Frequently Asked Questions
(Last updated 6/5/2007)
- Why is this study being conducted?
- Who is involved in this process?
- How was the study location determined?
- Why not move the study area south of 199th Street?
- Can the study area be expanded?
- How do the existing plans in Cass County affect the current study?
- Is North Cass Parkway consistent with the Perimeter Transportation Needs Assessment?
- Is truck traffic and the need for infrastructure to support it driving the study?
- What impact do plans for intermodal facilities at Richards-Gebaur and Gardner have on this study?
- What about the need for north-south routes?
- A freeway facility is needed. Why not locate it further south?
- Can we pave/improve existing roads instead of adding more roads?
- Why not just fill in the missing links on existing roads?
- Why is a parkway facility recommended?
- Why put a parkway at the 175th/179th alignment?
- Why NOT locate a parkway at the 199th Street alignment?
- Will the density in the area be great enough to justify the need for an east-west parkway?
- Why not just widen existing roads on section lines?
- Will U.S. 69 be widened? Won't the recommended roadway concept just add more traffic to U.S. 69?
- Why place parkway intersections at a one-mile spacing?
- What would a parkway look like?
- What would be the benefits of building a parkway between Johnson and Cass counties?
- What environment impacts would a parkway have on the area?
- Would trucks be allowed to use the recommended parkway route?
- What about the noise from trucks and additional traffic in the study area?
- What is the policy of CARNP and theSouth Metro Connection Study to limit impact on established residential areas?
- Will this study affect property values?
- Why not expand transit service in the study area?
- Where are the high-density places of employment in southern Johnson County?
- How will the public be engaged in the study?
- Who is in support of the study?
- What is the time frame to complete the study?
- How is this study funded?
- What will happen with the recommendations/results of the study?
1. Why is this study being conducted?
The trigger for beginning the South Metro Connection Study was a request made by Cass County to work with Johnson County to examine a potential connection between the North Cass Parkway and U.S. 69.
Several studies completed in the last 10 years indicated that this area of the metropolitan region needed to be examined for future transportation investments. Johnson County’s Comprehensive Arterial Road Network Plan (CARNP) and the Mid-America Regional Council’s Perimeter Transportation Needs Assessment (PTNA) identified the need to study the area. Presentations and discussions regarding the need for infrastructure in this area have been made to many different groups including Olathe, Overland Park, Belton, Johnson County Board of Commissioners, and to the past CARNP leadership group.
2. Who is involved in this process?
Johnson County, Overland Park, Olathe, Cass County, and Belton all supported the decision to proceed with a study. MARC was asked to manage the South Metro Connection Study due to the cross-jurisdictional and bistate nature of the project. The Kansas Department of Transportation, the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration are also involved in the process. HNTB Corporation was hired as the engineering and planning consultant.
3. How was the study location determined?
The South Metro Connection study is derived from a history of planning for transportation investments in the southern portion of the Kansas City region, and the study boundaries were created from the outcomes of these studies.
This area has been identified in previous studies as an area where a future east-west connection is needed and should be examined. This is due to: (1) the fact that there are poor existing east-west roadway connections between Cass and Johnson Counties south of 135th Street; and (2) the difficult Blue River Valley terrain north of 172nd Street.
In 1999, Johnson County's Comprehensive Arterial Road Network Plan (CARNP) provided guidance on where future roadway improvements should occur in the unincorporated areas of Johnson County. CARNP recommended further examination of the area between 199th, 175th, Mission Road and State Line Road. CARNP also stated that it was important to consider the regional interconnectivity of the county network with adjoining jurisdictions. Other studies that identified a need for east-west connection include the Perimeter Transportation Needs Assessment (PTNA) conducted by MARC, Johnson County Citizens’ Visioning Committee, and the North Cass Parkway Study completed by Cass County.
Cass County is currently moving forward with the North Cass Parkway, which provides a good tie-in for east-west connection between Missouri and Kansas.
4. Why not move the study area south of 199th Street?
Many public comments have suggested moving the study south of 199th Street since growth continues to move south. While a southern corridor with a higher-level facility may also be needed in the future, it does not alleviate the need for an east-west connection in the current study area. The study area provides an east-west connection 5 to 8 miles south of the 135th Street corridor and better accommodates a connection with the North Cass Parkway. Discussions are currently taking place regarding the need to study a southern corridor along K-68 in Miami County.
5. Can the study area be expanded?
The larger intent of the South Metro Connection Study is to help fulfill the original purpose of CARNP and to help make transportation infrastructure recommendations for the designated area, left unresolved by CARNP.
As the project evolves, if an expanded study area is needed, that will be carefully considered. In response to several factors, the study team is currently investigating the option of extending the study area boundaries further south.
While MARC is the lead agency for the study, all jurisdictions involved in the study would have to agree to extend the limits or change the scope of the study.
6. How do the existing plans in Cass County affect the study?
Cass County has completed the M-58 Relocation Study, which recommended a preferred alignment for the future North Cass Parkway. [View South Metro Connection Study map] This recommendation does not dictate or rule out the type of investment or connection that may be appropriate for Johnson County. Data on land-use scenarios and traffic analysis, together with public input, will help answer the kind of connection that needs to exist, the type of facility, and its location.
The connection point between the North Cass Parkway and any potential routes in Johnson County will be examined as part of the South Metro Connection Study. The study team will consider alternatives that support and potentially connect to the North Cass Parkway. The results could also recommend that the North Cass Parkway termination point at 183rd and Holmes be modified.
7. Is North Cass Parkway consistent with the Perimeter Transportation Needs Assessment?
A facility similar to the proposed North Cass Parkway was listed as a future planned transportation investment in MARC’s 1997 Perimeter Transportation Needs Assessment (PTNA).
Cass County residents expressed a desire for better access to 50 Hwy and U.S. 71 and Johnson County. Johnson County residents expressed a need for better connectivity to K-10, and U.S. 71. Those desires were reflected in PTNA’s Preferred Option Design chapter, which recommended: “M-58 realigned from Pleasant Hill to U.S. 69" (the Johnson County alignment is approximately between 189th and 203rd Streets). All portions of this roadway in Cass County are included in the region's long-range transportation plan. Further studies were assumed to precisely define the specific investments and their locations.
8. Is truck traffic and the need for infrastructure to support it driving the study?
No trucking or freight companies are financially contributing to or are involved in the South Metro Connection Study.
The trend in Johnson and Cass counties suggests increases in jobs and employment, which corresponds to population growth. Local truck traffic will likely increase somewhat in the area due to projected growth. Interstate truck traffic on local roads can be an issue depending on the location and type of facility recommended. The likelihood of trucks using local roads as a cut-through route will be reviewed by the study team.
9. What impact do plans for intermodal facilities at Richards-Gebaur and Gardner have on this study?
The South Metro Connection’s primary goal is not to serve as a freight route but to provide a good east-west route for the growing population within the southern region of the metropolitan area. While the traffic modeling for the study area does not anticipate many added trucks traveling through the study area, a new roadway would need to be designed to accommodate safe and efficient freight movement, since it is more desirable that local trucks use it over the local street network.
The planned intermodal facilities are operated by two separate and competing companies—the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Kansas City Southern. The Gardner site was identified by BNSF as a potential site for its proposed intermodal facility and logistics parks after this study was initiated and was not part of the need for the South Metro Connection Study. The study team has prepared a traffic study for the Gardner intermodal location that will include data on current and predicted future truck travel on existing roadways. Richards-Gebaur is located close to the study area and will potentially have traffic impacts.
Gardner Intermodal & Logistics Park Review Committee Web site
10. What about the need for north-south routes?
North-south improvements within the study area are planned to occur based on the regional Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and existing county and city long-range planned roadway improvements, such as the Comprehensive Arterial Roadway Network Plan (CARNP). The South Metro Connection study doesn't rule out improvements on other routes and is necessary for a complete transportation system. Planners anticipate that north-south routes Nall, Mission and Metcalf will eventually be widened to four lanes. Nall is expected to be a complete north-south route, with the gaps being filled in between 191st Street to 199th Street, and 167th Street to 175th Street.
11. A freeway facility is needed. Why not locate it further south?
A freeway concept for the study area was evaluated and was shown to meet the purpose and need of the project. It would handle the anticipated traffic and provide an ease of traffic movement. However, the freeway concept was: (1) significantly more impacts than the parkway concept; (2) the North Cass Parkway is not intended to be converted into a freeway so it isn’t an acceptable connection point for a Johnson County freeway; (3) the cost of a freeway is significantly higher than a parkway, and (4) public input indicated that a freeway in this area was not supported.
Therefore, while there may be a need for a higher type of facility in the region, the study area is not the best location for it. An area further south would potentially be more feasible. In fact, there are currently discussions underway for studying potential upgrades to the K-68 Corridor. Regardless of what is done further south, there still is a need for an east-west connection in this area of the region.
12. Can we pave/improve existing roads instead of adding more roads?
Paving the existing roads in the study area is an option that will be evaluated. The study team is not far enough along in examining traffic and land use to determine whether limited upgrades of existing roads will meet future needs of the area or not.
13. Why not just fill in the missing links on existing roads?
Though the missing links (Concept 2b) has advantages for the local system, it: (1) does not adequately address growth and traffic movements across the region, and (2) costs the same as the parkway. Local and regional roadway facilities must both be in place to serve all the transportation needs in the area.
14. Why is a parkway facility recommended?
A parkway is recommended based on its ability to best meet the purpose and need identified for the project, while at the same time minimizing social, engineering and environmental impacts to the study area. The parkway provides a good functional roadway to carry the anticipated traffic while also addressing the public’s concern for maintaining quality of life.
15. Why put a parkway at the 175th/179th alignment?
The 175th/179th Street alignment provides good system linkage in connecting to the North Cass Parkway and 179th Streets. To the east, the North Cass Parkway will provide a four-lane parkway connecting to U.S. 71. To the west, 175th/179th Street is a CARNP-designated parkway with the ability to upgrade to four lanes in the future. The alignment also provides good linkage between Lone Elm Park, Heritage Park, the new Blue Valley High School, the Overland Park Arboretum, and the planned Johnson County Park near 175th and Mission Road. Finally, the alignment has relatively few displacements compared to other facilities, is located in an area not rapidly subdividing, is anticipated to draw significant traffic from the local streets, and has a reasonable construction cost.
16. Why NOT locate a parkway at the 199th Street alignment?
199th Street extends through the Stilwell area, which is highly developed with residential, public and commercial properties. The necessary right-of-way would displace 51 homes and businesses, including Stilwell Elementary School. The connection with the North Cass Parkway would be less direct and would create additional travel with a longer route. These factors would increase the construction cost, right-of-way impacts for the project, and decrease traffic effectiveness.
17. Will the density in the area be great enough to justify the need for an east-west parkway?
The projected population and land use of the area that has been used for the study shows a rural- to low-density development. Portions of the study area will eventually have access to central sewers and other infrastructure improvements. The Study Team anticipates that many existing large lots over 10 acres with access to sewers in the area may subdivide into more suburban densities. This type of land use was used to generate the future traffic on the roads in and around the study area. Based on the land use and traffic model output, the increase in traffic would warrant a parkway facility in the study area.
18. Why not just fill in the missing links on existing roads?
Though the missing links (Concept 2b) has advantages for the local system, it: (1) does not adequately address growth and traffic movements across the region, and (2) costs the same as the parkway. Local and regional roadway facilities must both be in place to serve all the transportation needs in the area.
19. Will U.S. 69 be widened? Won't the recommended roadway concept just add more traffic to U.S. 69?
There are plans to widen U.S. 69 to six lanes from 179th Street to I-435. At this time KDOT and local communities are working to identify funding for improvements. It is anticipated that these improvements would occur sometime after 2009. Traffic will increase on U.S. 69 with or without the South Metro Connection based on projected future land-use development. As a parkway, the South Metro Connection would not significantly increase the traffic volumes on U.S. 69 beyond what would have naturally occurred with the projected land use.
20. Why place parkway intersections at a one-mile spacing?
The primary purpose of the parkway concept is to accommodate through traffic. Spacing at-grade intersections approximately one mile apart will help make sure traffic moves quickly through the corridor. Furthermore, this limited spacing of intersections will be able to support the rural- to low-density development anticipated along the corridor.
21. What would a parkway look like?
The details of the parkway concept have not been decided, but would generally include a four-lane divided roadway with a grass median. There would be opportunities for a bike lane or trail to be offset from the roadway and a landscaping buffer to blend the roadway in to the natural environment. At-grade intersections would occur at major intersections at generally a one mile spacing. No direct driveway access would be permitted to the parkway except possibly in the area between Metcalf Avenue and U.S. 69.
22. What would be the benefits of building a parkway between Johnson and Cass counties?
Good infrastructure is critical to all communities, and there is a lack of good east-west routes in southeastern Johnson County. Johnson County is a major employment center for the region. Employment growth is expected to continue. Not everyone who works in Johnson County lives in Johnson County and it is important that access to jobs and services are relatively easy. An east-west connection in Johnson County benefits local residents because of the ease of allowing commuters to get to jobs, and provides better access to services such as hospitals, recreational attractions, and schools. In fact, traffic projections indicate that while 11,000 daily trips travel from Cass County to Johnson County, nearly 1,100 trips travel from Johnson County to Cass County. The proposed parkway facility will reduce traffic volumes on several parallel routes, delaying and possibly removing the need to add more lanes to some of those roadways.
23. What environmental impacts would a parkway have on the area?
KDOT, MoDOT and MARC will perform the environmental analysis for the study area. A preliminary assessment of environmental impacts helped the Study Team recommend a preliminary alignment. This alignment will be evaluated in more detail during the Environmental Assessment phase of the project that will begin following the June 5, 2007, public meeting. This project considers all reasonable alternatives to avoid impacts to the environment. If impacts are unavoidable, then mitigation will be conducted as part of the project to minimize impacts.
24. Would trucks be allowed to use the recommended parkway route?
Yes, trucks would use this route, but the traffic modeling results don't project very many. As established with CARNP, this facility is not to accommodate interstate truck traffic. It is Johnson County’s position that it is the primary function of the state and interstate system to provide adequate access through the county for truck traffic. While carrying truck traffic is not a defined objective in the purpose and need of this project, it would be more desirable for local trucks to use the parkway than the local street network.
25. What about the noise from trucks and additional traffic in the study area?
Potential noise from trucks and additional traffic will be evaluated during the environmental assessment of the study area. KDOT will conduct a noise analysis to estimate what impacts additional traffic from trucks and cars will have on the area. If necessary, mitigation measures would be recommended.
26. What is the policy of CARNP and the South Metro Connection Study to limit impact on established residential areas?
The purpose and need phase of the project will determine what should happen in the study area. Once needs have been identified, a range of alternatives will be evaluated to address these needs. Alternatives could range from limited upgrades of the existing county road network to a new freeway. The study team intends to avoid or mitigate significant impacts to the community and the environment, regardless of the which alternatives are recommended.
27. Will this study affect property values?
The South Metro Connection study is being conducted on an aggressive schedule in an effort to minimize impacts to the study area. It is planned to report a recommendation by summer of 2007.
The impact of this study on property values cannot be accurately evaluated at this time because there are no recommendations. As part of the study, and based on the study’s results, an analysis of its effects on property values will be made.
28. Why not expand transit service in the study area?
As shown in the project purpose and need statement, transit is a component of this project. Transit opportunities will be examined within the project development process and will be implemented in conjunction with the Johnson County Transit strategic plan and the Smart Moves regional transit plan developed by MARC.
29. Where are the high-density places of employment in southern Johnson County?
Existing employment centers in southern Johnson County are the Bayer Research facility, employers in the Stilwell area, employers at the U.S. 69/199th Street interchange, and employers in Spring Hill. Future growth may bring additional places of employment.
High-density places of employment do not have to be located in southern Johnson County to have an impact on travel. Johnson County attracts employees from all accross the region. In addition, the South Metro Connection Study will consider predicted future land-use patterns and address both existing development as well as future employment, residential, commercial and industrial development.
30. How will the public be engaged in the study?
The public will be engaged throughout the process to gather information and gain feedback on potential transportation options.
Partnership Advisory Board – Will serve as a study advisory committee to enhance two-way communication between the Study Team’s efforts and local issues. They will provide input on issues related to the study area, purpose and need and alternatives review. They will offer advice and insight about issues and concerns in the area and the region. The committee will meet at least four times during the life of the study. The meetings will include:
- Introduction to the project, gather information on issues and concerns, and hold initial discussion on land use and transportation tradeoffs.
- Education and input on purpose and need issues in order to help prepare for the purpose and need workshop.
- Follow-up information on purpose and need — present initial corridor alternatives for review.
- Discuss input from corridor meeting and present the recommended alternative before the public meeting.
- Additional meetings will be identified and scheduled if needed.
Purpose and Need Workshop – A public workshop will be held to discuss and help develop the purpose and need statement for the project. This workshop will provide specific information and allow for breakout groups to discuss values, attitudes, beliefs and tradeoffs in order to determine what issues are critical to people. (September 2006 – tentative)
Public Meetings – Public meetings will be held to provide interested parties and the general public with information about the project and solicit input on alternatives, effects, and issues of concern. The following meetings will be held:
- Public Listening Session – This meeting will gather public input and opinions early in the project. (June 14, 2006)
- Corridor Alternatives Public Meeting – This meeting will present the corridor alternatives to the public and gather public comments on the alternatives.
- Preferred Alternative Public Meeting – Once recommendations are developed, a public meeting will be conducted to present the preferred alternative and gather input on the preferred alternative.
Individual Meetings with Property Owners – Once a recommendation has been developed, meetings will be held individually with property owners to discuss specific concerns and issues.
With many of these meetings, information sheets will be prepared and made available to the public and added to the project Web site. Public input is always welcome. [How to contact us]
31. Who is in support of the study?
All participating study partners are in support of the study. A final decision on the project is still in progress. While there has been vocal opposition to this study from many residents within the study area, other property owners have expressed that they would like to see safety improved in the area and are in support of a parkway concept. Additionally, from a cross-county and regional perspective, there is support for transportation investments in this area to improve east-west travel between Johnson County and Cass County, as well as to other points in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Finally, a regional phone survey indicated that transportation improvements in southern Johnson County and northern Cass County were needed.
32. What is the time frame to complete the study?
The study is targeted to be completed in an 18-month time frame.
[See study timeline]
33. How is this study being funded?
The study is being funded by public jurisdictions (see list and amounts below). Neither the existing Richards-Gebaur nor proposed Gardner intermodal terminals have provided funding for the study. BNSF has given no money to MARC for this project or any other activities.
Johnson County $329,914 Kansas Department of Transportation $85,323 (15% of the total study cost, up to $100,000) Cass County $85,323 Overland Park $39,817 Olathe $28,441 Total $568,818
34. What will happen with the recommendations/results of the study?
Each governing body that has jurisdiction in the South Metro Connection study area will have the opportunity to either approve and adopt or reject the recommendations of the study.