Discuss items in the urban core outside of Downtown as described above. Everything in the core including the east side (18th & Vine area), Northeast, Plaza, Westport, Brookside, Valentine, Waldo, 39th street, & the entire midtown area.
Second, it sounds like Midtown KC Now is looking at way to improve Broadway. That street needs a facelift ASAP!
I like the idea of more green space as Broadway is supposed to be a Boulevard. I like the center median, but I'd rather see a planted median rather than sidewalks. Keep the sidewalks adjacent the businesses. No need for them in the median. Just plant a bunch of trees and native flowers. Hope something comes of this. Would prefer they not touch the street until Main is all open and flowing free though!
Midtownkid wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 3:07 pm
Second, it sounds like Midtown KC Now is looking at way to improve Broadway. That street needs a facelift ASAP!
I like the idea of more green space as Broadway is supposed to be a Boulevard. I like the center median, but I'd rather see a planted median rather than sidewalks. Keep the sidewalks adjacent the businesses. No need for them in the median. Just plant a bunch of trees and native flowers. Hope something comes of this. Would prefer they not touch the street until Main is all open and flowing free though!
FWIW, the median sidewalk is intended to be a two-way bike path, it just isn't apparent in the rendering. I am not convinced that is the best "path" ( lololol) for Broadway. I'd rather keep bike facilities along the curb.
shinatoo wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2024 8:50 am
Median "path" = homeless encampment.
I can definitely see that. Granted I think the intent of this rendering and presentation is just to start the conversation (again), but it is interesting to me that this is the initial idea. It feels like it introduces a lot of unnecessary complications and variables to what should be a pretty straightforward "right-sizing" street project.
I am sort of fond of the 1970s "improvements" to Broadway Blvd in midtown -- the brown hardware (lamps/ stoplight mounts) and the "corrugated" cement corner markers along the route. The hardscape pedestrian contrast was intended to improve the urban experience. This was implemented about the time Crown Center opened -- a big urban renewal push happened in advance of the 1976 RNC (Ford v. Reagan) which was a high-point of KC's national profile.
Of course, it has been 50 years, so it is time for a do-over.
I like the corrugated planters, too! The streetlights and signals don't do anything for me...replace them!
I don't want to see a bike lane or sidewalk in the median if we get one. I also fear homeless/crackheads will gather there. I want to see lush landscaping and trees instead.
Why do they put the trees in the median? Like it's great and all, BUT no one ever really maintains or waters said median trees/landscape enough for it to look good or thrive. So what is the point of them and why do we spend money on something that is not going to sustain? Rando thought/observation.
atticus23 wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2024 12:27 pm
Why do they put the trees in the median? Like it's great and all, BUT no one ever really maintains or waters said median trees/landscape enough for it to look good or thrive. So what is the point of them and why do we spend money on something that is not going to sustain? Rando thought/observation.
Exactly it won't be maintained and bums will live in the middle of Broadway. When branches fall it's going to cause traffic delays. Not a good porject for this part of Broadway.
Midtownkid wrote: ↑Mon May 06, 2024 3:07 pm
Second, it sounds like Midtown KC Now is looking at way to improve Broadway. That street needs a facelift ASAP!
I like the idea of more green space as Broadway is supposed to be a Boulevard. I like the center median, but I'd rather see a planted median rather than sidewalks. Keep the sidewalks adjacent the businesses. No need for them in the median. Just plant a bunch of trees and native flowers.
I don't know why all our blvd medians are not planted with natives/pollinator plants.
If Midtown KC Now would commit to maintaining the trees and median I think it could be great. If they use the correct trees and create a tree canopy over the street, it would help lower the heat-island effect. It could also be very beautiful.
moderne wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2024 4:50 pm
Rather use the footage consumed by an island to widen the sidewalks that are shaded with trees that can then have large wells.
They do pollinator plantings along Independence Avenue and they don't do well. The CID makes a big PR production each year about planting them. By July they are all scraggly-looking. I think it's mainly because they aren't irrigated.
I prefer scraggly looking to irrigated. Obviously, I'm in the minority. I have for years thought that several parks, most notable Penn Valley, but also Swope, would do well to develop large native plant areas. Small islands like Independence Ave and what might exist on Broadway might not work, since natives usually need a lot of biodiversity to thrive, but BLVDs the size of Ward or Paseo could sustain them. I would worry less about the amount of bees and butterflies that might get impacted by auto-traffic than the amount that are impacted by habitat loss.
moderne wrote: ↑Tue May 07, 2024 4:50 pm
Rather use the footage consumed by an island to widen the sidewalks that are shaded with trees that can then have large wells.
