Parks and Boulavard System questions

[velvetelvis]

Anyone have any information, or can direct me to information (books, publications, websites) on how the parks and boulevard system in Kansas City was developed and/or implemented.

Specifically looking for:
Eminent Domain - was the land already developed neighborhoods, or was it rural? Were the current boulevards old streets or trails?
Funding - who/what paid for it
Designer - Kessler?

Opinion question: Do you think the parks and boulevards systems are beneficial to the city as a whole and neighborhoods it connects? If so how?

[lock+load]

Try the downtown library, it looks like some of these items might have what you are looking for.

[dangerboy]

I believe most of the boulevards were planned before the adjacent land was developed.  It was part of the city's overall plan for where to develop new neighborhoods. I would bet it was paid for out of general city money, long before things like TIF, TDD, or 353. 

Today, property owners along the boulevards do pay a small assessment for extra street cleaning and leaf pickup.

[voltopt]

older, closer in boulevards like the first part of the paseo, admiral boulevard, kessler boulevard (which no longer exists - it is buried under I-35), and probably penn valley park and the parade park were all examples of wholesale slum clearance - they removed shanty towns and replaced them with parks and boulevards.  further out, such as van brunt, benton, ward parkway, volker, armour, linwood, etc, were probably developed synomously with their neighborhoods.  i'd assume anything north of 31st street, west of prospect, south of the river and east of state line as a boulevard as slum clearance project, since the neighborhoods would have been developed when the parks department was created (neighborhoods in the the pre - 1900 city limits)

[velvetelvis]

thanks for the info!

[aknowledgeableperson]

Try this
http://www.kcmo.org/parks.nsf/web/booksandpictures

[justin8216]

Did they ever work out the whole firestorm over the new traffic lights on Ward Parkway? I haven't driven down the Parkway in a few months.

[lock+load]

Did they ever work out the whole firestorm over the new traffic lights on Ward Parkway? I haven't driven down the Parkway in a few months.

There was a blurb in the Star a few days ago for an upcoming public meeting regarding the lights.

[eliphar17]

I think they didn't get installed before the controversy grew enough that the city reversed course. I've been on Ward Parkway several times since the debate last year and never saw any new lights go up.

[passerby]

Try this:

http://www.umkc.edu/whmckc/PUBLICATIONS ... LEGACY.HTM