Heartland Visioning and Downtown Topeka, Inc. went before the Topeka City Council last Tuesday, May 11, to ask for funding for a plan to be developed to redo Kansas Avenue, creating a “serpentine” style street with more areas for public gathering and entertainment and a resulting environment more conducive to hanging out in our downtown. The idea is that more businesses, festivals and general interest in the area will follow.
According to this article via CJ Online, the city manager, Norton Bonaparte, and his staff researched options for funding and came up with the motor fuel tax, which is what Topeka gets out of the state-wide purchase of gasoline, but it is yet to be decided whether this tax is a legitimate source of funding for the creation of a DT plan.
The next chapter in this story will happen June 8 when the council will be asked to authorize a request to the planning firm which will devise three detailed plans for the Kansas Avenue redevelopment, which will then be scrutinized. Baby steps. But this is indeed a calculated approach with thorough research and momentum behind it, and with backing from such organizations as Go Topeka and Downtown Topeka, Inc. There is both support and opposition from downtown merchants and the general public. The variables are many, and the plan could ultimately be struck down due to lack of funding or support or both. Or, it could succeed beyond anyone’s wildest dreams and after the construction dust settles, Topekans would be left with a Kansas Avenue that meanders along like a concrete river, with park areas, bigger sidewalks, the works. But then what?
If you view the comments below the CJ article (probably unnecessary warning: CJ public commentaries can sometimes get a bit on the heated side) you’ll find that there is a varied opinion on the plan for a serpentine Kansas Avenue. We have heard people saying that there were multiple plans in the past to revitalize downtown, all with not-so-clear results or outright failure. What makes this plan different?
seveneightfive has staff members who are active in Visioning, others who aren’t, and our staff has its own diverse opinions about the downtown redevelopment plan. But we are interested in what you, our readers think. If it’s something you feel strongly about, we urge you to visit the link below, find your city council person for your district, and send them a note to let them know what you think.
This is our city, our downtown, and we have every right to voice concerns or enthusiasm for a plan that will change it indefinitely. So we at seveneightfive urge you to get involved.
Link to City Council Persons, districts and email contacts
[May 2010 | photo by Matt Porubsky]
Kris H.
1 year ago
I’m concerned that this is another vast money-waster. What will make people come downtown will not be a “serpentine street.” In fact, that might make me stay away from downtown.
What people want downtown is 1) Merchants and restaurants, and ones that are open during the evening and on weekends. 2) A safe atmosphere to park and shop in. 3) Free parking close to the stores/restaurants. Period.
Making a street harder to navigate is not going to help any of that. I don’t know what the solutions are to some of these problems, except that downtown landlords probably have unreasonable expectations regarding what their buildings are worth to lease, and a much larger law enforcement presence would be necessary.
Jeremy Schwerdt
1 year ago
I think I speak for a lot of other Topekans when I say that I’d rather go downtown and spend my time and money rather than on Wanamaker Road. Any development downtown would be great. I’m not sure what happened to the baseball park idea, but when the T-Bones came to town last week, people drove to Lake Shawnee, so why wouldn’t they drive downtown? Let’s get something going, so we have a downtown to be proud of, like Lawrence. I drive to Lawrence just to enjoy their downtown.
Lilysmom
1 year ago
You know, there are already a lot of great merchants and restaurants downtown. LOTS of them are open on Saturdays and evenings. There is a ton of parking. It’s free for 2 hours along the Avenue and if you do have to pay, it’s very inexpensive to park in the city garages or on the side streets. Leases downtown are cheaper than anywhere in the city. What we need is for people to get off their fat butts and realize that downtown is already awesome, and you don’t ever have to walk any further down there than you do at the stupid mall. Redoing the street, fixing the electricity and the water, all that stuff HAS to be done because its crappy and busted. If we have to do it anyhow, lets put it back cool!
As for Lawrence? People here whine about parking here not being close or free, hello! You have to pay EVERYWHERE on Mass Ave. in Downtown Lawrence.
Don Snethen
1 year ago
I am all for a more vibrant downtown, however, I’m not sure that simply adding a serpentine will have any more magic than the current street-scape. The current KS Ave streets-cape was installed in the mid-80′s with much of the same commentary, “it will entice businesses to move down town, bla, bla bla. Well where are they? In the 25 years since then we have more vacant buildings, less business diversity and generally less to do after 5 pm. What KS Ave needs is attractions such as a hotel, theater, grocery store, shoe stores, clothing stores, more art galleries, a pharmacy, live entertainment, bakery, gift and craft shops, book stores, etc. Develop a plan to get these in place before reconfiguring the street. The current street-scape has nearly 50 park benches, counting the ratty ones that have replaced some of the crappy rotten kiosk structures. At 2;30 pm on Thursday May 13 I observed 2 people using a bench and they appeared to have only spent a couple of minutes sitting. The benches are in sore need of rehabilitation. In addition, the trees and shrubs that were established with the current street-scape have matured to the point they are actually attractive.It would truly be a waste to rip out the trees and shrubs and start over. Downtown is not the most hospitable environment for trees and shrubs, it would take another 20 years or so for new shrubs to be equivalent to the current ones. Winter time in downtown can be down right hostile, I would like to see sky walks that would provided protected walk ways during inclement weather. Minneapolis, MN has them as well as Kansas City in the Crown Center area. As for a baseball park, if we need to build a new one, put it in the Buffalo Crossings industrial park that is south east of down town. It would have good access to the interstate and the trail system. The area is essentially a blighted area – a junk yard.
Robin
1 year ago
Kris! Glad you’re in my head! I would love to see a Topeka Downtown which rivals Lawrence but that would mean merchants having longer hours AND customers to buy during those hours. Who goes first??
Also, I’ve had 1st hand experience in regard to lofts developing and I’m pretty surprised at the prices for renting and buying. I think if developers TRULY want this to happen, the “money lust” needs to stay by the wayside UNTIL the dream starts to take shape…or stay away forever!
I 2nd the notion of more Free Parking too!!
Brendan Jensen
1 year ago
Morning All,
Let me add a few points to conversation here…
1) Redoing KS Ave into a “serpentine” design is just one idea that is being looked at. We are a long way away from any final decisions on what to for sure.
2) At this point, the groups involved are just asking the city to allocate this money for the study. No one is asking for a check to be written to them. Ultimately, the city will decided who to write the check to for the study, if it gets approved. Also nearly half the funding needed for this study has been privately raised!
3) The point of the study is look at all aspects of the infrastructure downtown. This includes outside electrical, water, traffic patterns and flow, parking, pedestrian traffic, etc. This data will be combined with not yet gathered community input to create several realistic options for how to modify Kansas Ave. to better fit the needs and expectations of the community.
4) There is also a lot of work going on behind the scenes. We know that just adding green space to the street won’t add businesses. Nor will it help the existing ones survive and prosper. Plans are being developed now that would help the folks down there now get though any periods of construction and encourage new ones to move in.
What’s I can offer is this: We’re approaching this from as many angles as possible. There isn’t just one thing that can be done to revitalize downtown. We’re working now to get forums in place so folks like you can better communicate ideas and concerns to the leadership team. We should have lots more info in the next couple weeks!!
Alissa Sheley
1 year ago
Don – I think you (and everyone else that’s commented so far) are exactly right – this can’t be just a cosmetic update. That’s why the Capital District Project is so exciting to me. They’re not locked into the serpentine design right now, actually they’re not locked into anything other than finding out what our community wants.
jones huyett Partners, the agency that I work for, has taken the Capital District Project on as pro-bono work. We will be launching a Facebook Page soon, and a blog shortly after that. I hope that you (and everyone else) will post your thoughts and feedback on both of those outlets, as well as, write your City Councilperson.
Reach out to your elected officials and let them know that you support the idea of revitalizing our downtown and enhancing the business that already thrives there.
@AlissaSheley