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Seems to be some interest in #NorthKC’s Armour Road Complete Street Plan lately. You can read the entire plan online at nkc.org/UserFiles/Serv….
Plan was approved by City Council on 12/05/17 & formally adopted on 1/04/18.
Plan was approved by City Council on 12/05/17 & formally adopted on 1/04/18.
The plan builds on the 2016 #NorthKC Master Plan. One of the Vision Themes that’s particularly relevant: Build a safe, multi-modal network and enhance the pedestrian-scaled environment.
Here’s Vision Theme 4 from the 2016 #NorthKC Master Plan. Take a look at those first two principles — Connectivity. Safety for Pedestrians. Sustainable options.
The 2016 Master Plan includes an Open Space & Mobility Map that defines street types. Armour Road is shown as a Commercial Street and a Proposed Bike Route.
So the Armour Road Complete Street Plan didn’t blossom out of thin air — it was built on the foundation set by the 2016 Master Plan and the stakeholder outreach & engagement that drove that plan’s recommendations.
We got a Planning Sustainable Places grant from @MARCKCMetro to do this plan. Fun fact: Armour Rd grant app got the top score among MO-side apps in 2017. PSP is a great program that’s supporting excellent work around the metro.
The Vision and Goals for the plan were set based on community input: “The ultimate vision for Armour Road between Burlington and Ozark is a corridor that is safe, serves all users, incorporates sustainable measures, is visually appealing, and is economically vibrant.”
That vision? Set by the community. Alternatives to achieve that vision? Based on community input. We sent a postcard to every business along Armour Road inviting them to our community meetings.
We really wanted people to understand the plan’s recommendations. So, we put them on the ground for a pop-up demonstration event.
I am incredibly proud of that pop-up demonstration. So many parts of #NorthKC City Hall made that event a success.
I am incredibly proud of that pop-up demonstration. So many parts of #NorthKC City Hall made that event a success.
Here’s our pop-up event, captured in video form by our partners at @Shockettes. (Shout out also to @wsp, who was the prime consultant on this project.) Much love to @JenniferPangbor, @EpicureanJay, Bryan Robinson, Ann Hertzog, Shelby Ferguson.
WATCH THAT VIDEO.
We were on the *news*! We were super happy about the attention the pop-up got. This was a public meeting for a small town of 4,300 that got tv, radio, and newspaper coverage. AMAZING.
We were on the *news*! We were super happy about the attention the pop-up got. This was a public meeting for a small town of 4,300 that got tv, radio, and newspaper coverage. AMAZING.
We put in the parking protected bike lane. @JenniferPangbor parked her car “in the middle of the street.” We even moved the bus stop temporarily.
We won an Innovation Award from the MO Municipal League for the pop-up. Can you see how happy I was?
Downtown parking! We heard so much about the importance of adding parking. SO WE DID.
We wanted to emphasis implementation of the Plan - so it has FIVE very clear next steps. (Also, this plan is 23 pages long. No excuse not to read it! It’s short! Lots of photos and maps!)
The plan divides the whole corridor into 3 “zones” - downtown, transition, & commercial. The recommendations for each zone show how complete street improvements can be phased in over time. We wanted to make it less onerous fr/ a cost perspective.
We started work on Next Step #2 - educational outreach - almost immediately. @BikeWalkKC worked with us on a NKC Bike Guide. You can find it online - nkc.org/departments/co…
Our bike guide is for bicyclists and for drivers. We wanted to help everyone know how to safely navigate changing infrastructure.
We started on Next Step 3 - parking management plan - shortly thereafter. It was done entirely in-house. Key stat: there are over 2,400 parking spaces in downtown #NorthKC. nkc.org/UserFiles/Serv…
Next step #1 took longer because we needed to do engineering, & MORE public engagement, & the first bids were too high, so we reconfigured and bid it again. But we got it done.
Isn’t it beautiful??
People were super excited about the decorative crosswalks as part of the pop-up, so we worked hard to get them into phase 1 construction.
I want to point out that the bump out islands shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians.
I want to point out that the bump out islands shorten the crossing distance for pedestrians.
That crosswalk in particular connects a 9 story apartment building to a very popular park.
Is it all different? Yes.
Is change hard? Yes.
Did we get every detail exactly right? Maybe not.
Can we make it even better? Absolutely.
Do we need to give it some time to settle? Yes.
Is change hard? Yes.
Did we get every detail exactly right? Maybe not.
Can we make it even better? Absolutely.
Do we need to give it some time to settle? Yes.
But all of the people saying that we are “morons” & “stupid” & “shame on you”... Miss me with this, bro. I stand by our work.
We worked hard
to engage you,
to get your input,
and to make this a better street for everyone.
We worked hard
to engage you,
to get your input,
and to make this a better street for everyone.
There is no need to come into City Hall and yell at Mallory who works at the Community Development front counter (and is a hell of a decorative crosswalk stripe painter). Stop being mean.
Planning matters.
/fin
/fin
