Northwest Englewood Road, between U.S. Highway 169 and Northwest Waukomis Drive has some straightening out to do … literally.
The lengthy planning process has begun to give a complete overhaul to the mile stretch of road that dips and climbs its way across the Clay/Platte county line and past a Northland elementary school.
Though that overhaul will come a ways down the road — it could take five years before a design concept is completed — two possible concepts have already been considered.
The conceptual alternative alignment sketches differ in lane numbers and road usage, but each capture the goal in mind by project officials to transform the narrow, hilly roadway with no curbs or sidewalks into a safer and “pleasant” boulevard.
Abe Shirazi, parks engineer in charge of the road improvement for the Kansas City parks department, said a top priority for the redesign of the roadway was smoothing the steep vertical grade that currently makes visibility for drivers a problem.
“The profile is a pretty sharp curve in the vertical grade,” Shirazi said. “We need to straighten that out and file it down.”
The two sketches produced by consultants at HDR feature either a three- or four-lane roadway with the possibility of sidewalks and bike lanes throughout. According to Sherri McIntyre, project manager for HDR, either concept would be built along the same 150 feet of right-of-way.
With a three-lane roadway, one lane of traffic would travel in each direction with a shared middle turn lane. Each direction would also have a 6-foot-wide bike lane next to either curb. Sidewalks would be included 20 feet from the roadway curb, too.
The four-lane concept features two lanes of traffic in each direction and a bike/ped path on one side of the roadway — 20 feet from the curb — and a sidewalk on the other.
Construction would likely be extended to the exit ramps on both sides of Highway 169 and include roundabouts. The intersection of Englewood and Waukomis would also likely include a roundabout. A traffic signal in front of the entrance to West Englewood Elementary, 1506 N.W. Englewood Road, is also being considered.
Shirazi said the roundabouts would improve traffic flow, especially around Highway 169 where Summit Street runs into Englewood just to the west of the highway's exiting southbound traffic.
“We think that would be the best way to approach the intersection problems,” Shirazi said of the roundabouts. “We want to put in a really nice roadway with all the amenities to make it a pleasant place to drive.”
Funding has not been secured for the project's full design phase, which is the next step in the planning process.
Wait until I tell the Hoopes about this.
Wadda you think about roundabouts, anyway?
Posted by: vince | October 11, 2007 at 06:03 AM