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A “Drive” through the Park

 

A “Drive” through the Park

Illustration of the Parkways, Boulevards and Parks in Kansas City, MO
Illustration of the Parkways, Boulevards and Parks in Kansas City, MO
Our city was once like many other river cities of its type, dirty, pragmatic and some might even say ugly. As it expanded from the river, the gridding and subdivision of plots expanded south towards the undulating mounds of what now is Kansas City, Missouri. As man conquered new lands, there was often a manifest destiny mindset of forming our world to our whims. Yet, when George Kessler began to implement a new idea in the early 20th century, things began to change.
As a result of the City Beautiful movement, a progressive network of Parks and Boulevards was developed and constructed. These winding tree lined boulevards and parkways took full advantage of the natural topography of Kansas City. Instead of carving straight paths through the hills, the streets that Kessler help to implement curved back and forth creating a network of interlocking streets that lead the passenger through beautiful parks and vistas.

Characteristics

There are several defining characteristics that differentiate the Boulevards from Parkways. The Boulevards generally follow the gridiron of the street system whereas parkways may follow creeks or the natural topography of the city. While there are some exceptions — parts of The Paseo and Meyer – most boulevards don’t have medians in them. Parkways generally have large medians where there is space to play and back in older times, room to park. Boulevards are also very symmetrical and while parkways are sometimes symmetrical in certain areas, they are generally asymmetrical as they wind around the curves of the land.
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Topography of the Parkways in the Plaza

 

Roanoke Parkway and Park

Roanoke Parkway is disparate from the Roanoke Park. The short parkway is essentially a straight road that connects Westport Road diagonally to 47th street in the Plaza. The video shows a sped up journey one would take going north-west. There are apartment buildings that line the street on either sides and the street is lined with beautiful trees and the setbacks from the street allow a wide view when traveling by foot along the road.
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1907 Atlas Plan of Roanoke Park
The park associated withthe Parkway is Roanoke park. Built in 1907, it is one of the oldest parks in Kansas City, Roanoke Park has an interesting shape as it tucks itself inbetween the Westport and Midtown areas.
Today Roanoke
Roanoke Park – Courtesy of Google Maps

 

With its beautiful trails, playgrounds, sustainable progress and a Community Center, Roanoke Park stands as a shining example of good park design. From its trails to its wide open spaces, the park offers both passive and active recreation.
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Trail Map
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History of the Boulevard

 

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Sustainable Development

 

Moving Forward

I have lived in this city for 20 years and while I have never been formally taught about Kessler’s vision with the parks and boulevards, I have spent a great deal of time enjoying their beauty. As our class took an excursion to explore some of the eastern parts of the system I realized how little of the streets and park I had actually experienced. Even on a January day, there was a great attractiveness inherent in many of the parks. The Kessler Park near Cliff Drive was quite impressive, it stands as a great example of the City Beautiful movement with its Romanesque columns and its concrete pergola.

 

“While parks are of inestimable value in making a city inviting to desirable residents and visitors, furnishing pleasant drives to those who can afford these luxuries, adding to the value of real estate, and promoting the general prosperity, these are matters of small consideration when compared to the imperative necessity of supplying the great mass of the people with some means of recreation to relieve the unnatural surroundings in crowded cities.” – Kessler

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Kessler Park Pergolas – City Beautiful Movement
The system of parks and boulevards laid a framework for Kansas City. Its good bones provide unique drives and generally pleasant experiences when getting around the city. There are areas of improvement though. How can we explore what styles Kansas City wants to represent in the future? Should we maintain the style of the City Beautiful movement or should we create our own movement as we move further into the 21st century?
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Parks and Parkwayboulevardavenueroadstreetdrive

The Parks and Boulevards system in Kansas City, Missouri is one of the largest systems in the world. When August Meyer and George Kessler moved to Kansas City in the middle to late nineteenth century, Kansas City was a dirty and unwelcoming place to be. Due to the success of the Stock Yards and Rail Road expansion, the population of Kansas City grew at an astonishing rate. When Meyer became the President of the Commission of Parks, he helped lead the way for the implementation of the Parks and Boulevard systems with the help of George Kessler, who was the lead designer.

When someone visits Kansas City and is shown the Parks and Boulevards system for the first time they are usually blown away by how large the system is as a whole, and how truly beautiful it is. For the everyday driver who lives in Kansas City, the system may only be viewed for the purpose of being the fastest way to commute back and forth to work or the fastest way to get from point A to point B. Most people do not appreciate its true beauty. If you asked a citizen that lives in Kansas City, what the difference between a Boulevard and a Parkway is, or when the last time they went and walked around Cliff Drive was, you may be disappointed. But what I would ask them, is to name three Boulevards that are not Broadway, Emanuel Cleaver, or Brookside.

When it comes to describing the Parks and Boulevards system amalgamation, people like myself may be surprised to learn that the system is actually comprised of Parkways, Boulevards, Avenues, Roads, and Drives. Image 1 is a great example of Kansas City’s Parks and Boulevard system. The photo, which is the Budd Park Esplanade, was taken looking west of Budd Bark in the Northeast neighborhood.

IMG_2008Image 1. Looking East on Budd Park Esplanade St. © BKeller

It is known for its picturesque center median and being the main entrance to Budd Park from Van Brunt Boulevard. Image 2, which is another great example of the Parks and Boulevard system, was taken looking south down Paseo just south of East 51st Street. I would like to tell you that it is one of the most magnificent Parkways is Kansas City, but I can’t, because it’s not. Neither is it a Boulevard, or an Avenue. It is just The Paseo. This is just one example of why it is so hard for someone to know what type of thoroughfare they are actually driving on.

IMG_2023Image. 2 Looking South on The Paseo. © BKeller

According to the City of Kansas City’s Major Street Plan, a Boulevard does not have a center median. Only Parkways have center medians. And yes I understand there can be exceptions, especially when it is needed because of the geography, but this section of Paseo was obviously planned to be like this or it wouldn’t have such a wide median.

North Blvds-01Diagram 1. Source: KCMO Parcel Viewer

Diagram 1 is a major area of the Parks and Boulevards system around Cliff Drive Park. In the diagram I have highlighted and labeled important sections of the system. But what I am interested in, is how and why some street names change along the system. A good example is Independence Avenue, as you can see from Paseo to Benton Boulevard, it is labeled Independence Boulevard, not Avenue. This is fine, and I believe it was planned to connect to the other Boulevards. Another example is Chestnut Traffic way. It shown as part of the Parks and Boulevard System from the railroad tracks down to Independence Boulevard, but why is that section of the road not changed to Chestnut Boulevard or Parkway? Then when you look at Prospect Avenue, the name is changed while apart of the system.

South Blvds-01Diagram 2. Source: KCMO Parcel Viewer

In the next diagram (Diagram 2), I have highlighted major parts of the Parks and Boulevard system along Brush Creek. In the diagram, I have Parkways highlighted in yellow, and boulevards highlighted in green. As you can see a couple of the streets were highlighted in both. Roanoke Parkway according to the Kansas City Major Street Plan, should not be named a Parkway because it does not have a center median. It would be better fit as a Boulevard. The other street I have double highlighted is Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard. Image 3 shows you what Cleaver looks like just east of Troost Avenue, and it is a great example of a newer generation Boulevard.

IMG_2070Image 3. Looking East on Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd ©BKeller

However Image 4 was taken looking from Clary Boulevard looking north on Cleaver. But what you see is a vegetated median which again should be labeled as a Parkway, but why isn’t it?

IMG_2072Image 4. Looking North on Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd ©BKeller

These are all great examples of how the Parks and Boulevard system can be confusing to people that would like to explore it but do not know much about it. Hopefully the City will edit the street names for everyone’s sake!

 

The Kansas City Missouri Major Streets Plan can be found by clicking this link then downloading the PDF: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=kcmo%20major%20street%20plan

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Nature in the City

I did not grow up in cities. Until recently I have always lived in or near wilderness areas- areas that have few major roads and where nature and man meet in very different ways than they do in Kansas City. The Parks and Boulevards system is a very intriguing idea to me. To have to actually make an effort to bring nature to a city is still a strange concept. Nature and beauty has always just “been there” no one had to add it back in but it is something that has become more and more necessary as our cities grow and our access to nature becomes less obvious.

Access to green space on a daily basis has proven to be beneficial and vital to the mental, physical and emotional well-being of humans as was discussed at length in an article titled Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’. For example, there are strong links between child behavioral problems and access to green space activities or lack thereof and that interaction with nature and animals is important to child development (Wolch, 2014).  The ways in which these concepts are surfacing vary from green building designs to improving connections between the city and parks.  Kessler’s vision for Parks and Boulevards system may have been conceived of nearly a century ago but it has very relevant and applicable components today.

Troost Lake
Troost Lake

While driving the Parks & Boulevards system in Kansas City, with a little bit of background information in tow, I can imagine what it was like in the 1940’s to go for a leisurely family drive on a Sunday afternoon and perhaps stopping along the way at Troost Lake for a picnic (Yes, I said Troost Lake). The slowly curving, wide lanes winding through beautiful homes, parks and memorials along the way. With as few cars on the road as there was then I can imagine this to have been a pleasant and enchanting excursion. Today, though there are strong remnants of past intentions evident, we are not living in the same century and many things have changed since the P&B (Parks & Boulevards) system was envisioned in the early part of the 1900’s.

Many of the neighborhoods and destinations that this system runs through and to are now run down and not as well maintained as they could be and are for the most part underutilized, with a few exceptions. The whole system feels disjointed and confusing and while driving through it there doesn’t seem to be a natural flow of the connecting boulevards. I don’t live near the system and when I owned a car I avoided it because it was inefficient, so prior to being given the background on parks and boulevards system I really didn’t understand what was happening with Kansas City streets at all. I found it unclear, fragmented and seemingly random. For instance, the pavilion structure on Paseo between 11th & 12th,  it has always seemed arbitrary and out of place to me. I didn’t understand the purpose of such a structure in that particular location, and the people that first introduced me to Kansas City couldn’t give me any information on it either.

Paseo at 11th & 12th
Paseo at 11th & 12th

 “Do people go there? What do you do there? Why is it there? Why would someone spend a bunch of money building something like that that no one ever uses and can’t use?” None of my tour guides could answer those questions- they only laughed and took me to Loose Park. Clearly the idea of the parks and boulevards has been lost on this city and its new residents.

I do not own a personal vehicle and I rely largely on public transportation, walking or cycling to destinations so the appeal of such a car-centric system is largely lost on me in the first place and it also causes me to be much more sensitive to issues with alternative transportation. There are bike lanes and sidewalks that randomly start and stop, as if someone started a project and midway through and got distracted by something shinny somewhere else and moved on. There is a serious lack of parking at the many stops along the P&B system so if you are driving it seems as though no one wants you to actually stop. I can’t tell if these memorials and parks were designed to have people visit or not. Many of them have benches which would make them seem as if they were welcoming to the public, or at least were once, but the access to them now is hazardous at best especially by bike or foot and lack parking otherwise. (at least this is my experience with the few that I visited) Though there are clearly attempts being made to improve and maintain this system in Kansas City, the overall feeling is one of confusing unimportance.

Kennedy Memorial on St. John Ave
Kennedy Memorial on St. John Ave
Renovation efforts made at the Kennedy Memorial
Renovation efforts made at the Kennedy Memorial

 An example of this is at the Kennedy Memorial at St. John’s avenue and Bellefontain Ave. It is an absolutely amazing structure that I would love to go spend my lunch break at. It seems to be well maintained and it appears that there is work being done to repair and reinvigorate the site,  but getting to it would be an absolute nightmare if you weren’t in a car.

There are no sidewalks or bike lanes and a confusing parking situation. Are you supposed to stop here? Am I parked in the street? There is a tennis court and another green space next to it as well as residential area and a very busy street separating all of these things with no way to cross it safely. There are many missed connection opportunities that could bring this space to life in a different way. I would go there if I could get there alive.

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Accessibility issues with Kennedy Memorial

Another, just odd personal realization I had while wandering around these parks was that I I have an aversion to walking on lawns, and I’m thinking I’m probably not the only one that does. I feel like I’m walking on someone’s nice white carpet with muddy boots- any minute I’m going to get in trouble! Some of the stops along the way have this don’t tread on me feel to them. Like Bud park. It is a beautiful and huge space with lots of paths and grass… should I walk on it? What does one do with all that lawn? It’s like a painting. It serves no purpose other than to be seen, but it is sure missed when it isn’t there.  If these are really supposed to be actively used how do we promote their use?

Budd Park
Budd Park

Though the idea of introducing and maintaining nature in an urban context is a different concept for me it is perhaps more valuable and necessary in an an area like Kansas City than the places I grew up. Overall, once I understood the big idea behind the P&B system,  I found it to be beautiful and loaded with potential.  We are fortunate in Kansas City to have so many parks available to us and it is sad to see so few of them actually being used for their intended purposes any longer. The system as a whole is not necessarily valued as the amazing resources for activity, community engagement and overall health and well-being of the residents of Kansas City and it should be.  It is time to refocus its value, involve the communities in positive ways and update the system so that it can be move into this century and beyond.  And though it is highly unlikely that any of us in Kansas City will have the experience of crossing paths with a black bear on our walk through Budd Park the experience of the walk itself is no less valuable and vital.

Wolch, J. R. (2014). Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’. Landscape and Urban Planning (125), 234-244.

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Impressions – Kansas City Parks and Boulevards

Living and growing up in the Kansas City Area, the concept of parks and open recreational space is nothing new to me. However, it wasn’t after beginning this project, visiting and surveying multiple parks throughout the area that I really began to feel and understand the complexity of Kansas City’s Parks and Boulevards System.

One of my immediate observations in researching the public space throughout the city was not only the number of parks, but the contrast of park conditions. Between both the quality of park space, and the use of park space, it is evident that some parks throughout the city are better utilized than others, and depending on the time of year, or even day, the number of park-goers in each park can be drastically different. Take for example, Budd Park, which I visited on a sunny  afternoon. As you can see, when I arrived, the park and its surrounding were completely bare. However, shorty after school let out, it quickly began to fill up with younger aged kids, and their parents.

Looking east from Budd Park
Looking east from Budd Park- Budd Park Esplanade
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Trash along Troost Lake Shore

On the other hand, we have Troost Lake, which was visited on a different day, around the same time. Not only was this park completely empty, aside from  residents across the street, but it was poorly maintained in comparison to other locations in Kansas City’s park system. The path around the lake was nearly non-existent and muddy, and the shores of the lake were littered with trash, dead fish, and animal feces.

So why is that? Why are some parks better maintained than others? Why is there a crowd of people at this park, but nobody at that park? In my opinion it’s all about the amenities that a park has to offer. Some go to socialize and relax, while others use them for physical activity. Another thing that was clear to me was the range of activities promoted by each park, from passive activities to active activities. While several parks around the area simply house trails that promote walking, jogging, or biking, such as Mill Creek Park, others, such as Gillham Park, just south of 39th Street offer amenities such as tennis courts, playgrounds, and even a baseball diamond.

Mill Creek Park Trail
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Gillham Park Playground