Since at least the 1990s, Westwood has been coordinating with Roeland Park, Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kansas, and other partners to plan improvements and redevelopment to 47th Street between Rainbow Blvd and Mission Road to make the corridor safer and more inviting, as well as to implement other strategies to support and encourage businesses. A timeline of the past 30 years of this coordinated effort is available via this link.
In 2023, with the aid of a cost sharing grant and a financial partnership between the City of Westwood and the Unified Government, Complete Streets concepts were permanently installed along the 47th Street corridor. The final Complete Streets plan for the corridor was piloted/demonstrated in 2020 by striping bike lanes, making minor curb and ramp adjustments, and adding temporary bollards where permanent medians would ultimately go. Input from the 2020 demonstration was used to refine the street design in place today.
This work implemented the recommendations of the 2017 47th Street Complete Streets Plan - as well as recommendations included in several other previous planning studies - linked below.
To learn more about Complete Streets and the City's commitment to them, visit this page of the City's website.
The 47 Committee is comprised of businesses, area residents, the Rosedale Development Association, and officials from the Cities of Roeland Park, Westwood, and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City, Kansas. The Committee:
- coordinates with business owners for special events and promotions
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works with neighborhood associations to achieve long-term goals of the Concept Plan (available here)
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promotes development within the 47th & Mission Road area corridor that is in compliance with the Concept Plan and all ordinances adopted by the Jurisdictions to implement the Plan, including business recruitment and business retention and redevelopment
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coordinates efforts for cooperation among the Cities in planning and construction of public improvements within the 47th & Mission Road area to ensure that public improvements are in compliance with the Concept Plan and consistent among the Cites
The 47 Committee was born from the 47th and Mission Road Area Development and Management Committee, active from 2000 to 2021, before formally converting to The 47 Committee with the passage of Ordinance 1024 in February 2022.
The development and management of the area are now governed in all three cities by the 47th & Mission Road Area Overlay District, codified in each City's Zoning Ordinance. The provisions of the overlay district are available via this link to the Westwood Zoning Ordinance.
Historical documents and plans from former Development and Management Committee are available via the links below: