Kansas City Walkability Plan needs public support now

The Kansas City Walkability Plan came up for a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Committee today.

The Walkability Plan, an outgrowth of citizen input into FOCUS Kansas City, is one of the most exciting developments in Kansas City this decade. This and the BikeKC plan, passed last summer, offer the first glimmers of hope that Kansas City might, one day, become a "cool city" (in the phrase of Kansas City Star columnist Mike Hendricks).

KCMO's Lynnis Jameson sent the following report about the results of today's hearing:

Those who testified today on the Walkability Plan showed both patience in waiting for the hearing to occur, and passion for their point of view. Although the majority of the testimony was in favor of approving the Walkability Plan, testimony from the Home Builders Association and from Chuck Weber continued to raise the issues of cost, and whether the Pedestrian Level of Service Analysis should be required at all for residential development.

Councilman Ford requested that the Walkability Plan be held 2 weeks and then heard again on March 19.

The hearing is scheduled at 1:30 in the City Council Chambers and the docket will again be very large. I hope you will continue to find the time and energy to make your point of view known on this very important plan. I will be out of the office for the next two days, so if you have additional questions, please contact Gerald Williams, or you can reach me on Monday, March 10.

Lynnis Jameson, Senior Planner
City Planning and Development Department

The Homebuilder's Association wants to save a few nickels and continue weaseling out of providing reasonable pedestrian accommodations in neighborhoods--as they have done for the past 50 or more years in the Kansas City area.

Unfortunately, not only are they working against the best interests of the community and of the neighborhoods they create, but in fact they are working against their own best interests.

Take a look at these statistics from a brochure entitled The Economic Benefits of Walkable Communities published by the California Department of Health:

* A 1999 study by the Urban Land Institute of four new pedestrian-friendly communities determined that homebuyers were willing to pay a $20,000 premium for homes in them compared to similar houses in surrounding areas.

* According to a 1998 analysis by ERE Yarmouth and Real Estate Research Corporation, real estate values over the next 25 years will rise fastest in "smart communities" that incorporate traditional characteristics of successful cities including a mix of residential and commercial districts and a "pedestrian-friendly configuration."

* Reducing traffic noise, traffic speeds, and vehicle-generated air pollution can increase property values. One study found that a 5 to 10 mph reduction in traffic speeds increased adjacent residential property values by roughly 20%.

* Another study found that traffic restraints that reduced volumes on residential streets by several hundred cars per day increased home values by an average of 18%.

Please write, call, and email members of the Planning and Zoning Commission to let them know your stand on KC's Walkability Plan.

You can find contact information--including phone, email, and mailing addresses--for members of the Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development committee on the KCMO web site.