By John Sharp
Representatives of the resident led Save Blue River Road organization including this columnist met with KCMO City Manager Mario Vasquez and other KCMO city officials on September 17 to urge them to consider repairing and reopening the long-closed stretch of the scenic street that runs from just south of Bannister Rd. to north of Red Bridge Rd.
They emphasized that only a very short length of the street – about 800 feet – had actually failed with the subsurface sliding a few feet toward the river which is just west of the street for that short stretch.
The city is now considering keeping the much longer stretch closed and even tearing out much of the street and replacing it with a paved trail which would make it much more costly to ever repair and reopen the street.
Advocates of repairing and reopening the street feel the city’s top priority should be funding those vital repairs to keep costs reasonable, and if the city decides to add an adjoining trail that should be considered at a later date as funds become available.
South KCMO residents in favor of repairing and reopening the street should contact the city manager’s office and their 5th and 6th district city council members since the closed portion of the street is in both city council districts and let them know they feel the city’s first priority should be repairing and reopening the street and any amenities such as trails or sidewalks should be considered later.
Update: Public testimony will be heard on Tuesday, October 6th, at 10:30 am at the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee on Resolution 260887 “Directing the City Manager to identify funding sources and develop a plan to restore Blue River Road; directing the City Manager to forgo altering any portion of Blue River Road until a restoration plan is complete; and declaring the Council’s intent to preserve Blue River Road as a historic automobile corridor.” Testimonies can be made in person at the 26th Floor of City Hall, 414 E 12 St., by ZOOM or submitted through email at public.testimony@kcmo.org
