Four Miles on Foot: Mayor Tours Northeast Corridor with Residents

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas spent Friday morning walking Independence Avenue alongside more than a dozen residents of the Historic Northeast, who pressed him on what their part of the city lacks. The group covered nearly four miles over about two hours, ending at Columbus Square Park.

On the far east end of the corridor, Lucas said the sidewalk felt narrow next to fast-moving cars. He called widening the path an immediate step City Hall could take. He said the condition of the infrastructure was what struck him most, and that it was the first time he had experienced Independence Avenue as a pedestrian. He also said residents raised crime and nuisance activity with him, and suggested a neighborhood policing model could address those problems without requiring people to call 911.

Longtime resident Joseph Flores said public trash cans were almost nonexistent along the route. He carried an empty coffee cup for several blocks before finding a place to set it down, and said the first receptacle he noticed came near the intersection with Benton Boulevard, roughly halfway through the walk. "Not everybody's gonna hold on to that cup like me for two, three blocks," Flores said, adding that others would drop litter on the ground instead. "You have to make stuff accessible for people," he said.

Letitia Torres, who has lived just south of the avenue for a decade and belongs to the Lykins Neighborhood Association, pointed to vacant and boarded-up buildings near Hardesty Avenue. "What has happened to this specific area is insane," she said, and suggested comparing older Google Maps images with current ones to see how "the blight has taken over." East of Van Brunt Boulevard, near a BP gas station, she indicated an empty lot that once hosted food trucks and the foot traffic they drew.

Carlos Ruiz-Finch, executive chef for Tiki Taco in Kansas City, grew up in the Northeast and still has relatives there. He called the area's international markets and grocery stores among its best features but said it needs more investment. "You've either got gas stations or you've got car dealerships, like small-town car dealerships, and cash loans," he said. He said the neighborhood has "some really strong bones" and hoped the gathering could produce ideas for revitalization.

Lucas said the Historic Northeast owes more attention and investment, citing its diversity, large immigrant population and growth. He said the area should be central to "our next phase of what Kansas City is," with density and more children attending schools near Independence Avenue and Truman Road. At Columbus Square Park, he said officials should talk with residents more often, adding, "This is the sort of perspective you need." He met people who had lived in the community for generations as well as newcomers.