Capping the Loop

[Highlander]

Does anyone have a grandparent around who remembers when they did the North, South and East loops? Where did they take all the dirt they dug out? Did they use it to build up the riverfront, or make levees?

Well, Fang......thanks for making me feel old.

I remember when they did the south loop, abeit barely, like I remember it not being there and suddenly it was. Truman Road, east of downtown, was the place you went to buy cars.

My father could probably tell you everything you wanted to know, particularly considering the restaurant he owned was torn down to build I-70 in the late 1950's. The north loop was done well in advance of the south and I know the intercity viaduct was there before the interstate system came in. Where the dirt went, I have no idea.

[shinatoo]

My dad's house sat right where the Benton curve is now. He remembers that every house around them had been torn down and no one had ever contacted them about buying the house. His dad was afraid they they would knock it down with all of their stuff in it, or worse, with them in it. My dad came home from school one Friday and there was a scrap piece of paper with a phone number and a dollar amount written on it nailed to the door. His dad called the number, the guy came by with CASH on Monday, Friday they moved to a new house in Raytown and the next Monday the last house to be cleared for I-70 was knocked down.

Doesn't happen that way anymore.

[FangKC]

The day KC spends a billion (or even several hundred million) to cap the south loop is the day the city has officially lost its mind and its priorities.

Downtown KC is not Boston. There are so many other things that need to be done first, adding more real estate would be one of the last things.

The Feds should pay for it. They created the problem.

[FangKC]

Does anyone have a grandparent around who remembers when they did the North, South and East loops? Where did they take all the dirt they dug out? Did they use it to build up the riverfront, or make levees?

Well, Fang......thanks for making me feel old.

I remember when they did the south loop, abeit barely, like I remember it not being there and suddenly it was. Truman Road, east of downtown, was the place you went to buy cars.

My father could probably tell you everything you wanted to know, particularly considering the restaurant he owned was torn down to build I-70 in the late 1950's. The north loop was done well in advance of the south and I know the intercity viaduct was there before the interstate system came in. Where the dirt went, I have no idea.

Highlander, the next time you talk to you dad, ask when were they trucked all the dirt when they excavated the canyons for the loop.

[warwickland]

The day KC spends a billion (or even several hundred million) to cap the south loop is the day the city has officially lost its mind and its priorities.

Downtown KC is not Boston. There are so many other things that need to be done first, adding more real estate would be one of the last things.

You have a point there. Part of downtown Chicago has some of the same issues (the west side), I've never heard of a proposal to cap the Kennedy. The Xroads has had noticibly little new infill considering the hype (granted, it's a recession), and has gone in reverse on some blocks. Whatever the city can do to focus on jumpstarting that should be a huge priority over capping the loop.

[pash]

.

[bobbyhawks]

But say you can create a kick-ass park on top of it, one with some real thought behind it. How does that not become Kansas City's version of Central Park or Millennium Park? You don't think having a first-class public amenity there would jump-start construction in some of the many empty parcels along Truman Road and in the north Crossroads?

That would be my ideal as well. I am imagining a long promenade leading into or built all along as a park, but connecting the city from all points surrounding. Perhaps my favorite example would be how the Arc de Triomf leads to Ciutadella Park in Barcelona (which has some unreal sculptures). Obviously, we'd want to avoid calling anything an "Arch" for fear of sounding like we are copying off our neighbors to the East, but it is a terrific place to put some major work that announces the city as a Crossroads of arts, culture, and commerce. Not saying this is what it should be, but is anyone known for a giant "X?" X marks the spot. Go spend a day at the X... or is that too much fodder for the place you avoid?

[IraGlacialis]

That would be my ideal as well. I am imagining a long promenade leading into or built all along as a park, but connecting the city from all points surrounding. Perhaps my favorite example would be how the Arc de Triomf leads to Ciutadella Park in Barcelona (which has some unreal sculptures). Obviously, we'd want to avoid calling anything an "Arch" for fear of sounding like we are copying off our neighbors to the East, but it is a terrific place to put some major work that announces the city as a Crossroads of arts, culture, and commerce. Not saying this is what it should be, but is anyone known for a giant "X?" X marks the spot. Go spend a day at the X... or is that too much fodder for the place you avoid?

When I imagine an "X", I keep thinking of those tacky corporate sculptures that were all the rage in the 80's.
For some reason, I actually think that a neo-Mudejar or Nyugen-esque arch (the latter due to the high Vietnamese pop downtown) would do really well in KC. It would provide a nice juxtaposition to our eastern equivalent's tastes in traditional architecture; they are chock-full Germanic architecture and Baroque-esque buildings in Forest Park, while we have the Moorish-style plaza and the Egyptian-influenced Nelson-Atkins and Liberty Memorial. Almost an inversion of the whole East-West thing. We can build upon that.

[aknowledgeableperson]

Not saying this is what it should be, but is anyone known for a giant "X?" X marks the spot. Go spend a day at the X...

Is this the "'X' marks the spot" from the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"?

[Stockton]

The south loop just needs to be capped with a very nice multiple-block park and green space, creating a short and simple but beautiful boulevard for Cordish's residential towers to front and similar/symetrical development on the opposite side. It should be kept simple but made to encourage development, much like the proposed Grand BLVD streetscape. We're not low on developable land, but we need to provide encouragement to develop.

[bobbyhawks]

Not saying this is what it should be, but is anyone known for a giant "X?" X marks the spot. Go spend a day at the X...

Is this the "'X' marks the spot" from the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"?

Ha. That didn't occur to me. I did, however think of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. "X never marks the spot."

[Highlander]

The day KC spends a billion (or even several hundred million) to cap the south loop is the day the city has officially lost its mind and its priorities.

Downtown KC is not Boston. There are so many other things that need to be done first, adding more real estate would be one of the last things.

You know, we can cap some of the loop, we don't have to cap it all. The two block portion just south of the Sprint Center and P&L District would be sufficient. Make it a park where people could habg out waiting for a concert, NCAA games or whatnot at the Sprint Center. It would be great for the city.

[bobbyhawks]

You know, we can cap some of the loop, we don't have to cap it all. The two block portion just south of the Sprint Center and P&L District would be sufficient. Make it a park where people could habg out waiting for a concert, NCAA games or whatnot at the Sprint Center. It would be great for the city.

I love that idea. We could create a master plan for capping the loop that could be installed in phases. Baby steps, but it would still make the Crossroads and loop feel more connected where they need it most.

[KC-wildcat]

The day KC spends a billion (or even several hundred million) to cap the south loop is the day the city has officially lost its mind and its priorities.

Downtown KC is not Boston. There are so many other things that need to be done first, adding more real estate would be one of the last things.

You know, we can cap some of the loop, we don't have to cap it all. The two block portion just south of the Sprint Center and P&L District would be sufficient. Make it a park where people could habg out waiting for a concert, NCAA games or whatnot at the Sprint Center. It would be great for the city.

Exactly. This would be fantastic.

However, GRID's right that it's very low on the priority list. even if the cap cost only a fraction of the total estimate, we're still talking 100mil? more? I dunno.

Where does the money come from? Maybe market it as an Arts Plaza or sculpture garden and get the Kempers, Helzbergs, Kauffman to raise private cash. I dunno.

[FangKC]

In Madrid, parks replace freeways, which have been buried in tunnels.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/arts/ ... =1&_r=1&hp

Slideshow

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/1 ... RK_SS.html

[mean]

Damn. If only KC were a 6+ million metro, with half of those residents in the city proper.

[KC-wildcat]

These guys make flying cars:

http://www.terrafugia.com/

[smh]

Cap the Loop!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/reale ... g.html?hpw

Please.

[flyingember]

Why not take an ideas from the Hudson yards?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Yar ... nt_Project

give up the space to a developer cheap and let them deal with the cover.

[FangKC]

A Deeper Look at Austin Plans to Bury I-35

http://www.kutnews.org/post/deeper-look ... -bury-i-35

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And this:

Klyde Warren Park over I-35 in Dallas. Talk about transforming an eyesore into something wonderful.

http://www.klydewarrenpark.org/Park-Map/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klyde_Warren_Park





















https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Klyde+Wa ... s,+TX&z=18