Unofficial Traffic Circle

This past holiday season brought little snow, except for a lovely white Christmas, but Armour Hills residents were their usual festive selves. To mark the occasion, as well as the City's break, a few neighbors decorated the cones alerting drivers on Edgevale Road and 68th Terrace of an unfinished man hole restoration project.

Just in case the City did forget, I have been calling regularly to ensure this squeaky wheel gets some grease. I hope the crew that comes to complete the job feels the holiday spirit. Let's just hope they make it before the Epiphany! Until then, let us all enjoy or lovely impromptu traffic circle...

 

School Board Election

I know it has been a long while since I have submitted a post or even called 311. Last Fall, my family and I decided to run for the Kansas City Public Schools Board. It took a lot of work, and it took my attention of my daily grind with the City's 311 call center. It did not, however, distract me from my duties as your City Liaison with the Armour Hills Homes Association. 2012 was our neighborhoods best year, and I look forward to our progress in the coming year.

If you want to follow my other blog about the school board election, please visit www.GunnarHand.com. I did win a contested race, and I thank my opponent and everyone who provided there support along the way. Add improving our public education system to the list of to dos for this City Planner!

 

Crosswalk Stripping

Since I became the City Liaison for the Armour Hills Homes Association, I have had the opportunity to work closely with the City's 4th District Councilmembers, in particular Councilwoman Jan Marcason and her staff. This exposure has brought great insights into the City, local politics, and for the purpose of this blog, the delivery of goods and services.

When I was working with the 4th District on their 2010 Public Improvements Advisory Committee (PIAC) grants, they mentioned a pot of money for crosswalk stripping. I had several ideas. At the 2010 Armour Hills Homes Association annual meeting, many of our members expressed safety concerns on Brookside Road. All of our members must cross Brookside Road to access the Trolley Trail.

I wrote a list of all the crossings in our district (from 65th Street to Gregory on Brooskide Road) as well as the speed bumps on Main Street and the crossing for Arbor Villa Park on 66th Terrace at Main Street, and they are now on the list. The crews came out last week to paint the speed bumps on Main Street and Edgevale Road yesterday, and they are back today to finish all of our requested crosswalks.

69th Terrace Spring

Yet another water main broke on 69th Terrace just east of Brookside Road. A steady stream of water was flowing into the stormwater drain. Around the source of the water it appeared as though someone from the KCMO Water Department had been there and marked the street already.

I called in the break, and within a week a crew had come to fix the problem. As occassionally happens there was a delay between the first crew that fixes the leak, and the second crew that finishes the job. The gravel pit that remained blocked a private driveway, and I called 311 again to file a complaint.

It took another week or so, but shortly thereafter the final crew cam out to wrap it up.

Street Light Malfunction

In a time when every cent counts for all levels of government, I hate to see waste. Especially when that waste also contributes to energy consumption, the unnecessary burningof fossil fuels, and taxpayer dollars flushed down the drain. So when I noticed that the street light on Brookside Road and 67th Street was on during the day, I called 311.

After only a few weeks wait, and a couple of calls to 311, the light has been fixed and all is well.

Bus Stop Bench

Unbeknownst to many who live along the Trolley Trail, the entire 150 feet right-of-way is owned by the Kansas City Transit Authority (KCATA). While there are some parking lots, signage, and other uses on the trail, all of these uses must register and pay a fee to KCATA.

So when the new Metro Area Express (MAX) bus began service to downtown Kansas City, I would walk my wife to the nearest stop at 65th Street and Wornall Road. What I noticed was that while there was a trash can and a blank pad, there was not a place to sit. Other stops along the Trolley Trail in our neighborhood had benches, but this stop directly across from the now operating and commuter heavy Southwest High School had virtually no amenities.

After a quick call to the KCATA, they had a team out to survey the site, and the bench was installed within a week. Now if they could only change the rate of service that quickly...

AT&T U-Verse Utility Boxes

After nearly two months of working with the previous Mayor Mark Funkhouser, Councilwoman Jan Marcason, State Representative Jason Kander, City Planning, Code Enforcement, Armour Hills Homes Association, and yes, AT&T, we finally came to an agreement. Thanks to one of the more amicable property owners adjacent to the initial site, and the determination of all of us, we managed to remove a blight and replace it with a fairly well hidden one. We were even able to make AT&T go back to a utility box on 68th and Main Streets and do some required landscaping:

The morale of the story is that with adequate opposition and community awareness, AT&T will pay to make these things go away.

Now that the temporary problem is resolved, we must work to create a permanent solution for the City. Not one mile away in Kansas, all utility boxes are required to be underground. While this sounds simple enough, the Utilities are a powerful lobby, and ultimately the Missouri Public Utilities Commission has the final word. In the end, this right of way is still public land, and the utility easement is sold to AT&T and others (including Water, Sewer, Power, and other basic services) with our permission.

Without oversight, the free market gives us this (not a very nice gateway):

Tree Removal

After a long winter, the neighborhood is a buzz with homeowners working on their lawns and gardens. To join in the festivities, my wife and I decided to bring out an arborist for an estimate for some overdue maintenance on our property. Of everything that needed to be done, the arborist said our number one priority should be the removal of the Elm Tree on the Main Street right-of-way because it was surely rotting from the inside.

As one of the few surviving trees from the Dutch Elm disease over two decades ago, I was sad to see it go. But instead of paying a private company to do the job, I called 311 and kindly explained how this street tree was a liability to the City as it could fall over at anytime. They had a crew come out to chop it down within two weeks.

Sure it took the City over 120 days to send out a stump removal crew (the stump removal is done by a different crew then the tree removal), but there is a lesson here. Calling 311 works, and everyone needs to participate in making their communities better. I am working with the City Forester right now to select a tree replacement...

Thanks for the free mulch Kansas City, Missouri!

Spring Water Leaks



When the cold earth finally begins to thaw in Kansas City, it expands, and for the City's old water pipes, that mean leaks. Lots of them. It is the same story every Fall when the warm soil begins to contract and the ground shifts ever so slightly.

Moving from Los Angeles where water is a precious resource and nearly 60% of it is brought in from outside the region via aqueducts (thank you Colorado River, Owens River Valley, and Northern California), I have a real problem seeing water being waster. Not only is it a waste of money and energy, but a waste of our most precious resource.

As I walked to my part-time volunteer job down Main Street to the Children's Place, I spotted a few water leaks. One of them close to the early childhood charity has already been repaired, the other has been marked by the Water Department, but nothing has been done yet...