🎥 Homeowners oppose 37th St. extension as part of roundabouts project

Several homeowners, including Terry Blide, who spoke to the Hays city commission Thu., oppose the proposed extension of 37th St. as part of the north Vine Street roundabout project.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

Before the Hays city commission voted 3-1 Thursday night to approve an engineering design supplement to the North Vine Street Corridor roundabouts project, two residents spoke during citizen comments against a portion of the project affecting 37th Street.

The $49,904.65 supplement agreement with WSP Engineers, Lenexa, includes the scope and fee for services related to right-of-way property acquisition. The original $396,895.26 engineering contract was approved May 25, 2018 with WSP. Both will be funded out of the Convention and Visitors Bureau contingency fund.

Four traffic roundabouts are to be constructed on Vine Street/U.S. Highway 183 at 32nd/33rd, 37th, 41st Streets, and a partial roundabout at the eastbound exit ramp of Interstate 70.

A portion of the engineering contract for the Vine Street traffic roundabouts includes extension of 37th Street to the west. (Click to enlarge)

In addition, the corridor project calls for W. 37th to be extended west to the new development area and for W. 41st – the west frontage road – to be realigned to meet W. 37th further west than the existing intersection location. A new public street would be constructed south of the new intersection to maintain access to the existing gas station south of W. 37th.

Some nearby homeowners are concerned about increased traffic with the extension of 37th and the possibility of falling property values.

Bill Lovewell lives in the 100 block of W. 37th.

“It’s a safe neighborhood with slow traffic and my granddaughter can ride her bike there without worrying about every kind of vehicle coming through,” Lovewell told commissioners, “and I’ve put in thousands of dollars in improvements on my home.

“I have concerns about traffic and the fact my home is not going to be as valuable it is now. … Who wants to buy a house on our street if all that traffic is going to go through?”

Lovewell said he doesn’t have a problem with the roundabout but questions why 37th needs to be extended to the west.

“Every kind of vehicle in the world is going will coming down that street,” Lovewell believes.

Mayor Henry Schwaller noted the city commission has not taken action and has had only informal planning discussions about the project.

“One of the options that we are considering but has not yet been brought to public discussion is connecting 37th across from the old (Ambassador) motel property to Skyline Drive.

“We have not made a decision where that road will terminate because if it comes through the middle of the lot, it won’t be 37th or 38th. It would be in the middle, approximately where the alley is,” Schwaller explained. “So, there may be a consensus one way or the other, but we have not taken any formal action.”

He encouraged Lovewell and others in the audience to attend the commission meeting when the street extension is on the agenda for discussion. “We want you to be involved as we move forward.”

Terry Blide, another homeowner in the 100 block of W. 37th, asked commissioners to “please keep it a residential street, not a business street.”

Blide is worried semi-trucks will drive into his neighborhood. “You really think they’re going to mind those signs about ‘no traffic on 37th Street’?”

The full design of the roundabout project is not yet complete, according to city manager Toby Dougherty.

“We will listen to you before we move forward, I promise,” Schwaller added.

Vice-Mayor Shaun Musil said “I one hundred percent do not think 37th Street should be a direct-through street. I am for connecting to Skyline because I believe – I know – it’s going to grow north of 38th Street. Some of us here don’t agree, but I’d like to see it more of a “T” from left to right.”

Musil and Schwaller both said they had talked with concerned residents earlier Thursday.

“Nothing has been voted on,” Musil reiterated. “Nothing has been designed. I promise you there will be more information before anything will happen.

“I live very close where you guys live. … I personally agree with you.”

Later in the meeting Schwaller voted against the supplemental engineering contract. “I don’t support the project as designed,” he said, “so I didn’t want to spend the money this way.”

Commissioner Sandy Jacobs was absent from the meeting.