Last week there was a public open house/meeting with city representatives regarding proposed changes for the route of the Trolley Track Trail in Brookside. The goal is to continuously connect the trail between 62nd Terrace (the street that Cosentino’s is on) and Meyer Blvd. The project is part of the larger 2019 63rd St Corridor plans.

I went to the open house and learned quite a bit, although overall it was somewhat confusing. There are a few possible ways the Trail can be rerouted, and the City wants public input. Instead of having the actual trail basically stop at 62nd, and then resume south of Meyer is what the City wants changed. They prefer one continuous path rather than having users go through parking lots. There were several stations set up in the room, with poster boards, drawings, and city reps there to answer questions and explain the various options . Participants were asked to visit the stations and then complete a two page questionnaire indicating their preferences and opinions.

I did take a couple of photos of the poster boards but they may not translate well here. Most people had to look closely at the drawings and then ask several questions about “where is this area” (the posters didn’t include named landmarks like Commerce Bank, Michael Forbes, etc,) and “what is option 1 and 2 and option A and B mean? ” I’ll just give you the basic ideas and choices, which include:

*possibly removing one or two tennis courts

*altering some green space

*making Brookside Plaza (between 62nd and 63rd St) a one way street, north or south

*removing some parking in the lot behind Red Door Grill

*adding parallel parking along Brookside Rd between Meyer and 63rd (by the tennis courts and school)

*adding raised medians

Also note that the Trolley Track Trail project should blend in with current plans for on street bike lanes and a “road diet” for Meyer Blvd.

Those hosting the meeting were very knowledgeable about the various options and patient answering questions. Paperwork handed out noted that “funding and a construction timeline have not been determined. KCMO is confident additional funding will be identified to complete the design in 2024”. Construction would start in 2025. There should be more community open houses for feedback in the future. I tried to find info on those on the KCMO webpage/Engineering Division but it doesn’t appear to be updated. Perhaps they aren’t planned yet.

The Trolley Track Trail is a huge asset to Brookside–it is a very desirable amenity for the neighborhood and is in constant use. Creating a 12 foot wide pedestrian trail in the parking lot will defiantly affect how businesses in that area receive deliveries of products and food. Where will the delivery trucks stage for drop offs? Taking parking away and routing vehicles one way, plus limiting turns and access will push cars to the nearby residential streets. Also, how does a potential streetcar expansion affect these plans? And what is the price tag for the project? I appreciate KCMO is soliciting resident input, as it should be. Future meetings should be posted widely on social media, the city website (preferable the home page–where all community meeting should be posted) and even mailed to city residents like the voting cards for elections. And after any design is finalized, residents and businesses should have additional input before the plan is put in place.

I tried to find an info page on the City website to copy and paste here for reference; it wasn’t working. You can google Trolley Track Trail improvements and find local TV coverage from the meeting. If I find out about any other informative meeting related to the project, I will post about them!