U.S. 69 open house explains corridor study

By Michael Pommier

The Fort Scott Tribune

Icy weather did not stop some citizens as they attended Monday night's U.S. 69 Corridor Study open house.

Approximately 50 local residents made the trip to the First Presbyterian Church, 308 S. Crawford, to hear Kyle Anderson of Felsburg, Holt, and Ullevig; and Martin Shukert of RDG Planning and Design, present information about the study. The goal of the presentation was to present the basic information to the community regarding the process and the goals of the study.

"This whole process has nothing but input from the get-go," said Dean Mann of the U.S. Highway 69 Association.

The open house consisted to two sections.

The first, was a formal presentation on the study and what to expect from it.

The second, was a one-on-one question and answer session with individuals involved in the study.

The room was broken up into sections for each phase of the project. Those in attendance were then invited to go to the different sections and ask question.

The purpose of the study is to develop the future unifying vision of the U.S. Highway 69. The study will look at several different aspects of the corridor. Key areas of focus for the study will be traffic management, access management, and land use.

During the study, a 30-year traffic forecast will be completed as well as an estimate of the expected lifespan of the corridor. Also, the study will assess the mobility, safety and efficiency of the corridor. The study will examine the land use based on special districts such as the fort, downtown and South National. These districts will be combined with market research and economic development to provide a vision and a direction to make Fort Scott a place of growth.

"We see this not as a tube to get you from point A to point B, but rather as something that functions economically for the development of Fort Scott," Shukert said.

Both Anderson and Shukert emphasized public involvement during the course of the study. The goal is to get the citizens involved and to provide input about the community.

Shukert said the project should be a collaboration, the engineers know what worked in other places, but the public knows what Fort Scott is about.

"This plan should be a shared vision with the community," Shukert said. "We find often that a lot of the best ideas come from residents of the city."

Mann said the purpose of the project is to prevent problems while creating a four-lane highway from Kansas City south to the Okla. border. He said the four-lane highway is coming soon.

"With it comes challenges, and we want to be able to face those challenges and solve those challenges before they become a problem," Mann said.

Many are excited for the future and the ideas which will come from the study. Shukert said things look good after seeing a positive turnout at Monday's meeting despite the icy conditions.

"We're starting on a great opportunity to put a new face on our community," Mann said.

Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Tourism Cynthia McFarlin is also enthusiastic about the way that the project is being approached.

"What I am most excited about is they are making the public involvement part of it paramount, so that it become our highway 69 and not something that is done to us," McFarlin said.

The public will have several opportunities to be involved in the study. Two design studios are slated for April, in which the public will be invited to visit with the engineers and provide information face-to-face. A second open house will be held in September. Anderson said he will be more than happy to visit community organizations to give a presentation on the progress of the study throughout the duration.

The study is scheduled to be completed in November.

More information may be obtained online by visiting www.us69corridorstudy.com. To ask questions, the public may send an e-mail to info@us69corridorstudy.com or call the Kansas Department of Transportation at (877) 550-5368.