Blackwell Road TIF is activated

I still think that cutting Blackwell down from four lanes to three is a mistake, it is not what Lees Summit residents paid for, and goes against the the initial design of the area, but time will tell. I'm going to have do another explanation of TIF's and why we need them based on the reactions I'm hearing to the use of TIF's in Lees Summit.

Here is the story as it appeared in the Kansas City Star - Blackwell Road TIF is activated:

Lee's Summit residents near Blackwell Road will see improvements to make it safer as part of a tax increment financing district.

The TIF also is expected to pay for a new U.S. 50 interchange at Blackwell. The city plans to use a TIF to raise $42.5 million to build a diamond interchange at Blackwell Road and reconstruct the interchange at Todd George Parkway and outer road connections to Smart Road.

The City Council recently voted 5-2 to activate the TIF around Lee's Summit Medical Center. Joe Spallo and Nick Swearngin voted no; James Freeman was not present.

The council will need to approve votes to activate other sections of the TIF district, with council votes expected next year. The city announced traffic-calming steps it is planning for Blackwell Road. The steps are in response to concerns of some residents about speeding and additional traffic they think the intersection will put through the Canterbury subdivision, which is split by Blackwell.

The plan is to restripe Blackwell to reduce it from four lanes to two with a center turn lane between Shenandoah Drive and Langsford Road.

That should result in slower speeds, fewer crashes and improved pedestrian safety, said Michael Park, city traffic engineer. Six-foot shoulders could serve as bicycle lanes.

The capacity for that configuration would be 22,000 cars per day, he said. Counts put current traffic at 1,800 vehicles daily, and projections put it at 8,500 by 2030.

Other Blackwell improvements:

** Adding streetlights on Blackwell, part of bond issues voters approved in November.

** A roundabout intersection at Shenandoah and Blackwell.

** Pedestrian crossings at Third and Fifth streets, but no traffic lights.

The city already has several streets that have roundabout or three-lane designs.

'What we have on Blackwell is not unique in what we're preparing to do,' Park said.

Spallo asked Park if the roundabout could handle the projected traffic.

'They've been proven to move traffic very efficiently,' Park said. He said the city had learned some lessons from difficulties with the city's first roundabout on Longview Boulevard. The Blackwell roundabout will be larger.

Park said he had met with residents of the Canterbury subdivision, who've opposed the TIF because it would fund the interchange on U.S. 50 at Blackwell. They support the traffic-calming plan but still opposed the TIF, he said.

That neighborhood had requested improvements, like crosswalks, following the death of 9-year-old Justin Faust in 2004. He was hit by a vehicle while he and his family were trying to get their dog back to their home.

Many residents of Silkwood Estates, near Todd George Parkway, supported the TIF because it would be the engine to fix traffic problems resulting from an overloaded interchange there.

Linda Marshall, who has been a spokeswoman for Canterbury residents, said the group considered the two issues separate, although it is thankful for the safety plans.

'The traffic-calming measures are good, but it's our opinion it should have been done before the TIF,' Marshall said.

She criticized Mayor Karen Messerli for conducting a November public hearing on the TIF.

The mayor is an employee of Lee's Summit Medical Center. Marshall said the medical center benefits financially from the TIF, creating a conflict for Messerli.

She contends the City Charter forbids elected officials from voting or participating in a transaction where they have 'any direct or indirect substantial financial interest' as defined by Missouri statutes.

'She's incorrect,' City Attorney Robert Handley said. 'The city's unilateral imposition of the TIF is not a transaction.'

Messerli did not vote on the issue.

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