KCRag Forum

Our favorite short cut that can never seem to stay open very long will be closed at least through this weekend after a homeless camp fire this afternoon caused possible structural damage.

I just ran this a few hours before....I didn't throw my cig I swear!

That was the second or third fire in the last month, I think.

Meet the contractor: https://twitter.com/KCMO/status/1182377761396215808

I may try to hop down to this. One would hope this is seen as an opportunity to put a pedestrian walkway and cycle lane all the way through to the River Market, but that would require more than just fixing the portion of the bridge/support that is damaged. The upper Beardsley portion (South of 12th St viaduct) is really nice, even though there was always debris and broken glass in the sidewalk and shoulder/bike lane. The lower portion (North of 12th) is a really dangerous area for pedestrians and cyclists, and the frequent stream of homeless pedestrians (often with mental disabilities) makes it even more dangerous. There is definitely a tough issue of how to provide adequate support and safety to the homeless population of KC, but at least we could start with making it safer and easier for everyone to use this important alternate route through downtown.

I did go to the meeting last night, and while I understand the intended context, it was a bit of a faceplant. Work has already started on the project, so it isn't totally clear why this meeting happened now and not a month ago (will be finished by summer 2020). Most people at the meeting were older and there to complain about the homeless population and drug use (very very angry folks with very little compassion for the homeless). People were most interested in fireproofing the bridge structure, permanently removing homeless camps, and police presence. Fortunately, there was a gentleman present who was a bit of a voice of reason and patiently spoke with angry people about why the homeless deserve compassion and can't be simply "removed" by concrete and brute force. I'd recommend that the city needs to have a similar meeting with the police and other services to figure out how to address concerns about homelessness, but I have a feeling a bunch of unhelpful angry people will show up just to yell at someone.

I did ask one of the city engineers if he knew why they hadn't considered taking the opportunity to tie this project in with other street improvements (as mentioned before, the area North of 12th street is very dangerous for multiple reasons), and he mentioned I should make a PIAC request, which IMO is the worst way to provide feedback on something that is already in-flight.

I tried to scoot through there yesterday morning and was stopped by KCPD and told there would be no access during the project. He waved me through to my West Bottoms meeting, but FYI for those who still use the route on foot or bike/scooter.