Mayor’s Minutes - March 25th, 2025 - Sunflower Recreational Trail, Permanent Traffic Signals

In this episode of the Mayor’s Minute(s), Mayor Rick Walker covers the rezoning request for Evening Star Road, a recreational trail project, and permanent traffic signals!

 

00:00 Introduction and Welcome 

00:17 Rezoning Request for Evening Star Road 

00:50 Sunflower Road Recreational Trail Project 

01:24 Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan 

01:49 Digitizing Old Paper Records 

02:06 Riverfest Park Master Plan Update 

02:30 Timed Downtown Parking Ordinance 

03:04 Traffic Signal Upgrades at Lexington and Commerce

04:35 Conclusion and Contact Information

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
Hello De Soto.
Welcome to this edition of Mayor's Minutes.
Thanks for tuning back in for a quick recap of what happened at our March 20th City Council meeting.
Let's dive into some highlights from the meeting. 5 00:00:17,966.666666667 --> 00:00:24,656.666666667 First, we considered a rezoning request for our 38-acre property at Evening Star Road and 103rd Street.
.014The site had previously been annexed into the city and was zoned commercial, but we approved a rezoning to light industrial to support development for a future concrete plant and other businesses at this location. 7 00:00:36,554.014 --> 00:00:40,534.014 Of course additional infrastructure improvements will be needed in the area. 8 00:00:40,654.014 --> 00:00:42,4.014 Those are in the pipeline. 9 00:00:42,424.014 --> 00:00:50,384.014 This initial action just paves the way for the project to get started, and we are expecting additional planning documents from the applicant soon. 10 00:00:50,565.680666667 --> 00:00:53,985.680666667 We're also getting ready to start construction of a 1.5- 11 00:00:54,12.347333333 --> 00:00:59,352.347333333 mile recreational trail along Sunflower Road between 91st Street and 103rd Street. 12 00:00:59,479.014 --> 00:01:06,679.014 You may remember that this is funded in part by a KDOT Transportation Alternatives Grant that we received a couple of years ago. 13 00:01:06,729.014 --> 00:01:18,545.680666667 Last week the Council approved a contract for the inspection services to ensure that the project is built to KDOT standards and construction is expected to begin soon with completion by the end of the summer. 14 00:01:18,829.014 --> 00:01:24,434.014 With any luck, we'll be enjoying walks in the fresh air and bike rides on this new trail next fall. 15 00:01:24,797.347333333 --> 00:01:32,807.347333333 At our wastewater treatment plant, we approved an extension of GBA's contract to prepare a stormwater pollution prevention plan. 16 00:01:33,447.347333333 --> 00:01:40,860.83933333 This is part of maintaining compliance with State permit requirements and ensuring that we're managing the runoff from the site responsibly. 17 00:01:41,160.83933333 --> 00:01:48,768.70766667 Just another step in making sure that our infrastructure keeps pace with changing regulations and protects the environment. 18 00:01:49,135.37433333 --> 00:02:06,85.37433333 During our recent city hall remodel we uncovered a mountain of old paper records everything from finance and court records to engineering documents, and so we're moving forward with a project to digitize these records and upgrade our document management system. 19 00:02:06,292.17281818 --> 00:02:14,88.83948485 In Parks and Recreation news, we accepted a proposal from Bartlett and West to update the Riverfest Park Master Plan. 20 00:02:14,448.83948485 --> 00:02:18,288.83948485 This is a refresh, not a complete rework of that master plan. 21 00:02:18,425.50615152 --> 00:02:22,805.50615152 It's all about gathering ideas for the future of this park. 22 00:02:22,855.50615152 --> 00:02:26,395.50615152 So keep an eye out for community surveys and open houses soon. 23 00:02:26,555.50615152 --> 00:02:29,215.50615152 Looking for input from our park users. 24 00:02:29,757.62626729 --> 00:02:30,837.62626729 In downtown. 25 00:02:30,897.62626729 --> 00:02:33,177.62626729 We talked about timed downtown parking. 26 00:02:33,277.62626729 --> 00:02:40,577.62626729 It's been exciting to see the increased activity in our downtown area, and we wanna make sure we're supporting all of our local businesses. 27 00:02:40,577.62626729 --> 00:02:45,990.95960062 So to that end, we passed an ordinance establishing timed parking in a few key spots. 28 00:02:46,40.95960062 --> 00:02:52,150.95960062 Near two retail businesses on 83rd Street and by the food pantry down here at City Hall. 29 00:02:52,660.95960062 --> 00:03:04,360.95960062 These short term spaces are intended for quick visits so customers can pop in and grab what they need and go and keep those prime spots available during peak hours for those businesses and their customers. 30 00:03:04,800.95960062 --> 00:03:13,890.95960062 And finally we got an update on one of the one of our busier intersections permanent traffic signals for Lexington and Commerce and for the K-10 eastbound off ramps. 31 00:03:13,920.95960062 --> 00:03:21,694.29293396 So if you've driven through that area recently, you've probably seen the construction and maybe experienced a few delays but here's what's going on. 32 00:03:21,794.29293396 --> 00:03:32,839.72426729 Back in 2023, when KDOT widened Lexington Avenue as part of the larger effort to handle the traffic generated by the coming Panasonic Project and the Astra Enterprise Park. 33 00:03:33,26.39093396 --> 00:03:41,156.39093396 As part of that, the old permanent signal at Lexington and Commerce had to be removed, and a temporary span wire signal was installed at that intersection. 34 00:03:41,209.72426729 --> 00:03:46,240.38226729 And a new span wire signal was installed at those eastbound off ramps at Lexington. 35 00:03:46,540.38226729 --> 00:03:52,910.38226729 And while those temporary signals have served us well through the construction phase, they are not a long-term solution. 36 00:03:53,440.38226729 --> 00:04:01,650.38226729 So we've been working with KDOT and the contractors to make sure that we got the permanent signals in before they moved off the project. 37 00:04:01,650.38226729 --> 00:04:05,340.38226729 So now the crews are working on this new modern signal system. 38 00:04:05,340.38226729 --> 00:04:19,150.38226729 That's gonna include the new poles, lights, and mast arms, the new signal heads vehicle detection, ADA compliant pedestrian crossings, and improved signal coordination between the two intersections. 39 00:04:19,360.38226729 --> 00:04:29,773.71560062 So if everything stays on track, the new signals will be operational by the end of May, first of June, and certainly be in place in operational before school starts next fall. 40 00:04:29,887.04893396 --> 00:04:34,627.04893396 We're hoping these upgrades will help manage traffic safely and efficiently for years to come. 41 00:04:35,20.38226729 --> 00:04:37,240.38226729 I hope you find these updates helpful. 42 00:04:37,420.38226729 --> 00:04:44,320.38226729 As always, if there's something you'd like to see addressed or if you just have a question or an idea, please don't hesitate to reach out. 43 00:04:44,440.38226729 --> 00:04:45,610.38226729 I'd love to hear from you. 44 00:04:46,110.38226729 --> 00:04:48,530.38226729 And that's it for this week's Mayor's Minute. 45 00:04:48,630.38226729 --> 00:04:49,560.38226729 Thanks for listening. 46 00:04:49,590.38226729 --> 00:04:50,730.38226729 I'll see you around town.