Monday, August 26, 2013

Wild and Crazy Idea for Minnesota Avenue

A couple of posts back, I uploaded several photos of the new MetroCenter transit hub at 7th Street and Minnesota Avenue and I advocated for finishing street and sidewalk upgrades on either side of the new facility.

Back in late July, I got a firsthand look at some excellent street improvements that could serve as a great blueprint for us. Along with several UG staff, I had the opportunity to travel to Grandview, Missouri where Mayor Steve Dennis and Public Works Director Dennis Randolph gave a presentation and led a walking tour of the ongoing "complete streets" renovations underway on Main Street in Grandview.

I'll post a lot more about that project later, but the one thing that caught my eye as we walked in front of City Hall was the arch that spanned the street. Here's a photo...




All the letters of "Main Street" and "Grandview" are illuminated by LEDs. Not only do they light up at night, but the color of the letters can be changed depending on the season of the year or the special event that is taking place in their downtown. How cool is that?

As I snapped this photo in the rain, I thought to myself, "Hey, we have an arch like that in downtown Kansas City Kansas!"

Here's a photo of our arch. It spans Minnesota Avenue between 4th and 5th Streets and greets visitors who are coming off the Lewis and Clark Viaduct and heading west toward our downtown.




I have to confess, I don't know anything about the history of this arch or who designed it or how it was funded/constructed, so I hope I don't make anyone mad with this idea, but I had a wild and crazy thought as I stood looking at our arch on a warm Sunday afternoon...

What if our arch proudly proclaimed "Kansas City, Kansas" to everyone heading west into our downtown? And what if the words "Kansas City, Kansas"glowed in the dark and could change colors depending on the season or the event? Wouldn't that be cool? Here's what such a sign might look like...


Just thought I'd start the week with a little bit of randomness. :-)

Click a link below to send me a message and share your thoughts.

Have a great week!!


~ Brian

bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

New McKinley School Will Welcome Students in 2014

The Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools (USD 500) is facing a wonderful but difficult challenge in the northwest corner of District 2.

McKinley Elementary School, which is located at 611 N. 14th Street and currently serves grades K–5, is no longer large enough to meet the enrollment needs of its service area.

Here's a map that shows McKinley's current location (blue dot)
and the area that McKinley currently serves (red lines).
(Click any photo for a larger view)

Here's the current McKinley School at 611 N. 14th Street.
It's been at this location since 1924.
The new school will be located two blocks north of this spot.

The current McKinley School was built in 1924 and has a current enrollment of around 200 students. The building seven classrooms, one shared library/computer space and one multipurpose space that is for PE, lunch, art and music, plus a modular unit on the parking lot that has two more classrooms.

Unfortunately, those facilities won't hold all of the students who should be attending the school, so some students have been traveling to other nearby schools.

Clearly, a new school was needed, but district officials faced much the same challenge at McKinley as they had faced at the Mark Twain Elementary School just a couple of miles to the west... where do you put the students for the year it would take to demolish the existing school and construct a new one?

Luckily, there was a full square block of vacant land just over the hill to the north of the existing McKinley School. The vacant land was owned by Community Housing of Wyandotte County (CHWC). They were preparing to build new homes on that site (which, ironically, would most likely compound the space problem at the current McKinley School).

This map shows McKinley's current location (bottom of photo)
and the site where the new school will be constructed (top of photo).

Officials from CHWC and USD 500 began brainstorming about potential solutions that could be mutually beneficial. Ultimately, CHWC and USD 500 reached an agreement to exchange their respective parcels of land.

USD 500 will begin construction of a new elementary school on the vacant land that sits between 13th Street and 14th Street (east to west) and between Armstrong Avenue and Ann Avenue (north to south). The new school building will be just over 42,000 square feet in size and will be designed to hold up to 350 students. It will have 15 classrooms, a separate music and art room, a computer room and media center. It will also have a multipurpose room for PE and a separate kitchen area for food prep.

This is the new Mark Twain School that just opened this fall.
Although the new McKinley School may not have the same design,
this gives you an idea of what the newest school in the district looks like.

The plan is to have the new school finished and ready to open in fall 2014. All the students who are currently attending (or should be attending) McKinley School will begin the 2014-2015 school year in the new building.

At that point, the school district will tear down the old school building and CHWC will build six new single-family homes on the site.

Dr. Kelli Mather, Chief Financial Officer for USD 500, said, "We are pleased to support [CHWC's] efforts in improving the housing as they support the concept of a new school in the community to draw more families in the area and support the existing families and students that must be transported to other schools due to meeting capacity levels."

Donny Smith, Executive Director for CHWC, said, "From CHWC’s perspective, we think the investment into the future of the neighborhoods (the children) is of extreme importance to the continued revitalization of downtown KCK.  Without quality schools, families will not make a long-term commitment to the neighborhood.  KCKPS is to be commended for making this significant investment. We are extremely excited to be able to work with the district on this project."

Thanks to both groups for their continuing efforts to make life better for families in District 2.







~ Brian

bmckiernan@wycokck.org
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Monday, August 12, 2013

MetroCenter Opens...A Great Step In The Right Direction

I'm baaaack....

Sorry about the long lag between posts. Wrapping up my duties at Rockhurst and finalizing the UG budget teamed up to take all of my free time these past couple of weeks.

However, both of those things are behind me now and I have tons and tons of blog material to send your way over the next few weeks. (I know, I know... you've heard it all before... but this time it's true... honest).

This past Friday (August 9) was a special day in our downtown. It's the day that UG and KCK representatives cut the ribbon and officially opened the Downtown KCK Connex MetroCenter at 7th and Minnesota (see a Special Edition of UG News for all the details).

Here's a view looking northwest at the transit center
and the intersection at 7th and Minnesota. Very impressive.
(Click any photo to enlarge for a better view).
Unfortunately, I was out of town on Friday at a meeting with the staff of a Community Development Corporation in Philadelphia (more about that in another blog), so I wandered down yesterday afternoon and saw it for myself. Wow! Very, very impressive.

The new MetroCenter is absolutely gorgeous. Located on the southeast corner of 7th Street and Minnesota Avenue, it will serve as the major eastern terminal of the State Avenue Connex bus line. It will also provide one spot where buses from KCATA, The JO and the UG transportation system are all available to riders. It's a significant step forward in the UG's commitment to improving public transportation in Wyandotte County.

We have heard loud and clear from citizens during the last two budget cycles that they desire and value a better public transportation system. The MetroCenter is a great step in that direction. Here are several pictures so that those of you who didn't have the opportunity to visit on Friday can appreciate the positive impact it makes in downtown.

Looking northeast from the south entrance to the MetroCenter.
A protected bus lane runs diagonally from 7th Street to Minnesota Avenue.
A new retaining wall marks the edge of the Huron Indian Cemetery.
Another view looking northeast from the south entrance to the MetroCenter.
Bike racks and comfortable benches enhance the new passenger shelters.
New signs at every stop have a map of the entire route along with
route schedules and real-time arrival updates on a digital display board.
The fully restored and functional Winkler clock
is a magnificent centerpiece for the MetroCenter.

Improvements around the MetroCenter include new street pavement
along with new curbs, sidewalks, traffic signals and beautiful landscaping.

The new landscaping includes safer and more visible crosswalks
a half block away from the transit center.

But not so fast... it's not all cookies and milk... with the opening of the new MetroCenter, I believe we have officially challenged ourselves to take care of unfinished business in the downtown. The MetroCenter is a FANTASTIC addition to our downtown and it's a great step in the right direction, but it's only one of many steps that I believer we need to take if we are truly committed to building the best downtown possible.

In the past couple of months I have had the opportunity to use two great light rail public transportation systems: the Trolley in San Diego and the subway / "el" system in Philadelphia. In each city I was able to easily and affordably travel long distances without the need for a car. This ease of travel greatly enhanced my stay in those two cities by giving me easy access to business meetings along with hotels, shopping centers and restaurants.

My experiences in those two cities tell me that our work is not done in downtown KCK.

First, I believe we still need to extend the street and sidewalk improvements in all directions away from the MetroCenter. The MetroCenter is located at the intersection of 7th and Minnesota, but the street and sidewalk improvements associated with it only stretch about a half block in each direction away from that intersection (as shown on the map below). Improved infrastructure will not only look better to residents and visitors, it should also help reduce our maintenance and repair efforts in the downtown.

This Google map shows Minnesota Avenue from 6th Street (far right)
to 8th Street (far left). The MetroCenter is located at the yellow dot
and the related street/sidewalk improvements only extend as far as the red lines.
Here's where the pavement transitions from new to old
at a point near the KCK Chamber of Commerce building
(west of the MetroCenter).
New streetlights at 7th and Minnesota...
...don't match those just a few yards further west...
...which don't match those a block further away.

Second, and just as important, I believe we need to increase the density and availability of quality, affordable housing in and around the downtown so that there is a "critical mass" of people for promoting higher public transportation ridership along with increased commercial and business development.

Third, I believe we need to increase the density and variety of office space and commercial business space in and around the downtown. In both San Diego and Philadelphia, I was able to get to great hotels, offices, restaurants and retail merchants within just a few blocks of the public transportation lines.

It definitely won't be easy. Money is tighter than ever and we'll be challenged at every step along the way. However, I believe that, if we value an improved downtown, we can continue to build powerful public/private partnerships to create a stronger, more vibrant and more prosperous community.

Here are my questions for you today:

Do you believe we should continue to develop the State and Minnesota Avenue "corridors" through our downtown?

If so, what features or amenities are important to you (e.g., streets, sidewalks, public transportation, parks, benches, housing, businesses, etc.)?

Feel free to click the links below to send me an email or drop an anonymous note in my suggestion box I'd love to hear your ideas. Have a great week.


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