Keep Mobilizing, Parkville
The other day, after a lunch at a restaurant in The Parkville Commons, one of my lunch companions asked me if he was in downtown Parkville. When informed that we were not in the city’s historic downtown, his follow-up question was, “where is it, then?”
Now, keep in mind that in spite of his job title as newspaper publisher, he is a learned and smart man who hails from Olathe. He had never visited Parkville before, and to travel here from southern Johnson County he took I-435. He said the trip was easy to make but he expressed surprise at the narrow thoroughfare of 45 Hwy (which, as we know, condenses to two lanes after The Parkville Commons).
Later that same day, I received a letter from the Kansas Department of Transportation and as reported on page one, it contained the disappointing message that despite the best efforts of area politicians, the agency was going to completely close off I-635 to traffic beginning July 5.
I took a few things from these events.
First, I found it interesting to note that my guests took I-435 instead of I-635, which as the crow flies, would seem to be the more direct route. Of course, asking two people from Olathe how they drove to Parkville isn’t a Quinnipiac poll, but it is telling. According to several state agencies, only 48,000 people use the river crossing at I-635 each day. In the grand scheme of things, for a greater metropolitan area with more than one million residents, that’s really not a lot of people. When you consider that the proposed detour is only an additional five or ten minute ride through Fairfax, this may not be as devastating to Parkville’s economy as many believe. Particularly if many of our southern friends like to use I-435.
Still, I was a little surprised that KDOT decided to go through with their plans. The optimist in me wanted to believe that somehow, this state agency would be able to move the project back until after the Christmas holidays, that perhaps there was a loophole they could exploit in their contracts or a project they could contract out in its place for a while. I suppose when Congressman Sam Graves entered into the fray, I allowed myself to believe it could be achieved.
I reasoned that the Congressman had announced his attempt to stop the closure because he felt he had a reasonable shot of convincing them to do so. It isn’t often that you see a politician take on a fight they know they will lose. Staffers at Grave’s office told me that upon learning of the closure (from The Luminary’s report, no less) their instinct was to act. I commend them for their efforts.
But now, it’s time again to focus on our own efforts. Perhaps Graves’ involvement lulled a few city officials into a false sense of optimism as well. The river crossing is scheduled to close in about one week’s time. Have we done everything we can to help travelers to our city find their way through town?
The Commons, as recent tax reports show, is doing very well. They cater to the locals. And I’m sure if tourists want to find downtown Parkville, they’re certainly smart enough to stop and ask for directions. But why leave it to chance? Why aggravate them?
If a large portion of would-be I-635 travelers decide to take alternate routes to town, there should be signage pointing the way at the western entrance to town — if only to assure drivers that they’re going the right way — and pointers to the historic downtown at the corners of Highways 9 and 45. As I understand it, the Main Street Parkville Association secured the rights to place signage on a parcel of property in that area in years past. Stakeholders should take advantage of that offer now, when they need it. They should also place a sign at the Hwy 9-Main Street fork (at about where the Parkville Presbyterian direction sign stands), if only to prevent large amounts of traffic funneling through the neighborhoods, mistaking the area for downtown Parkville and parking in front of Carolyn Elwess’ house and driveway.
This way, in two months, when it’s all over, we can mobilize again when BNSF decides to rip the downtown apart in order to add more tracks.