RESOLUTION NO. 080201
Expressing the Councils support
for the Red Bridge Road Alternatives Plan submitted to the City by Bucher,
Willis & Ratliff Corporation.
WHEREAS, the City of Kansas City, Missouri committed local and federal
funds in 2004 to improve Red Bridge Road from Holmes Road east across the river
to Blue River Road; and
WHEREAS, a design project was initiated at that time, then terminated in
2007 when more wide-spread community involvement with the project was sought;
and
WHEREAS, in May 2007, the newly elected Mayor and City Council solicited
engineering proposals for an alternatives study of Red Bridge Road from Holmes
Road east to Grandview Road, including bridge options; and
WHEREAS, in August 2007, the City contracted with a team led by Bucher,
Willis & Ratliff Corporation and assisted by K.C. Consulting, ETC
Institute, The Corporate Communications Group, and Taliaferro & Browne to
identify a more widely accepted alternative that also addressed current public
safety standards; and
WHEREAS, the consulting team has implemented a two-phase community
involvement process on communitywide needs and expectations for Red Bridge Road
and how the local neighborhoods want the improvements to be designed; and
WHEREAS, the two-phase process included comprehensive public and
community involvement, including stakeholder interviews, an advisory committee,
an informational website which provided current information as well as an
opportunity for the public to comment to the consultant team, a dedicated project
phone line for comments, a statistically valid communitywide survey randomly
selected from 18,000 area households (1500 surveys were distributed and 423 surveys
were completed), a planning charrette and a public input forum; and
WHEREAS, the community survey and public input showed overwhelming
support for safely moving traffic and crossing both the river and railroad with
a new bridge; and
WHEREAS, through the community involvement process, recommendations for
the bridge and the road have been proposed that include suggestions made by
community residents; and
WHEREAS, the
key features of the recommendations include:
- The road
should be designed and posted for a 35 mph speed, enabling it to drop
faster to the east and lower the bridge elevation.
- The bridge
should be narrower (50 rather than 66).
- Red Bridge Road should be widened to three lanes with curb and gutter rather than five lanes,
with a ten-foot wide multi-purpose path on the south side and a five-foot
wide sidewalk on the north side.
- A new two
lane bridge should be constructed with a multi-purpose path on the south
side and a sidewalk on the north side, crossing both the railroad and the Blue River.
- The
new bridge would be located north of the existing bridge, but south of the
previously proposed alignment.
- Unneeded
right-of-way south of the new bridge should become part of Minor Park.
- Red Bridge Road should remain open during construction to the extent practical.
Historic preservation and aesthetic considerations need to be
incorporated into the project beyond minimum requirements given the
significance of the site, including aesthetic enhancements to the bridge,
consistency with the historical significance of the three trails crossing,
preservation and protection of the trail swales, and natural restoration of the
impacted areas of Minor Park.
- Burying
overhead utilities is desired by the Parks Department and the public, and
should be incorporated into the project if the funding is available.
- The entire
length of Red Bridge Road from Holmes Road to Grandview Road should be
included in the improvement project though it may be necessary to
construct the full length in phases.
- The design
team should continue to work closely with the community throughout the
rest of the construction plan preparation and should incorporate the
visual preferences expressed through the charrette to achieve a context
sensitive project; and
WHEREAS, in addition to a new bridge that crosses both the railroad and
the Blue River, area residents said they want to more easily enter Red Bridge
Road from the neighborhood side streets; and
WHEREAS, signalized intersections create gaps in the traffic for
side-street-traffic to enter the main road in a way that roundabouts can not
do, though there may also be opportunities for incorporating roundabouts in the
corridor as will be determined during the design phase; and
WHEREAS, the new project can be designed in time for a September 2009
construction bid, in compliance with federal timetables; and
WHEREAS, the phase
of the project from Holmes Road east across the river to Blue River Road,
including the new bridge, can be designed and built within the original project
budget; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE COUNCIL OF KANSAS CITY:
Section 1. The
Council expresses its full support for the Red Bridge Road Alternatives Plan
submitted to the City by Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation.
Section 2. The
Council desires to utilize the services of Bucher, Willis & Ratliff
Corporation for project design in accordance with the Red Bridge Road Alternatives
Plan submitted to the City.
___________________________________________