By Joe Jarosz

Northeast News

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — For Cliff Drive, the mindset is that controlling the flow of vehicles will hopefully curb dumping.

Before the Kansas City Parks Board Commissioners meeting, Kansas City’s Superintendent of Parks Forest Decker explained to commissioners the plan that has been worked on for the past several months by the Cliff Drive Corridor Management Committee, Cliff Drive stakeholders and Parks and Recreation staff. Decker said the idea is to revise traffic flow along the three-mile long Cliff Drive, turning the scenic by-way into a one-way road for vehicles, as well as the closing of two gates. Input regarding ideas to eliminate illegal dumping and other illicit activity was gathered from August 2014 up until the presentation.

Currently, Decker said, Cliff Drive is a two-way road, open during the week but closed on the weekends to vehicle traffic. The basics behind the proposal would make the south lane one-way going west to east, from Paseo to Gladstone Boulevard. The north lane would be transformed into a bicycle and pedestrian lane, discouraging vehicles from accessing various dumping points along the cliff.

“Part of the recommendation is to close gate two and three,” Decker said. “The only way through it would be gates one and four.

The long term goal, Decker continued, is to have physical, visually aesthetic barriers between the two lanes. The short term plan is to separate the two lanes with striping and site specific barriers at “prime dumping areas.” He added he’s already spoken with members of the city’s Public Works Department and they said they would help, should it be approved, with striping and traffic signs.

Brett Shoffner, executive director of the Cliff Drive Management Corridor Committee, told the commissioners that since September 2013, volunteers have logged 5,965 hours cleaning the drive and removing evasive honeysuckle.

“It’s visually transformative and making our neighborhood a better place,” Shoffner said. “The continued presence of more people and the positive activity in the park, I think this idea and proposal is really great for not only retaining the current programing but adding new programing as well.”

After the presentation, commissioners voiced their appreciation for the hard work and dedication to those involved in completing the proposal. Amber Hackett, board commissioner and Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood resident, said she fully, 100 percent supports this proposal. Since the city and parks department doesn’t have the manpower to keep illegal activity out of Cliff Drive, she said this may be the city’s best option in the short term to help those who put their own time in to clean Cliff Drive.

“I personally know, first hand, how much work has gone into cleaning up Cliff Drive,” Hackett said. “It’s amazing how much work Brett and his teams do. It seems like every time they make a good dent, within a few days, someone has come in and dumped again.”

Another part of the proposal, Decker said, is to close Cliff Drive in the evenings for safety and security measures. Along with closing in the evening, the proposal also calls for adding additional cameras and lighting along the drive, as well as signs where to legally dump in the city.

Will Royster, president of the Cliff Drive Management Corridor Committee, said he’s confident the commissioners will agree to the proposal because there’s support for it and because all of the alternatives suggestions in the past have been tried. The only reasonably successful suggestion that has worked so far is car-free weekends. The drive isn’t closing, he added, they’re just making it easier to monitor.

“It’s gotten to a critical node recently only because so much more effort has been put into this and with increasing momentum, we don’t want to jeopardize that or undermine it by allowing negative activities to continue,” Royster said.

The Park Board approved closure of Cliff Drive for the winter months and for the duration of the construction project which is currently in progress. The Park Board will evaluate the one-way operation of Cliff Drive after completion of the construction project and will make a final determination at that time. The plan could be implemented as soon as late January or early February 2015. Area neighborhood associations and organizations who support the proposal include Pendleton Heights Neighborhood Association, KCPD East and Central Patrols, KC Flying Disc Golf Club and the Kansas City Museum.