W. 47th Place
47th Place is a critical connector in Westwood and for area residents outside of Westwood as it:
- connects Rainbow and State Line, serving as an east-west pass-through between the Country Club Plaza District and northeast Johnson County and southeast Wyandotte County (KCK)
- bisects Woodside's north and south club facilities
- bisects Midwest Transplant Network's building on the north side of the street from its overflow and ambulance parking on the south side of the street
As the road's uses - an east-west cut-through and a north-south connector - directly compete with one another, the City commissioned a planning study in 2021 to "Reimagine 47th Place". With the aid of funding through Mid-America Regional Council's (MARC) Planning Sustainable Places program, the City worked with 47th Place stakeholders to:
- Evaluate who is using the street and how it is being used
- Consider future land uses and how that will impact the street
- Extend complete street concepts to State Line Rd.
- Test concepts with stakeholders in a way that meaningfully engages the community and informs the final report
The final report - Reimagine 47th Place Complete Streets Plan - is available here.
47th Ter. & 48th St.
The houses along W. 47th Ter. and W. 48th St. between Rainbow Blvd. and State Line Rd. are some of the older, more diverse, and unique homes in the community. This area was annexed into the city in July 1960, eleven years after the incorporation of the City of Westwood. The dedicated rights-of-way of 47th Terrace and 48th Street are only approximately 42.5 feet (as compared to closer to 50 feet in other parts of the city). The platted lot sizes are generally only 40 feet wide and 110 feet in length, with short front yard setbacks. Many of the homes in this area have no or only a one-car garage, lending to a pattern of on-street parking for most vehicles. Navigating these two roads can be difficult for automobiles and pedestrians due to the narrow right-of-way and topographic changes along these narrow streets. Sidewalks are mostly non-existent, and on-street parking makes it difficult for cars to travel safely in two directions when cars are parked on the streets.
The City has evaluated alternative designs - including adding sidewalks - in past planning and study efforts, including those below:
- 2017 Master Plan (click here for a direct link to recommendations for these streets in the Master Plan)
- 2017 47th Street Complete Streets Plan (click here for a direct link to recommendations for these streets in the 47th Street Plan)
In Spring 2020, the City evaluated options to redesign these two streets in preparation for their resurfacing and spot curb replacement scheduled for 2021-2022. The City engaged the City Engineer to explore pursuing a one-street configuration and adding sidewalks and streetlights to implement the recommendations of the 2017 Master Plan (linked above). However, for the following reasons, the City choose to not pursue a street redesign:
- a sustainable funding mechanism could not be identified for the resulting significant increase in the project budget;
- there was no clear consensus from residents on the two streets about whether a redesign would be supported and what elements of a redesign were desired; and
- the City forecasted consistent heavy construction equipment on the street for the next several years due to the number of houses being torn down and rebuilt on the two streets.