Parkville’s plan to close East First Street and create a new street just north of the railroad has raised concerns over traffic safety from local business owners.
But a Missouri Department of Transportation official says there is nothing to worry about.
Parkville officials are still finalizing plans for the city’s Redefine Route 9 project, which will modernize city infrastructure downtown, shift traffic via new and closed streets, and update the pedestrian experience.
The plan calls for closing First Street, which connects Route 9 to Main Street at the triangle intersection in downtown. According to city documents, the goal is to “fix the existing triangle entry to downtown, improve east-west (and) truck route traffic flow through the area, and maintain (two) existing railroad crossings connecting to the riverfront.”
To accommodate the street closure, the city plans to create a new street that would branch off Route 9 at a new stoplight intersection between Fire Protection District Station 1 and the water fountain in front of White Farmhouse Flowers & Gifts at 8701 NW River Park Dr. The road would continue south behind the fire station and intersect with South East Street north of the railroad. It would then continue to connect with Main Street.
The city plans to begin the project by building the new street.
While initial plans for the project were approved by MoDOT this summer, there are still several steps that need approval moving forward, including from the MoDOT Multimodal Division.
“Anytime anyone wants to change railroad crossings, it has to go through us,” said Alex Schroeder, MoDOT’s administrator of railroads, in an interview with The Landmark.
His 13-member team oversees railroad crossing inspections, ensures compliance with federal and state railroad safety guidelines and approves projects involving railroad crossings.
“We are the experts,” Schroeder stated.
He said Parkville’s plans are nothing out of the ordinary.
The project has faced criticism from downtown business owners who fear the construction will harm their business and ruin the charm of downtown Parkville.
One business owner raised concerns about the new street’s location just feet from a busy railroad track.
“I was here during the train wreck of 1999 when 26 coal cars derailed in downtown Parkville,” said Tom Hutsler, owner of several downtown businesses and properties. “The last place you wanted to be was within 15 to 20 feet of that railroad track.”
Hutsler was referencing the April 13, 1999 derailment of a train carrying coal. According to news reports from Park University student journalists at the time, a Burlington Northern coal train derailed at 11:45 p.m. due to a faulty wheel bearing. More than 26 cars carrying over 2,600 tons of coal twisted off the tracks. No one was injured, but there was a large amount of property damage.
“We’ve been saying for years and years and years, ‘It’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen,’” said Fire Chief Richard Carrizzo, of the Southern Platte Fire Department, in 1999 after the derailment. “Thank God it happened when it did, considering the time of night. We are very lucky.”
Parkville’s new planned road would cross the site of the building that once housed the Platte County Gazette and was destroyed in the train accident.
Schroeder said roads running alongside railroad tracks are common.
“A lot of railroads have parallel roads,” he said. “Derailments are not much of a concern because they happen so rarely.”
There were 23 train derailments in Missouri in 2025, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. In the last five years, there has only been a single incident of a train derailment in Platte County, although no additional details could be determined.
The last major derailment occurred in 2016 near Route 45 and Oberdiek Lane, just northwest of Farley. According to news reports at the time, an 88-car BNSF freight train traveling from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Kansas City temporarily restricted Route 45 to single-lane traffic during cleanup. No injuries were reported.
Schroeder said the larger concern is pedestrian safety.
“If you build a new road by a railroad, especially if it is a new crossing, it may need additional safety features,” he said.
The Parkville plan was unlikely to require a lot of new safety features, he said, because they are not adding a new crossing. However, the process to gain approval for the project from his division could still take several months.
“They have not officially submitted their application,” he said, referring to the city of Parkville.
A city spokesperson did not respond to a media inquiry about the project timeline.
Schroeder’s division typically approves 10 to 15 similar projects every year, he said, but another big partner is the owner of the railroad itself.
The railroad in Parkville is owned by BNSF Railway.
According to a BNSF media spokesperson, the city has been working with BNSF on reviewing the downtown project and ensuring it meets applicable federal regulations.
“Any proposed changes at the railroad crossing are ultimately subject to MoDOT approval,” said Kendall Sloan, BNSF director of external communications, in an email to The Landmark.
Christopher Cline, a senior principal with Confluence, said Parkville’s project remains on track. Over the last month, Confluence managed an online public input survey for Redefine Route 9. The survey ended on Oct. 30 and Cline said he was still compiling the results and preparing a presentation for the city.
