Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Transportation topics in KC
tower
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by tower »

I-35, I-70, and US 71 all need to go, but US 71 might be the most ideal recipient of the grant just because it will probably be the most expensive due to the length. It will probably have a low political cost because industry won't really be affected most cars just use 435 already if they are going straight through. I-70 removal is important, but probably doesn't need the grant as much because the cost would be less and the sale of land can help offset the cost. I35 is probably easiest, but also has the lowest benefit I would think. Removing or redoing the penn valley interchange would have a high benefit, but it may not even qualify for this grant.
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normalthings
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by normalthings »

This flier for land in Columbus Park notes that MoDot is willing to sell their holdings too

https://images1.loopnet.com/d2/y0vPjNwN ... /58333.pdf
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normalthings
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by normalthings »

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-con ... E90D7A69BD

NFRASTRUCTURAL BARRIER.—The term “infrastructural barrier” means a highway (including a limited access highway), a railway, a viaduct, a principal arterial facility, or any other transportation facility for which the high speeds, grade separation, or other design factors create an obstacle to connectivity, including—

(A) obstacles to walking, biking, and mobility;

(B) diminished access to destinations across the infrastructural barrier; or

(C) barriers to the economic development of the surrounding neighborhood.
(5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term “low-income community” means a census block group in which not less than 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line (as defined in section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902)).
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a program to help communities—

(A) identify infrastructural barriers within the community that—

(i) create obstacles to mobility or economic development; or

(ii) expose the community to high levels of particulate matter, noise pollution, and other public health and safety risks;

(B) study the feasibility of improving, and develop plans to improve, community con­nec­tiv­i­ty, including through—

(i) removal or retrofit of an in­fra­struc­tural barrier; or

(ii) construction of facilities to mitigate the obstacle created by the in­fra­struc­tural barrier by enhancing connectivity across the infrastructural barrier;

(C) plan the redevelopment of any land made available by the removal or retrofit of the infrastructural barrier, with a focus on improvements that will benefit the populations impacted by or previously displaced by the in­fra­struc­tural barrier;

(D) access funding to carry out the activities described in subparagraphs (B) and (C); and

(E) require the equity of any activities carried out under the program, including by garnering community engagement, avoiding displacement, and ensuring local participation in jobs created through those activities.
(6) FEDERAL SHARE.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Federal share of the cost of a project carried out with a capital construction grant may be not more than 80 percent.
(B) MAXIMUM FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT.—Federal assistance other than a capital construction grant may be used to satisfy the non-Federal share of the cost of a project for which the grant is awarded.
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alejandro46
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by alejandro46 »

normalthings wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:02 pm
(5) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term “low-income community” means a census block group in which not less than 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line (as defined in section 673 of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902)).
I wonder if KCMO submits all of I-70/HOA to Independence Avenue over to Hardesty it would meet this requirement? This population would also be benefitted from better access to downtown area and highway removal.
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normalthings
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by normalthings »

$889 million in grants for infrastructure projects that address equity, safety, and climate change.

These are big investments, and we're making them count! - USDOT


What are your ideas for this #KCMO? - Eric Bunch
https://twitter.com/EricWBunch/status/1 ... 58248?s=20
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Chris Stritzel
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by Chris Stritzel »

$889 Million seems like peanuts to remove several highways from cities across the United States, implement safety things, and fight climate change. Even a few Billion Dollars may not be enough for the goals defined there.

How much do I want to bet myself the Northeast gets priority for highway removal meanwhile cities and states elsewhere are pushed to the back of the line? I'll bet myself $50.
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normalthings
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by normalthings »

Chris Stritzel wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 9:26 pm $889 Million seems like peanuts to remove several highways from cities across the United States, implement safety things, and fight climate change. Even a few Billion Dollars may not be enough for the goals defined there.

How much do I want to bet myself the Northeast gets priority for highway removal meanwhile cities and states elsewhere are pushed to the back of the line? I'll bet myself $50.
Another bill proposes billions for highway removal. Today’s announcement I believe are for funds already approved that can now go to alternatives and removal.
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normalthings
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by normalthings »

MARC is studying corridor improvements from the downtown loop to 40 HIGHWAY. $2.5 million just to study and do initial design on the thing.
From MARC Website:

Scoping for corridor improvements from the downtown loop in Kansas City to
Rte. 40. Potential Design-Build.
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FangKC
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by FangKC »

Urban repair through freeway removal

https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2021/0 ... ay-removal
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FangKC
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by FangKC »

The Congress for the New Urbanism features fifteen campaigns for removing highways in their 2021 Freeways Without Futures report that includes Kansas City's north loop.

https://www.cnu.org/highways-boulevards ... tures/2021
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TheLastGentleman
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by TheLastGentleman »

I'm not sure why designers jump to replacing the loop with parkland and giant setbacks in these plans. Those things wouldn't be as dividing as the freeway is of course, but it would still create a breakup in the urban fabric that I don't think is necessary there.

Image

And I don't think it compares to having a continuous urban fabric like was there originally

Image

Image
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FangKC
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by FangKC »

I totally agree. It seems like designers have forgotten how to design urban places. Really successful cities have tightly-knit blocks of buildings that place buildings on all sides up to the sidewalk. This allows neighborhoods to provide all necessary services within a few blocks of where you live or work.

The North Loop does have one feature that might be necessary to help in-fill other blocks in the area that have been decades-long surface parking. The trench provides already excavated space to build underground garages for several blocks. This allows parking to be moved off those surface lots and allows further development. It benefits the City Market since there is a constant outcry about there not being enough parking there, and protests when area surface lots are developed.

One of the most expensive aspects of building underground garages is the cost. Here we have a solution. It helps avoid above ground, unsightly garages fronting blocks, and podium-style office buildings that sit on parking desks like the Waddell and Reed Tower being constructed now.
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by dnweava »

Speaking of highway removal, I want to nominate I-29 in the northland for removal from the 29/35 split to 169.

If not removed, the entire segment from the 35 split to 56th street needs to be completely rebuilt to be safe. I marked in red all the unsafe areas, most of which don't meet current interstate standards. The worst is how NOBODY fucking zipper mergers as 29 merges into 35. Way too many areas where the ramps are too close together or the ramps are too short, the cloverleafs at n oak are way to freaking small so you enter the highway at dangerously slow speeds. While they could just make improvements by making merge lanes significantly longer, I say just remove the entire segment and replace it with a slower speed parkway and maybe a few roundabouts.

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flyingember
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by flyingember »

Are you proposing to tear down every building at the airport to widen 169 from 435 to downtown and widen the bridge over the river?

Changing one segment will induce demand to use other roads.

Also, if you remove that segment of I-29 can’t reroute downtown bound 35 traffic over it, which has come up as an idea to reduce traffic that just drives past downtown
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FangKC
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Re: Highway Removal and Re-Aligment in Downtown

Post by FangKC »

Disentangling the Loops

Freeways Without Futures 2021 tells the stories of the Highways to Boulevards projects in Rochester and Kansas City and their quest to disentangle the loop.

North Loop (I-35/70), Kansas City, Missouri

https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2021/0 ... ling-loops
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