KCMO: 39^th Street and Main Street

Waiting at the SW 39^th and Main Street Bus stop carries a feeling of wanting to get home and do something to pass the time. Smoking, and drinking are desirable while waiting especially for people who don’t drink coffee or tea. There are no public restrooms or protection from the wind at the bus stops on 39^th street heading East to West and vice versa. The intersection is bustling with automobile traffic. There are shops on the Northwest corner offering Jamaican cuisine and pizza at another with a smoke shop, and a metro mobile store. CVS sets at the Southwest corner, and a radio station on the Southeast. The Northeast corner is under some construction blocking the right but has an operational bus stop. The building on the corner has a HR Block tax prep service and a church of scientology upstairs. Most people waiting for the bus on the SW corner with traffic flowing east, sit near each other on benches and on a three foot wall running along between the CVS parking lot and the sidewalk.  Without any covering shielding from the weather. They are passing the time with intermitted conversation and people watching.

 

KCMO: Troost Ave & 39^th Street

Troost and 39^th Street have a YMCA child care center for the HEAD START program. The corner only offers seating and only protection from the weather when a police officer is standing duty at the Metro Center. The SE corner provides a convenience store and mobile devices. On the SW corner is a parking lot with fencing separating it from the street. There is a church and a thrift store that shares the parking lot. The lot is not clearly marked as a park and ride. It also has an art statue or monument that reminds me of the Eiffel Tower. There is street lighting at a height of 20ft, trash cans, bus schedules, and outside seating are on both NE & SW corners. On the NW corner is a dry cleaning company and so far no food service amenities available.  Most people while they are waiting sit or stand looking at phones or have headphones in watching for the bus. Heading southbound on Troost Ave there are pedestrian lights at a height of 10 feet and seem to be marking where residential lots begin on main past the node of 39^th and Troost Ave.

Roeland Park: Roe Lane & 47^th Street & 48^th Street

There two bus stops on 48^th street near the entrance of Roe Parkway leading to a business park, a quarry like landscape on the left and a crumbling parking lot on the right. Which seems to be suggested as a park and ride. Art sculptures can be seen from the park and ride inside the 20 to 30 ft wide median on Roe Lane. The bus stops have no seating and zero protection from the wind. There are designated signal pedestrian cross walks that are a comfortable walking distance like crossing Rockhill Rd from Katz Hall to the Miller Nichols Library. Traffic is heavy for between 4pm and 6pm. 47^th street is a bikeshare road and leads into a uphill curve connector with multifamily housing on both sides till the intersection of County Line Rd and 47^th street.

Anything West of 48^th and Roe Lane leads to suburban shopping malls with plenty of fast food, a few grocery stores, home depot, game stop, quick trip, city hall, banks, some food service but must access it by crossing a desert of parking lots. The sidewalks are well taking care with trees planted along the main corridor of traffic leading to I35 and into Shawnee mission Parkway further down.

The quarry like area on 48^th and Roe Parkway used to be a swimming pool. Now somewhat graded but mostly is soft wet soil with rock and long grass covering the area. Its large enough to a be connector for the multiple mobility hubs. I would say 20 buses could fit well and move to where the need to go for the region.