My final project was called “Close the Loop”. The name has a double meaning, referring to the closure of the North Loop to car traffic as well as “closing the loop” on past injustices caused by the section of highway.
My goals were:
- Conversion of North Loop to a busway, reusing existing bridges to reduce cost, and reconfiguring ramps where necessary
- Pedestrianization of downtown core, and the addition of parking garages to accommodate removal of street parking and surface parking lots
- Construction of a new transit center at Delaware and 6th St, above North Loop, with the lower level being a busway for express buses, the upper level on Delaware serving the streetcar and north-south local buses, and 6th Street serving east-west local buses
- Bringing the Heart of America Bridge at grade at Independence Ave
- Spurring development along 6th St and Independence Ave: the busway will accommodate delivery vehicles with loading zones
- Spur infill development elsewhere throughout the site
Phasing
My development phasing was radial, starting from the transit center itself at 6th and Delaware, and expanding out from there. I figured that the area around the transit center would be the main catalyst of development, and infill would follow soon after. Additionally, I proposed some additional housing developments in the early stages to address immediate needs, especially towards the Columbus Park neighborhood.
Land Use
I focused commercial development near the busway and residential development in the more historically residential neighborhoods like Columbus Park and Quality Hill. Parking structures are located on the near the proposed pedestrianized areas of downtown.
Circulation
For pedestrian and private vehicle circulation, I focused on maintaining connections for cars (adding a couple ramps to maintain highway access, for instance) while enhancing the pedestrian experience (dedicating several blocks to pedestrians). I aimed to create a balanced circulation plan that preserves access to all modes where necessary while also prioritizing safety and economic development.
The addition of busways, along with the anticipated NorthRail expansion to the streetcar, creates a unique transit circulation system downtown. The blue lines indicate routes with dedicated transit right-of-way, while excluding most bus routes, since these often change for a variety of reasons and cannot be assumed static for purposes of a transit center. In addition, with my transit center proposal, many local bus routes may be rerouted, as the transit center enables local buses to stop on 6th and Delaware.
Delivery access was a major feature of my plan, detailed more in my previous blog post concerning development.
Precedent
I had inspiration from a number of cities, both within and outside of the US:
- I used Barcelona’s concept of superblocks to pedestrianize downtown while preserving car circulation
- Denver’s Union Station inspired the lower-level busway in my transit center proposal
- Tremont Ave in New York City inspired me to allow truck access on the busway
- Ontario’s busways inspired much of my design, providing a precedent for dedicated right-of-way busways
Infrastructure Reuse
My design was able to reuse many existing bridges and rights-of-way, which lowered the cost of the proposal.
Bi-State Corridor
The busway greatly benefits the Bi-State Corridor initiative, providing a quick route from KCK to Independence.
Cost/Implementation
Costs of similar projects were used to forecast costs of each element of the infrastructure project. Development costs were separate and not included in this estimate, since they would be primarily on the private side.