KC mayor wants part of Plaza to be pedestrian-only

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas thinks there is a need to make the Country Club Plaza more walk-friendly.

He said he wants to make Nichols Road a pedestrian-only area year-round, rather than just a few weeks of the year.

The proposal is in the first steps of the process, just talking and sharing ideas. But if it goes through, the mayor wants it finalized by next summer.

Lucas said some businesses are up for it, but the idea will need to have more approval from businesses and from the city.

The Plaza Art Fair is the focus of Lucas’ take. He said that event, just a few weeks ago, shows the Plaza can easily be shifted to prevent driving.

Parking can be found on several side streets, but there’s no say about how that could impact businesses with the ease of pulling up and parking closer.

The city will have to make new codes and ordinances, but it is still very possible to make this happen sooner rather than later.

“It needs to be a central entertainment space. The plaza lighting, the plaza art fair, things that people think about all the time shouldn’t just be things that happen two times a year it should be every weekend,” Lucas said. “What we’re trying to do is build that engagement regularly.”

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