US-71 Reconnecting the East Side

Kansas City, Missouri

When US-71 Highway was built through the neighborhoods on the east side of Kansas City, it made car travel easier, but it dramatically divided several of the city’s core neighborhoods and has had a negative impact on them for decades now.

Vireo has been working with the City of Kansas City, MoDOT, and MARC to lead a massive effort to listen to the residents while the team studies ways to physically restore the East Side and look at the potential for safe transportation improvements.

Four large and interactive community summits, nearly 90 neighborhood listening sessions, and more than a dozen pop-up events are giving the team dramatic insights into how the highway has adversely impacted these neighborhoods when it comes to housing, economic development, public health, education, traffic safety and more.

Working hand-in-hand with the community, the team is developing early action projects, a long-term vision for revitalization strategies for change to address the corridor’s needs that can be implemented in the coming years. Together, we are charting the course toward a safer, more connected, more equitable community.

US-71 Reconnecting the East Side

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