Ambulance says their response time would be 65% longer than allowed under their city contract: “anyone living in this area would be less likely to be resuscitated from cardiac arrest unless a bystander witnesses the collapse, calls 911 immediately, and performs CPR prior to our arrival.”
• The Aviation Department says this land is in a direct flight path, and residents should sign waivers acknowledging the fact that they will see and hear continuous air low-flying air traffic.
  
• Water Services reports that the location is beyond the reach city sewer pipes, and developers will have to contract with Platte County for sewer service.
• The city already has 60 a year supply of development land within city limits and within reach of water/sewer pipes, roads, public safety services, etc..

Several city and regional plans discourage exactly the type of development being proposed.  This subdivision in this location is certainly bad public policy.

• The KCI Area Plan says this land should be reserved for industrial uses, to keep homes out of areas with noise pollution.
• The Platte County Master Plan designates this land for rural and agricultural space. FOCUS, the City’s master plan, says that land far from sewers should be banked until development becomes contiguous.
• Transportation 2040, the new regional transportation and land use plan, encourages new development adjacent to existing infrastructure.
• The City’s new zoning and development regulations discourage cul-de-sacs and winding roads, and instead encourage traditional street grid networks.

See also www.noto500homes.com, created by the neighbors of the proposed development.

Most side streets are still snow packed and slippery.  Many primary streets like Broadway, Southwest Trafficway, Wornall, etc. have been reduce to fewer lanes than normal because of snow piled along the sides.  Commutes will be slow and congested on Monday morning.

Many buses are running behind schedule or re-rerouted around trouble spots.  Check the ATA snow plan for details and use ATA WebWatch to check for arrival times. Also watch out for pedestrians, as most sidewalks are still impassible and people have to walk in the street.