More development in the Northland ...

[moderne]

Gladstone exists only because its founders beat KC to Jeff City by a few hours. While most of Gladstone lies north of Englewood, the southwest peninsula(Baja Gladstone) has a similar raison d'etre. The land was owned by a Dr. Gould who did not want his land fetered by being part of the looming Kansas City annexations and made sure that his land was attached to the larger square to the north that would be incorporated as Gladstone.

[Joe Smith]

I worked on an old man's house in Baja Gladstone awhile back and asked him how long he'd lived in his house (1955) and got some good info from him.

He said that the area around Englewood and Old Pike Rd/Broadway was once a farm owned by I believe a family named Brady (Brady Hills is an older subdivision that he lived in off of Old Pike Rd.) and that when most of the houses were built there, it was not in any city and that Englewood Rd. was a skinny 2 lane street. I think he said it wasn't even paved. The weird thing about Baja Gladstone is that it's only about 2 blocks wide. Surrounded on 3 sides by K.C.

From what I've seen of houses around that area, Brady Hills seems to have been built when there was nothing else there. All the houses on the north of Englewood off of Broadway are much newer than his house was. Their lots are much bigger too. I think he told me that it was originally platted at a half-acre for each lot and as time went on some folks sold half their lots to someone who built a house on it. More land, less houses. Sort of.

He said Kansas City had started annexing up north around 1956-57 and that him and his neighbors were concerned enough about it that they looked at what they could do if K.C. came calling. They had some kind of vote and the majority decided to go with Gladstone and not K.C. because they didn't trust the city to do them right.

Having lived up north in K.C. I can see why they didn't trust the city. You pay most of the same taxes that you would if you lived in Jackson County, but that's about the only thing that's the same. The services are not the same. There are a lot of areas in K.C. North with no sidewalks & narrow roads. Snow plows? You hardly ever see them ever in residential streets. I have friends that live up there and they have never seen their streets plowed in the winter. I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

A few years ago a motorcyclist on a rice rocket doing about 70mph slammed into the side of a van in the intersection of Englewood & Broadway right in front of my credit union where I had gone to deposit a check. I'd always thought that the intersection was in Kansas City. I guess it's Gladstone because they brought in their guys (along with the county & Hiway patrol) and they pulled out their big blue ladder fire truck, extended the ladder way up so a photographer could get pics. From what I was told later on, the biker guy laid under a tarp in the intersection for 5 hours or more while they did their investigation. I got there right after it happened about 6pm. The intersection was closed until 11 or 12 midnight.

[lock+load]

There are a lot of areas in K.C. North with no sidewalks.

Isn't this the responsibility of the developer, not the city?

[aknowledgeableperson]

Even south KC is like that. The older subdivisions were built without sidewalks and even curbs. Not quite sure when sidewalks and curbs became a requirement for new built. From an example by where I lived before just south of 435 and Holmes there is a street just west of Holmes that have sidewalks in front of some houses and others don't have sidewalks. Funny to walk that street.
Those houses were probably built early to mid 60's.

[Eon Blue]

There's streets north of 435 and south of 75th without sidewalks or curbs, too. The low standards were alive and strong while that area was getting build out, too. Go look at The Paseo at 85th and compare it to the same street anywhere north of even 79th for a case study in differing philosophies. It's like the city gave up on trying to make it any sort of grand boulevard. Sure, it has sidewalks and curbs at least, but it's hardly worthy of being a boulevard. Makes the area even more depressing than it already is.

[aknowledgeableperson]

There was a time when that section of Paseo was not a part of KCMO. When built the Paseo inside of KCMO was built as a parkway, outside of KCMO just a plain street. Look at Ward Parkway. You have Ward Parkway as a boulevard and south of 79th you have Ward Parkway Plaza. The boulevard south of 79th was not built until the 60's, after annexation by KCMO. Ward Parkway south of 89th didn't look like it does now until the late 60's.

[Eon Blue]

There was a time when that section of Paseo was not a part of KCMO. When built the Paseo inside of KCMO was built as a parkway, outside of KCMO just a plain street. Look at Ward Parkway. You have Ward Parkway as a boulevard and south of 79th you have Ward Parkway Plaza. The boulevard south of 79th was not built until the 60's, after annexation by KCMO. Ward Parkway south of 89th didn't look like it does now until the late 60's.

That's fascinating. I've noticed the diminutive Ward Parkway Plaza running parallel to the parkway proper, but never knew the story. I suppose that by the time the area around the Paseo was annexed it was already consigned to lower-class status.

[Joe Smith]

There are a lot of areas in K.C. North with no sidewalks.

Isn't this the responsibility of the developer, not the city?

Don't know that answer.

It's not the lack of sidewalks on every street that bothers me, it's the lack of sidewalks along many heavily driven/walked roads.

[aknowledgeableperson]

I suppose that by the time the area around the Paseo was annexed it was already consigned to lower-class status.

I know what you men by "lower-class" but when annexed that area would not have been considered "lower-class". It would have been an area much like the neighborhoods to the west like around 85th and Oak and around Sunnyside Park, or even around Ruskin Heights or along 87th St east of 435, or even the area around the Municipal Jail. Not sure about the number of employees in the area now but John Deere had a plant at 85th and 71 Hwy, Avon was also by there and a few other employers plus all of the jobs and the complex at Bannister and Troost. Many of those nearby jobs have been lost and so the effect on the area is much like you will find in any other rust belt city.

[mgsports]

Chic-Fl-A coming to northwest Barry Road

[flyingember]

Chic-Fl-A coming to northwest Barry Road

which is than saying something is coming to Main St.

NW Barry Road is about 7 miles long

[mgsports]

Also first Blue Cross of KC area coming to Zone Rosa and second in the fall to P. Vilage.

[FangKC]

I live south of the river in the Old Northeast--just off Gladstone Boulevard. The neighborhoods south of Gladstone Boulevard all have sidewalks. However, many of the houses that front Gladstone Boulevard don't have public sidewalks. They might have a sidewalk that leads to the door. I've always thought it was strange that there are blocks with no sidewalks fronting a boulevard. Some houses don't even have a sidewalk leading to the curb. Just a driveway, and maybe a sidewalk leading from the driveway to the door.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.118085,- ... 69,,0,0.32

https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.118789,- ... 0.3,,0,3.6

https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.118651,- ... 39,,0,2.15

There are also a lot of houses on Saida ( a block south of Gladstone) that don't have public sidewalks. It's hit and miss. Some houses have them and others don't.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.116895,- ... 48,,0,4.74

https://maps.google.com/?ll=39.11735,-9 ... 4,,0,-4.55

It makes me wonder if there is a requirement to even have a sidewalk in Kansas City. I recall last year the City issued a summons to a property owner ordering that she repair her sidewalk, or the City would do it. Her sidewalk had been damaged by a street tree. The cost was around $5,000 to repair it. She didn't have that long of a sidewalk since her house sits on a fairly narrow lot. She also couldn't afford to fix it.

The issue made me wonder if she shouldn't just remove the sidewalk completely, and not replace it. Why should one property owner be forced to maintain and repair a sidewalk if a house a block away fronting Gladstone Boulevard doesn't have a sidewalk at all?

I certainly think there should be sidewalks fronting city streets. My point is that in some parts of the City properties have them, and in others they don't. Some property owners are forced to spend a lot of money fixing their sidewalk, while other residents aren't made to even have them.

Using the example of the homes on Saida, it seems ridiculous for the City to bill someone to fix their sidewalk when the adjoining properties don't have them at all. Thus, my question about just taking the sidewalk out altogether.

If I had a house with a broken sidewalk, and the neighbors on both sides of me didn't have them at all, I would certainly consider just removing the sidewalk if the City threatened me with a $5000 repair bill. It would be an interesting test case to see what the City would do.

[aknowledgeableperson]

It makes me wonder if there is a requirement to even have a sidewalk in Kansas City.

It is my recollection that the answer is no. What the requirement is with 'new' development there is a sidewalk. Older properties are 'grandfathered in' meaning the requirement is not retroactive.

The cost was around $5,000 to repair it.

Have a friend working in Lees' Summit on a multi-year sidewalk replacement project. Sidewalks are a city responsibility, not the adjoining property owner (except for the general city taxes). Even here in Raymore sidewalks are a city responsibility. In fact the requirement for developers is to have sidewalks on both sides of the street. The trouble has been vacant lots but now at some point in time the developer has to have a sidewalk for them.

I've always thought it was strange that there are blocks with no sidewalks fronting a boulevard. Some houses don't even have a sidewalk leading to the curb. Just a driveway, and maybe a sidewalk leading from the driveway to the door.

The house I grew up in had no sidewalks across the front but a walkway to the curb. That was taken out when my parents put in a full driveway to replace the running strips. My parents did put in a walkway from the porch to the driveway. All of this done before annexation by the KCMO.

[flyingember]

also, new development is specific.

our 1989 house in the northland doesn't have sidewalks because the rest of the neighborhood doesn't. there's homes newer than ours without sidewalks as well

[mgsports]

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/07/19/43 ... cally.html also Culvers to