Alex

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

reading on the train

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@2024dion I'd be down!

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@2024dion plant some natives! bring the prairie home

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@Lib_Development @questionableway The one on the left is currently illegal in every city in the U.S. So yeah it doesn't pencil out, because it's not allowed.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@2024dion Definitely not the same, Thou Mayest comes from John Steinbeck's East of Eden.

[Jason, @jasonc_nc]

Here is a story to make you mad today.

Of course it’s barely even being mentioned because there is so much flooding the zone.

-Research completely shuttered.
-Regional offices closed, org structure being replaced by political appointees.
-HQ going to Utah, which really means to begin privatizing and logging 193 million acres of national forests.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@ziplamak Unfortunately it's just not very feasible to dig up mature trees and plant them elsewhere.

1. Most of them would die in the process
2. You'd need very expensive equipment (tree spade)

It's much better to advocate for young trees to be planted through a program like @BTG_KC

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@TomGerend @QuintonLucasKC @kcstreetcar You also need streetcar exclusive lanes to beat the traffic. The starter line through downtown really suffers for it.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@mauramgraham plz use your power and influence to fix this

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

Really sucks that two of the largest and most influential companies in the core city (Hallmark and Commerce Bank) are complete leeches when it comes to the urban environment.

[Dion @2024dion]

Someone needs to convince the Hall family to finance Culdesac Kansas City on their streetcar-adjacent surface parking lots south of Crown Center

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

Commerce Bank responsible for the largest parking crater in the city, and it's never used. https://t.co/3FlYZAh4DF

[Derrick @dricketts71]

Anyone know what this is used for or who owns it? It’s ALWAYS empty. Such a waste of space.

[Dion @2024dion]

If KC wants the Plaza to be a national tourism destination and not just our second nicest luxury mall, it should rebuild Brush Creek & Ward Pkwy into a cafe-lined riverwalk a la San Antonio.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@TheSmokingPun The road diet desperately needs to be extended to Main (at least). Why it stops at Broadway makes no sense to me.

[Midwest Antiquarian @Eric_Erins]

Urbanists have made some great strides on issues like single stair and other physical regulations. Maybe it’s time to start attacking Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) Minimums. Which is preventing many landlords from doing price discovery on retail, keeping storefronts vacant.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@trevoracorn Such a shame. It feels like there is zero political will in city council for zoning reform.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@2024dion @QuintonLucasKC still waiting on that vacant lot tax...

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@2024dion As long as the tax code incentivizes tearing down a building over renovating due to lower property taxes, this will keep happening

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@TomGerend @kcstreetcar @kcriverfront @KansasCity @portkc @RideKCTransit @QuintonLucasKC @thekccurrent Just painted street level bike lanes though, no? Would have been nice to continue the nice protected bike path over to the bridge.

People don't feel safe with only paint protecting them!

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@myke237 Most of these are sharrows or painted bike lanes, not actual bike infrastructure that makes people safe!

That's why I didn't include them.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

Downtown Kansas City's protected bike lanes and shared use trails (green). There's such a clear gap in connection between the River Market and CBD, but almost nothing planned to close it.

[Alex @KCUrbanist]

@trevoracorn Agreed. The sidewalk on the paseo is already wide enough that it functions essentially as a shared use path. But it would be nice to carve out a lane or two of that overbuilt road for dedicated bike space!