Kansas City - where are the pedestrian-friendly areas? (Leawood, Nelson: how much, home)

[Tiger Beer]

Kansas City - is it pedestrian friendly anywhere? Or mostly all car-oriented? How is the layout?

Not that I wouldn't have a car, but it is nice to be able to walk around places without jumping in the car for nearly everything.

Even if there were a few areas that are noteable exceptions...thinking of housing in particular, where you can just step out your front door and have access to restaurants or stores in places...

Thinking of this without compromising some major safety...and also thinking without being crazy wealthy either.

[OneKC]

The Plaza is probably the most pedestrian friendly area, and it is still pretty auto-centric. Other semi-pedestrian-friendly areas include the River Market/Columbus Park, Westport, Westside, 39th Street and Stateline, the Crossroads, Waldo and Brookside.

[TabulaRasa]

Another vote for the Plaza...and not just if you're going to shop, the neighborhood and surrounding area as a whole is pretty decent. In the vicinity, Mill Creek Park has a nice walking/running path, and so does Loose Park. You can walk along Brush Creek (if you can bear the stench in the more stagnant water seasons, anyway), and it's a nice way to get to the Nelson-Atkins and Theis Park and the Kauffman Memorial Garden/Foundation, which are also nice places to walk. The Trolley Track Trail starts adjacent to the Plaza, and extend to Brookside and Waldo.

These are all nice for walking for recreation, but as far as walking for utilitarian purposes, it's a mixed bag...the Plaza offers a lot of shopping, obviously, but not your typical pedestrian, resident-of-the area type shopping. No grocery within really good walking distance, and even the closest drug stores and hardware stores are more than just a hop, skip, and jump. Plenty of places to eat out close by, though. Just not so much by way of errands/supplies.

When we moved from the Plaza to Waldo, I anticipated enjoying continued relative walkability, but it fell a bit short, to be honest. Other than the south end of the Trolley Track Trail, it leaves a bit to be desired, walkability-wise, because much of the residential area, including where we lived, is devoid of sidewalks.

[OneKC]

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

These are all nice for walking for recreation, but as far as walking for utilitarian purposes, it's a mixed bag...the Plaza offers a lot of shopping, obviously, but not your typical pedestrian, resident-of-the area type shopping. No grocery within really good walking distance, and even the closest drug stores and hardware stores are more than just a hop, skip, and jump. Plenty of places to eat out close by, though. Just not so much by way of errands/supplies.

I've always been kind of amazed no practical retail like a Target or CVS or small grocer has popped up just outside the Plaza like around 50th and Main or even up on Main by the old H&R Block HQ. Seems like a lot of office workers would need to grab things during the day or on the way home from work and there are certainly enough residents in the area to support such a business.

[TabulaRasa]

There actually is a CVS in the vicinity of 50th and Main, actually, a couple of blocks south of the Plaza library...that's as close as it gets, which, depending on where you live in the Plaza neighborhood, isn't incredibly walkable or convenient, but better than nothing. Depends on how much you're carrying and how far you're gonna be carrying it.

[denverian]

Isn't the Westport Sunfresh the only grocery store serving everywhere from downtown to the Plaza? That store (considering it's still there) must be really crowded.

Personally, for walkability, I want to be able to walk to a grocery store and a few restaurants, coffee shop, etc. from my front door. There are neighborhoods like that in Denver, but they're still trying to get a grocery store directly downtown. There's one on the edge of downtown, but that's it.

[kcmo]

KC has probably one of the nicest and largest urban grocery stores anywhere downtown, and I'm quite surprised Denver doesn't have something similar by now.

Sunfresh in Westport is still there and it's busy and used by many people, but it's more of a suburban big box plopped down in the city. The downtown market is a true urban market.

[TabulaRasa]

There is something of a grocery store void in some parts of town, for sure. When we lived on the Plaza, our closest options were basically the Westport Sun Fresh, the Price Chopper in Brookside, or (gasp) Wal-Mart in Roeland Park.

[lifelongMOgal]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Kansas City - is it pedestrian friendly anywhere? Or mostly all car-oriented? How is the layout?

Not that I wouldn't have a car, but it is nice to be able to walk around places without jumping in the car for nearly everything.

Even if there were a few areas that are noteable exceptions...thinking of housing in particular, where you can just step out your front door and have access to restaurants or stores in places...

Thinking of this without compromising some major safety...and also thinking without being crazy wealthy either.

No one has mentioned the KS side with Prairie Village yet so I'll chime in with it. Similar to Brookside on a smaller scale, Corinth, Fairway, and old Leawood too; and, to some extent Mission.

[famusdarlin]

The one neighborhood I can think of that is walkable with grocery store, general (dime) store, pharmacy, bank, everything close would be the parts of Brookside that surround the shops right on 63rd Street in Brookside. The shops run from around Main to Wornall. There is a school, 2 grocery stores, resturants, shops, bank, pharmacy, gas station, and a flower store. I love the neighborhood and you always see families walking around.