Tag Archives: North Loop

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Existing Conditions Report

The Existing Conditions report is an important step to researching a site for redevelopment. One must know not only how the current site is effecting residents and pedestrians, but how the redeveloped site would effect them as well. My portion of the existing conditions report focused on environmental planning. I was tasked to find different elemental hazards and the slope/elevation around the north loop.

What I found:

Slope: This Contour Slope Heat Map (below) shows the surrounding area of the loop. As you can see the more red the steeper it gets and the more green the flatter it is. Obviously, from the deep red cut on the west side of the loop is the huge cutoff into the West Bottoms. On the East side you can see a deep yellowish/orange cut indicating I-29. This is around the same place a fatality happened with a pedestrian (possibly walking on the interstate). When visiting the North Loop in person you can see the highway from below standing above a huge hill or slope. This is supported by the yellow “lines” within the diagram. Honestly, if someone decided to try and walk down these steep hills, you could, as there are no barriers to suggest otherwise, but one slip up could put you rolling down into the VERY busy mix of interstate highways.

Elevation: This Elevation Map (below) shares a similar story to the slope map (above), but give a very different perspective. The closer the different colors are, then the bigger the elevation change. Within the map you can see the location of the river in the top left corner. The elevation that is close to the river is tan which encompasses the West Bottoms. What was mentioned to me is within the loop itself you can see a path seemingly going North and South straight through the middle of the loop, but why? This could be because there is an airport directly north and there are building codes in which you have to leave certain flight paths for safety. Another reason this could be is that area is around the path of the streetcar and extreme elevation changes would not be suitable for the streetcar.

Floodplains: Thankfully the previous maps I have mention show a light on why a flood map doesn’t effect the loop directly. The levees and elevation of the city keep flooding as a very low risk as you would need gallons and gallons of water, but this is why the West Bottoms don’t have much development currently as flooding is a high risk.

Hazards: Other Environmental hazards around the loop are as follows: Toxic Releases (Red), Hazardous Waste (Green), Water Discharges (Blue), Brownfields (Purple), and Air Pollution (Black). As you can see (below) there are a lot of hazards around the loop. Some hazards like air pollution can be due to the amount of cars within an area and when you have at least 3 major roadways meeting together with an airport to the north… well that becomes self explanatory. Other hazards like Hazardous Waste that is seen in a multitude of places can be scary and IS. Some examples can be petroleum based for your car like gasoline to motor oil, to pharmacy products, to lithium batteries! Toxic Releases and Water Discharges are more specific, these deal with chemicals that are disposed of through either burning into the air or letting drain into the water… yes, also scary. I believe all of these can be at least reduced by better eco friendly methods. This is where brownfields come into play. It was brought to my attention that brownfields aren’t necessarily “hazards.” Brownfields are industrial lands that have been abandoned or not used, but are cleaned up from leftover chemicals. I believe it would be a good thing to use brownfields as new development to clean up the area. There are an abundance of them to the east of the River Market where there is a big population of pedestrians. To create an extended “green” development could lessen these other hazards.

UHIE: The “Urban Heat Island Effect” is an environmental hazard that people can feel. For example, on a hot day put one hand on concrete and one hand on the grass and see which hand can stay longer… I am gonna bet the hand in the grass is not burning from the sun’s heat all day. Now, everything in a downtown city area made of concrete becomes hot from the concrete walls of a building to the sidewalks you walk on compared to the neighborhood with lawns and trees. That is the Urban Heat Island Effect and why it is so important to have trees and green space throughout a city. As you can see below the loop of KC is 10 degrees hotter on average then other areas with more tree shade and greenspace. Redeveloping the loop with more trees within it can significantly lower the areas temperature (and give us more oxygen). Lowering temperature by 10 degrees is the difference between and hot day out and deadly heat conditions.

Overall, the North Loop does have environmental challenges, but it also has the capacity of overcoming and improving the impact it makes. If we focus on improving these hazards we could have a pleasant human experience when visiting the River Market or walking within the Loop itself and not needing to rely heavily on or be extra cautious of automobiles.

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Intro to North Loop

The North Loop of Kansas City from my perspective is an automobile forward highway system that is dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians. For starters, as a driver on the North Loop I feel as though no one is going the true speed limit. The limits are usually 45 to 65mph, but too many times do I see people pushing 70 to 80mph or more. Exits and on ramps give little space for drivers to merge safely as some ramps are only 100ft away from each other and the amount of exits make the North Loop confusing and complicated. This often leads people to wrong turns and road rage which can increase traffic and hostility.

As a Pedestrian I can agree with just about everything that has been mentioned. When I went on a site visit I felt as though I did not belong. I should be in a car. Sidewalks were present, but cut off randomly or were in need of repairs. There was also a big divide when it came to commercial downtown and residential areas. It almost made it seem as if you are on one side of the Highway it is a park and homes, but the other side is businesses and tall skyscrapers. There is no middle and in my area Columbus Park is right next to the Heart of America bridge.

Reading the KC North Loop Report, I am in full support of downsizing and making the CBD more cohesive and pedestrian friendly. By making the North Loop more cohesive the neighborhood will be more sustainable. It would welcome more businesses as it is still a main road, but will become more environmentally friendly with a lesser carbon footprint and hopefully more green space. My area of study is the very beginning of the Heart of America bridge (or the spaghetti noodles in the middle). There are apartments to the West and a Park to the East, I would have never been able to tell if I lived there aside from walking under the bridge to go look for it.

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Picture Descriptions – K. Peterson
  1. NW side of the Heart of America Bridge facing South ↩︎
  2. NW corner of Project Boundary (Oak and Independence) looking SE ↩︎
  3. W corner of Project Boundary on Grand Blvd Bridge looking E ↩︎
  4. SW corner of Project Boundary (6th and Superior) looking NW towards Grand Blvd Bridge ↩︎
  5. SW corner of Project Boundary (6th and Superior) looking NE towards Heart of America Bridge ↩︎
  6. SW side of Heart of America Bridge facing North ↩︎
  7. S corner under Heart of America Bridge facing North to NW ↩︎
  8. SE corner of Project Boundary (6th and Charlotte) facing NW ↩︎
  9. E corner (Charlotte and Independence) facing West ↩︎
  10. NE corner of Project Boundary (in Columbus Square Park) facing SW ↩︎
  11. Farther NE corner (Cherry and Missouri Ave) facing SW ↩︎
  12. NE side of Heart of America Bridge facing South ↩︎

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An Island of its Own – Exploring Columbus Park and its Neighbors.

As a Kansas City native, I have oft-visited the area North of the Loop since I was a child, and especially more-so as it has again developed into a thriving commercial hub and residential community. However, my experiences have been largely limited to the river market. The study of the Columbus Park neighborhood, therefore, gave me the opportunity to explore an area I had virtually no previous contact with and no prior knowledge about.

One of the most striking aspects of this neighborhood is just how cut off it is from virtually every other area of downtown. On the west, it is walled off from the river market by the Heart of America Bridge, carrying traffic north on Missouri 9 Highway. To the South, it is bounded by Independence Avenue and the confluence of Interstates 35, 29, 70, and US-71. I-29 and US-71 continue to barricade the neighborhood to the east, and as one approaches the river, they’re met with a slew of industrial uses, rail-yards, and homeless encampments. These plus the discontinuous and often confusing road network create yet another boundary, truly making an island out of the neighborhood.

Fortress Columbus Park.

Despite this, Columbus Park is rich with history, human-scale development, enjoyable public spaces, and locally-recognized landmarks. Some of the most notable to me were Columbus Square Park, Holy Rosary Catholic Church, and Garozzo’s Downtown.

Landmark Assets

Columbus Square Park is an incredible example of a proverbial “lemonade-making”. The curve of Cherry street follows the Heart of America Bridge, which divides Columbus Park from the river market. While this is largely a detriment to both communities, the designers made good use of the landscaping to obscure much of the highway, and reduce noise. Additionally, this provides for park-goers a magnificent viewshed of the central business district, making the best out of a challenging situation.

The park also includes several amenities, including a bocce ball court, playground, and walking paths. It is otherwise surrounded by a mix of historic and modern infill residential development.

Independence Avenue and Charlotte Street looking southwest. Independence Avenue becomes Cherry Street as it wraps around the park (just to the right, out of view).
View from the center of Columbus Square Park looking south, towards the downtown CBD.

Two blocks east of the park, on Missouri Avenue, is Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Grand oak doors and Gothic architecture meet red brick and wire fencing to keep away birds in a blend of old world and new. Aside from its architectural idiosyncrasies, it has the almost magical ability to exist as both monument and human-scaled community asset. It is visible from multiple points in the neighborhood, but it doesn’t impede foot traffic, nor does it create an uninviting space up close. Across the street from it is Vietnam Cafe, and there are apartments and single family homes in each direction too. This creates a sort of square at the intersection of Missouri and Campbell.

Looking East on Missouri Avenue towards Holy Rosary Catholic Church.

Garozzo’s is at another one of these sorts of squares. Open for 32 years and counting and famous for its signature Chicken Spiedini, it is located just two more blocks east on Missouri Ave. More missing-middle housing hems this cultural touchstone of the North End’s Italian heritage.

Garozzo’s as it appears from the northeast corner of Missouri Avenue and Harrison Street.

Challenges and Opportunities

The most obvious challenge this site visit illuminated was finding ways to reconnect Columbus Park to the rest of Downtown, particularly the Paseo West neighborhood and the northeastern corner of the central business district. However, it also highlighted remnants of the urban fabric that used to connect these parts of town together.

Paseo West, while suffering from a great deal of vacancy, retains some historic architecture. It can also be said that vacancy creates opportunity. When I visited the area, some construction was being done in parts, suggesting there is interest in redeveloping the area.

Renovated historic housing stock – Paseo West (E 8th Street and Troost Avenue).

Furthermore, Columbus Park is proof that historic infrastructure can and should be preserved. Among the housing stock were not only historic homes and apartments, but also positive infill development. Many of these units faithfully follow the typology of their predecessors.

Historic duplexes on the southeast corner of Missouri and Troost Avenues.
An positive example of infill housing in Columbus Park (northwest corner of Missouri and Troost Avenues).

Along the Independence Avenue corridor, however, a blend of poor typology and hostile road infrastructure creates a marked shift in the quality of the neighborhood. Large, ranch and split-level homes (along with the Don Bosco Senior Center) abut the street. Their comparatively huge setbacks seem to make the structures retreat from the boulevard and the highway behind it.

Intersection of Independence and Troost Avenues, looking southwest. A modern “millenium mansion” on Harrison street appears to the right.

Looking across the highway, I realized that I could see some of Paseo West. Measuring the distance using Google Earth revealed that the Troost on-ramp to Independence and Forest Avenues was about 900 feet; just barely longer than the distance of my walk from the park to Garozzo’s. The hostility of Independence gave me pause, though, and I intuitively drove to Paseo West instead of walking.

Exiting Columbus Park via Troost Avenue. The on-ramp appears to the left, and the path to Independence Avenue to the right.
The view of Paseo West from the Troost on-ramp. Note the building in center frame; a duplex on Forest Avenue.
The duplex at 613 Forest Ave, from the other side of the highway.

To the West, in the area I’ve classified as the Northeast CBD, while there are some older buildings, the vast majority of land uses are relegated to hotels, high-rise apartments, and parking lots. Attempting to observe Columbus Park from this area was difficult too; not only because of the highway, but also due to the presence of a large electrical substation at the corner of Charlotte Street and Admiral Boulevard.

Charlotte Street and Admiral Boulevard, looking northwest. The electrical substation appears to the right behind its facade.

This area will require a great deal of comprehensive redevelopment for housing and commercial uses, both at the human scale. Though some have already been made, more improvements to the right of way should be considered during this process, in order to better accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, and transit.

What is perhaps most ironic is that these areas outside of Columbus Park will require more of the heavy lifting to make a re-connection successful. Columbus Park is comparatively rich in community assets and infrastructure, and while there are improvements to be made, it has much it can build on.

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Intro to the North Loop Project – Wyatt Boyd

I started my walk at Case Park on the northwest corner of the downtown loop. The views were amazing, but the park was fairly lifeless, and there was a fenced in private dog park, which seemed like an egregious land use. Quality Hill Towers were really the only signs of life, with people coming and going.

I kept walking alongside a fairly dead corner of downtown, mostly defined by parking lots and garages, and ended up on an extremely icy sidewalk next to offramp traffic turning into 6th St. Monolithic directional signs blocked most of the sidewalk at certain points. I got to the intersection of 6th and Broadway, and the crosswalks felt very treacherous. I crossed the North Loop along the east sidewalk on Broadway, which felt a bit intimidating. I then had to cross into a pedestrian refuge island, and cross two slip lanes with no proper signals for drivers at the crosswalk.

I finally made it to the north side of 5th St, where I continued my walk into the River Market. It gradually got better and better until I felt truly in a vibrant urban setting, especially along Delaware St and in City Market Park. This walk truly showcased how much of a canyon the North Loop creates.