Stimulus Watch

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A.	The Project Location.

This project involves the Westport Triangle which includes the intersection of four streets in the Westport area of Kansas City, Missouri. These streets are Westport Road, Belleview (the south lanes of Southwest Trafficway), Madison (the north lanes of Southwest Trafficway) and 43rd Street. The current impetus for this project results from a study which was completed by a grass roots citizens’ group called Westport Go! which was established by Broadway Westport Council in early 2007. The members of the group which represented many of the major stake holders in this area of town are:

Bridging the Gap Schmelzer Arms 2, L.C. Broadway Westport Council Summers & Blauvelt Creative Crafts Volker Neighborhood Association DST/MC Realty Group, LLC Watkins and Co., Inc. Kelly’s Westport Inn West Plaza Neighborhood Association Old Westport Shopping Center Westport CID Plaza Westport Homes Association Westport Land & Management Saint Like’s Hospital Winbury Group

B. The Problem.

In a November of 2007 letter to Westport Go!, Gregory Rokos with the Kansas City Public Works Department stated, “The City’s highest priority is to increase the safety by reducing crashes at this intersection.” The problem is that the Westport Triangle was and is a huge safety problem. The intersection of these streets has been compared to a wagon wheel, with the hub of the “wheel” being a grassy area which is owned by Kansas City, Missouri. There are 8 “spokes”, i.e. streets, to the “wagon wheel”, each of which intersects the hub and is positioned next to the other streets on either side of it in non-uniform ways and angles. In the 1950’s when this intersection was designed and created, it probably made sense: our City’s population was much less then, as was the number of cars that passed through the intersection each day. The usage of this intersection has mushroomed since the 1950’s. It is estimated that approximately 60,000 cars pass through this intersection each day. This intersection is heavily used by Kansas City’s citizens and by visitors to Kansas City due to its proximity to several of Kansas City’s important economic engines: the Westport Entertainment District, the County Club Plaza and St. Luke’s Hospital. In addition, two of the streets intersecting the Westport Triangle also constitute major north/south traffic corridors for people living in the suburbs of Kansas City to commute to and from downtown Kansas City for business, entertainment and other purposes. Today passage through and around the Westport Triangle by drivers and passengers in cars and on bicycles or by pedestrians is unsafe due to blight in the sense of outdated traffic and pedestrian systems, as well as by outdated traffic and pedestrian circulatory flow patterns. In the above-referenced letter from Greg Rokos, the City Engineer for Kansas City, he acknowledged his support for the project. Unfortunately, in June of 2005, Mr. Rokos had previously notified us that no funding existed for the project and it still doesn’t to this day. Again it is critical for funds to be made available as soon as possible so that improvements may be made which are necessary to meet the needs of the community and to route traffic and pedestrians through this intersection in a safe and reliable manner. Please vote YES for this critical project.