By Damon Grosvenor
Landmark reporter
A plan to modernize infrastructure and improve traffic flow in downtown Parkville is being lauded by city officials despite serious concerns from business owners.
“Why do you want this place to look like the Legends?” said Jen McGuire, owner of The Parlor clothing store on Main Street in downtown Parkville, in an interview with The Landmark on Friday.
McGuire said business was thriving on Main Street and the city’s plan to renovate downtown, close 1st Street and alter Main Street was a recipe for closed businesses.
City leaders, however, told The Landmark they were doing everything in their power to ensure the impact on businesses was limited and the plan was needed to address long-term infrastructure problems.
“We are being very sensitive to downtown businesses,” said Parkville Mayor Dean Katerndahl. “I live downtown and I do not want to see anything negative happen to it.”
However, some of the city’s infrastructure was almost 150 years old, he said, and it needed to be addressed.
Katerndahl was not the only city official to mention aging infrastructure.
“There is a lot of infrastructure that has to be fixed,” Ward 3 Alderman Douglas Wylie told The Landmark during an open meeting on the Redefine Route 9 project at Parkville City Hall on Sept. 30.
He pointed to the need to modernize the city’s sewer system, which partially runs under 1st Street and even an old steam pipe that runs under the street from the old power plant.
“If we are going to have to tear up the road to get to the sewer and the steam pipe, then we might as well fix up downtown too,” Wylie said.
Ten Years of Work
The plan to modernize Route 9 has been in the works since 2016 when the Parkville Board of Aldermen adopted the Route 9 Corridor Study.
The study contained engineering designs for segmented improvements to the roadway from Highway 45 to Mattox Road in Riverside. As of October, several segments of the plan have been completed, notably the portion of the road from Highway 45 to Lakeview Drive.
“People really like the improvements we made to (Route 9) near Highway 45,” Katerndahl said.
He pointed to improved sidewalks for businesses in the area and the expanded hiking route for Riss Lake residents.
“There is still more to do, but I really think the improvements made the area look more presentable,” he said. “It looks like how Parkville should.”
According to the city’s website, the downtown portion of the project has already cost nearly $1 million. The funding has been almost perfectly split between tax transfers and a $500,000 Platte County grant. However, total costs for the downtown portion of the project were expected to reach $18 million in July.
Parkville is looking to pay for the downtown project mainly through debt financing. According to their website, the city is looking to fund the $10.5 million debt through the city’s use tax. Annual transfers to cover debt payments are expected to begin in 2029 and total about $815,000. Until then, the city is planning to pay $600,000 a year directly from use tax revenue.
The Route 9 redesign seeks to fix traffic problems created by the main thoroughfare into downtown, known as the Triangle. Currently, westbound Route 9 splits as it enters Parkville, with travelers either going straight into a four-way intersection or keeping right and continuing north parallel to Main Street. Eastbound traffic similarly splits, either going straight to the intersection or keeping left and stopping to traffic coming out of downtown along 1st Street.
The plan seeks to fix this problem by creating a new road and turning 1st Street into a promenade. The new street would branch off Route 9 at a new stoplight intersection between the Fire Protection District Station 1 and the water fountain in front of White Farmhouse Flowers & Gifts at 8701 NW River Park Drive. This road goes behind the fire station and intersects with South East Street north of the railroad, then continues to connect to Main Street.
The plan would close 1st Street and transform it into a pedestrian promenade. Work is expected to begin in spring 2027, starting with the creation of the new street, according to Wylie.
“I think there was some confusion when we said the project would last a year and a half,” he said. “Most of the construction time will be on the new street.”
He said the downtown work will be done in sections in order to limit the impact on businesses.
“We want all businesses on Main Street to stay open,” he said. “So, while there may be construction outside one or two of the businesses, it will only last a few weeks.”
Public Input
Wednesday’s meeting began a 30-day window for public input on certain aspects of the downtown renovation.
“People love downtown,” said Chris Cline, senior principal at Confluence, one of the firms hired to draw plans for the Route 9 project. “It is near and dear to their hearts.”
Cline, who lives in Parkville, spoke to several people who attended the open meeting to answer questions about the project and what choices the public could help make.
At the front of the room were several presentation boards with design schematics for the overall projects, as well as potential options for smaller aspects of the redesign. These included what kind of Parkville sign would be erected in town to what type of grates would cover the base of the trees along the sidewalk.
“We are really getting down to the bells and whistles of the project,” Cline said.
He pointed attendees to small handouts with a QR code on them. The QR code contains a link to a website hosted by Confluence where the public can vote on which landscape design they want implemented.
Although McGuire went to the meeting, she said, she felt city officials were ignoring not only her input, but feedback from the other business owners as well.
“There is a serious lack of trust with these politicians,” she said. “I went, and after a lot of eye-rolling, I left.”
McGuire said she had seen firsthand the effect downtown renovations can have on small businesses.
Several years ago, Liberty began reconstructing its downtown, and McGuire, whose business was originally located in Liberty, said she saw several businesses close because of it.
“I decided to move to Parkville because of that construction,” she said. “Even one bad week can be devastating for small businesses.”
She said the city adjusted the meeting to be an open forum so that officials would not have to listen to hours of public comments from herself and other Main Street business owners.
Troy Wilson, owner of Parkville Jewelers, did not go to the meeting because he saw no point in saying anything to the city anymore.
“I am tired of it,” Wilson said in an interview in his shop on Friday. “They are not listening to us.”
He and McGuire have collected more than 150 signatures for a petition against the project, although they have not submitted it to the city.
“They know people do not want it, but they just do not care,” he said.
He and McGuire said they did not believe the timeline for construction city officials have given.
“I fear it will be dragged out for years,” Wilson said.
Katerndahl expressed optimism about the construction and timeline.
“This is a big, complicated project,” he said. “And we have had two years of discussions on it.”
He said he knew the concerns Main Street business owners had, but said he and the city were doing everything they could to manage the project.
He said the city was expecting to hire a new management firm solely responsible for communicating with residents and business owners during construction at Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting.
