$1.2 million awarded to advance sustainable places

Sep 24, 2026
| Posted in
Transportation
Clock Tower Landing MARC tour

Eighth round of MARC Planning Sustainable Places grants will fund 11 area studies.

The Mid-America Regional Council Board of Directors and Total Transportation Policy Committee approved $1,202,500 in grant funds for 11 local Planning Sustainable Places (PSP) studies — five in Kansas, four in Missouri and two bi-state studies — at their September meetings. The studies were selected through a competitive process that drew 28 submissions. The PSP program supports community efforts to create:

  • Vibrant places that offer a mix of options for housing, jobs, services and recreation.
  • Connected places with a variety of transportation options.
  • Green places that support healthy living and a healthy natural environment.

These concepts are promoted in the region’s long-range transportation plan, Connected KC 2050, and in many city and county comprehensive plans.

The 2027 PSP grant awards

  • Basehor, Kansas
    State Avenue Multimodal Corridor & Growth Strategy — This plan will develop a comprehensive multimodal corridor study centered on State Avenue (US Highways 24/40) between 155th and 158th streets in the City of Basehor. Awarded: $138,000.
     
  • Johnson County, Kansas
    75th Street Fast & Frequent — This bi-state study will evaluate feasibility and develop an implementation framework for enhanced, high-frequency transit service along a major east-west corridor connecting Johnson County, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, from Quivira Road on the west to Prospect Avenue on the east. Awarded: $105,000 to Kansas and $45,000 to Missouri.
     
  • Leavenworth, Kansas
    Leavenworth Development Regulations Update — This comprehensive update of development regulations and zoning aims to better align land use regulations with current and future community needs, support sustainable and transportation-efficient development patterns, and remove barriers to business retention and economic growth, housing, environmental stewardship and multimodal supportive development. Awarded: $150,000.
     
  • Olathe, Kansas
    Mill Creek Watershed Connectivity Plan — This study will develop a coordinated planning framework for multimodal transportation trail access and downtown place-based improvements within the Mill Creek watershed. Awarded: $137,700.
     
  • Overland Park, Kansas
    87th Street Corridor Study — The corridor plan will analyze the relationship between land use and transportation along 87th Street and make recommendations regarding internal mobility enhancements and multimodal opportunities along the corridor. Awarded: $92,000.
  • Roeland Park, Kansas
    Roeland Park Bike-Ped Plan — A comprehensive and implementable Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan will be developed to improve mobility, safety, accessibility, and connectivity within Roeland Park while strengthening connections to the broader regional transportation network and neighboring communities. Awarded: $48,300.
     
  • Kansas City, Missouri
    Reconnecting Kansas City Community Investment Plan — The Community Investment Plan will establish a shared framework to advance two Kansas City corridor initiatives: Reconnecting the East Side and Reconnecting the Westside. Awarded: $150,000.
     
  • Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Missouri
    31st Street Transit Accessibility Plan — This study will evaluate bicycle and ADA access along the KCATA Route 31 corridor to identify barriers that limit safe and convenient access to transit. Awarded: $72,000.
     
  • Port KC, Missouri
    West Bottoms Transit Oriented Development Plan — This bi-state study seeks to guide future connectivity, development, design and investment in the West Bottoms neighborhood on both sides of the state line. Awarded: $69,000 to Kansas and $54,500 to Missouri.
     
  • Lee’s Summit, Missouri
    Summit Activity Center — This study focuses on one of Lee’s Summit’s regional commercial and employment destinations, with the goal of evolving the activity center as a connected and competitive regional destination. Awarded: $60,000.
     
  • Raytown, Missouri
    Downtown Raytown Streetscape, Mobility and Public Space Plan — This plan will focus on improving connectivity, placemaking, environmental stewardship and economic vitality within downtown Raytown. Awarded: $81,000.

The projects are classified into two categories: initial planning for a study area without previous planning, or project development. Nine of the currently funded projects fall into the initial planning category, which requires meaningful community engagement.

“The Planning Sustainable Places grant program involves communities in a local government planning process with a focus on creating better places,” said Beth Dawson, Planning Sustainable Places program manager at MARC. “This allocation marks the eighth round of PSP funding and brings the program’s total impact to $9,969,700 awarded to 131 projects. It is exciting to see communities implement plans that create vibrant assets for their residents.”

Funding for these grants comes from the Missouri and Kansas Surface Transportation Programs. Project sponsors are required to provide a local match of at least 20 percent. The PSP program was created in 2013 as part of the region’s Creating Sustainable Places initiative.

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