North Loop mentioned!

Graph showing pre-Covid highway trend on the north I-70 loop in Kansas City

Past/present/future vision plan of the area around the north loop

Past and current photos and future rendering of the divide between downtown and the River Market

North Loop traffic has been on a long downward trend, despite all the new infill development downtown. Thanks for highlighting this huge opportunity, @nerd4cities.bsky.social !

If Rochester can do it, your city can too.

Aerial/Satellite View (Top Image) An overhead satellite image of downtown Kansas City near the Missouri River. Several major highways (I-70, I-35, and I-29) form large interchanges and loops around a dense grid of city blocks. The Buck O’Neil Bridge crosses the river on the left side of the image, and the urban core stretches south, marked by multiple high-rise buildings and street networks. Conceptual/Planning Map (Bottom Image) A simplified planning diagram of the same downtown Kansas City area, showing labeled neighborhoods such as River Market, Columbus Park, East Village, the Garment District, and Quality Hill. Proposed or existing streetcar routes are highlighted, including a riverfront extension and a route to the Plaza. Green spaces and corridors are indicated throughout, with numbered markers (e.g., Buck O’Neil Bridge Skatepark, 9th St. Square, Columbus Park Community Hub) corresponding to specific planned developments or amenities.

Objectively, what you can do with the space taken up by freeways, like in Kansas City, is really wild.

New group takes up the torch, pushing to remove highway loop north of downtown Kansas City Though it would be years away, removing the North Loop could reconnect downtown neighborhoods and open up acres of land for development, organizers say.

New group takes up torch, pushing to remove highway loop north of downtown Kansas City. Thanks for the article, @kansascity.com !

www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

When the Beyond the Loop study was underway in 2017-18, KCK officials opposed the plan. Today those officials are gone, and new leadership is interested in reimagining I-70.

GoDotte: www.wycokck.org/files/assets...

Text from the GoDotte mobility plan: I-70 north of I-670: Across the river in KCMO, the Imagine Downtown KC 2030 Strategic Plan envisions a reimagined North Loop (I-70 in KCMO), proposing removal of the freeway and transforming the facility into an at-grade urban boulevard. Should this project advance, the UG should consider examining the utility of the remaining I-70 section north of I-670 and west of the KCMO North Loop in order to reconnect Downtown KCK to its reimagined urban waterfront along the Kansas River.

KCK's mobility plan actually talks about the future of the North Loop and how they might reimagine or repurpose their portion of I-70 in response to North Loop removal.

How strong is the consensus that the north loop should be filled in? It's one of the most seemingly superfluous freeway links I've ever encountered

Superfluous indeed! Traffic volume maps say it all.

If you live in Kansas City or you care about creating healthy neighborhoods and urban environments, you NEED to follow @northloopneighbors.com!

This is the revolutionary opportunity of our generation for downtown, and membership in this program reaffirms the effort. Let's go.

When I say we destroyed American cities for the car I am in no way exaggerating. Literally whole neighborhoods were leveled.

This technical assistance will help us identify the next steps where the Beyond the Loop study left off

Logo with the words "Reconnecting Communities Institute"

Great news! The North Loop Neighbors project and
the KCMO Downtown Neighborhood Association have been accepted into the Reconnecting Communities Institute -- a technical assistance program by @usdot.bsky.social