KCRag Forum

A dirt wall comes down to be replaced by a glass one

Maybe I'm going insane, but it seems like I read somewhere that they were going to keep a bit of the rock as decor, Crown Center-style.

Hopefully not on the interior... If so they should call the Westin and ask how much they like it and the animals it brings.

KCPowercat wrote:Hopefully not on the interior... If so they should call the Westin and ask how much they like it and the animals it brings.

I know they found a snake in there shortly after it opened, but have there been other cases?

TheLastGentleman wrote:Maybe I'm going insane, but it seems like I read somewhere that they were going to keep a bit of the rock as decor, Crown Center-style.

Per the plans on the development tracker, there's not really a spot where this is feasible:

http://maps.kcmo.org/kcgis/rest/service ... ments/8008

Maybe you're thinking of the exterior renderings (and elevations), which shows them retaining the western half of the bluff, underneath the porte cochere area?

On a side note, does anyone know where the Hereford Association is moving?

TheLastGentleman wrote:

KCPowercat wrote:Hopefully not on the interior... If so they should call the Westin and ask how much they like it and the animals it brings.

I know they found a snake in there shortly after it opened, but have there been other cases?

There has always been animal/insect pop-ins.

traffic control / calming:

Trying to fight the sidewalk being closed on this one is going to be a losing battle...

I saw this picture complaining about the sidewalk being closed on twitter. This is about the dumbest thing to be complaining about. They have it closed for public safety while they are constructing a new high rise hotel. They are building up to the sidewalk and this is not a small project. I honestly haven't the slightest idea of what this complaint is about but it's just silly. There is a sidewalk on the other side of the road.

mister816 wrote:I saw this picture complaining about the sidewalk being closed on twitter. This is about the dumbest thing to be complaining about. They have it closed for public safety while they are constructing a new high rise hotel. They are building up to the sidewalk and this is not a small project. I honestly haven't the slightest idea of what this complaint is about but it's just silly. There is a sidewalk on the other side of the road.

other cities have this figured out and we just instituted a new sidewalk closure policy that was supposed to ensure access -- high rise or not. why not just close the road completely, using your logic?

It's not dumb. It's specified in city code to not close sidewalks for over 15 days. Let's take one lane of traffic away and make that the sidewalk....deal?

It's also incredibly unsafe to close sidewalks and to obstruct line of sight too much for cars or pedestrians. There's a reason this is a solved problem in most cities, which normally is decreased space to car traffic with an enclosed, protected pedestrian walkway that doesn't allow them to spill into traffic even if they want to.

I haven't walked by the construction here yet so no comment on how bad it is.

WoodDraw wrote:It's also incredibly unsafe to close sidewalks and to obstruct line of sight too much for cars or pedestrians. There's a reason this is a solved problem in most cities, which normally is decreased space to car traffic with an enclosed, protected pedestrian walkway that doesn't allow them to spill into traffic even if they want to.

I haven't walked by the construction here yet so no comment on how bad it is.

i've only walked by on baltimore last night. i can confirm that the closure of truman under the ballroom has had a dramatic calming effect on that unsafe intersection.

the problem will be when there are events at the kauffman center or the grand ballroom. not everyone uses the garage or arrives by car. most other times there are very few pedestrians or cars on baltimore, wyandotte, or 16th.

That's why I'm torn on this...it's not what we wanted and had and ordinance passed to enforce but there was zero foot traffic here anyways.

KCPowercat wrote:That's why I'm torn on this...it's not what we wanted and had and ordinance passed to enforce but there was zero foot traffic here anyways.

Exactly. Maybe i'm in the minority here but this specific block was rarely if ever used unless by the people who parked in that old parking lot so it's not a big deal to me. Most all pedestrians who would be using this street will be coming from the Residence Inn and Sporting and they are on the opened side of the road anyway. We have a VERY hard timeline to get this hotel up and running for the Shriner's convention and i doubt that they want to be dealing with confined spaces and getting 15 day permits to block the sidewalk when needed.

We are not Chicago and this closure is affecting next to no one. Choose your battles wisely before we become another CFRG like group who complain about everything. Its going to get to the point that when there is seriously something that does matter happens, no one will listen.

I agree that this particular stretch of sidewalk doesn't get used much, so it really isn't a big deal, BUT we can't just let developers ignore the ordinance. Allow them to file for an exception (only if low sidewalk traffic) that has to be voted on by a committee or something.

That's why I hate to just ignore it. Developers,. Construction comapnies, and city staff need to be reminded of this new ordinance....right now 95% of new projects since the ordinance has passed has needed a 311 ticket to bring a pedestrian path back....that's ridiculous

mister816 wrote:

KCPowercat wrote:That's why I'm torn on this...it's not what we wanted and had and ordinance passed to enforce but there was zero foot traffic here anyways.

Exactly. Maybe i'm in the minority here but this specific block was rarely if ever used unless by the people who parked in that old parking lot so it's not a big deal to me. Most all pedestrians who would be using this street will be coming from the Residence Inn and Sporting and they are on the opened side of the road anyway. We have a VERY hard timeline to get this hotel up and running for the Shriner's convention and i doubt that they want to be dealing with confined spaces and getting 15 day permits to block the sidewalk when needed.

We are not Chicago and this closure is affecting next to no one. Chose your battles wisely before we become another CFRG like group who complain about everything. Its going to get to the point that when there is seriously something that does matter happens, no one will listen.

No need for a 15 day closure. Build a 4 foot ped path with another set of concrete barriers and pedestrian protection. It costs nothing and it's done right....and to code.

Following the law should not be "picking" a battle.