Join KC Parks, Feast Magazine and the Food Truck Mafia for our second food truck event of the season! Each month through September, we’ll highlight prominent fountains throughout KCMO while guests enjoy food from some of the city’s most popular food trucks and entertainment from some of KC’s finest musicians. A portion of the proceeds from these events will go toward the City of Fountains Foundation to support our city’s flowing treasures.
Lydia Avenue and 99th Street will be used as a Detour Route During Construction. KC Parks plans to implement a new segment of Trail across Indian Creek that will impact the existing Indian Creek Trail and Blue Trails between the Green and Red Railroad Bridges east of Lydia Ave.
KC Parks has contracted for construction of a segment of trail that will connect Indian Creek Trail to E95th St at the Blue River. The contractor will be installing bridge abutments and installing a bridge across the existing Indian Creek Trail. The existing trail will remain in place after the construction of the new bridge is completed.
Detour map is part of this press release. Lydia Ave and 99th St will be used for alternate routes during construction and detour signage has been installed on the route. Trail users traveling east on Indian Creek Trail may access Lydia Ave from the trailhead path at the Indian Creek Bridge on Lydia Ave. and head south to 99th St and then east to the trailhead at 99th and Shephard. Trail users traveling south on the Blue River Trail may access the trailhead at 99th and Shephard and go west to Lydia Ave and the north on Lydia Ave to the Indian Creek Bridge to access the trail going west along Indian Creek.
Travelers with small children and/or those with mobility issues should be aware of inclines on the Lydia Ave detour route, this section of the detour is walkable, and those with bikes may wish to walk them through this section.
For question or concerns, please contact Richard Allen by email at Richard.allen@kcmo.org or by phone at 816-513-7713
On Saturday, May 7, the Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America and Kansas City Parks and Recreation are teaming up to beautify Kansas City for spring. An estimated 500 Scouts, volunteers, and KC Parks employees will celebrate DIG DAY by planting more than 80 of the city’s community flower beds across 35 locations on Mother’s Day weekend.
From 9-11:00 a.m, Scouts and KC Parks employees will report to their assigned dig sites to plant flower beds around the city. Media are encouraged to visit dig sites between 9:30-10:30 a.m.
Featured Locations:
Penguin Park – 4101 NE Vivion Rd | Kansas City, MO
55th & 57th & Ward Parkway – Median south of intersection at 55th & Ward / 57th & Ward
Mirror Pool – 64th & Ward Parkway | Kansas City, MO
Meyer & Swope – Intersection of Meyer Blvd and Swope Parkway | Kansas City, MO
Cancer Survivors Park – 48th & Roanoke | Kansas City, MO
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The Heart of America Council, Boy Scouts of America serves 19 counties in and around the Kansas City metropolitan area and serves over 31,000 young people through more than 1,100 Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, Venturing crews, and Explorer posts. If you would like more information about Scouting in Kansas City call (816) 942-9333 or visit hoac-bsa.org.
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Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation provides facilities, programs and recreational opportunities for the community that contribute to an aesthetically pleasing environment and enhanced quality of life. The department maintains close to 12,000 acres of parkland including 220 parks, 134 miles of trails and bikeways, 29 lakes, 98 playgrounds, hundreds of athletic fields and tennis courts, ten community centers, five public golf courses and six museums. Miles of scenic boulevards and parkways crisscross the city, where 48 fountains and 117 memorials and sculptures surprise and delight. For more information, please visit kcparks.org.
The City of Kansas City and Kansas City Public Schools will celebrate their investments in upgrading the Central Park athletic facilities during an event starting 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 26 at the park. The celebration will take place on the track in the south side of the park along Linwood Blvd. Free on-street parking is available.
At the celebration, City leaders will ceremonially hand-over a check representing a $400,000 investment of Public Improvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) 3rd District funds into the park’s athletic facilities. Central Academy of Excellence students will then present a ceremonial “thank you” card to the City’s representatives.
KCPS is adding about $800,000 of its own money into the joint project, which began to take shape in the fall of 2015 after both City and KCPS officials recognized that there was an opportunity to use PIAC funds to improve the park. More than 300 Central Academy students signed a petition that helped the project earn a recommendation from the 3rd District committee and approval from the City Council. This is one of the largest investments in a single project that has ever been approved by a district-level PIAC in Kansas City, Mo.
Central Academy students use the park athletic facilities thanks to a partnership between KCPS and the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. The PIAC and KCPS funds will be used to install a new track and convert the existing field into a regulation-size football and soccer field with high-quality turf. It is anticipated that the Central Park athletic facility project will start around Jan. 1, 2017 and be completed by that summer.
Today Mayor Sly James, Dayton Moore, General Manager of the Kansas City Royals, Tony Reagins, Major League Baseball (MLB) Senior Vice President of Youth Programs, Darrell Miller, Vice President of Youth & Facility Development, Royals players and other civic and community leaders broke ground on the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy.
Announced in September, the planned $14 million project will include an indoor training facility, three state-of-the-art baseball fields and one softball field to enhance the 18th and Vine District. Kansas City-based firms, Populous and JE Dunn, will serve as the lead architects and contractors for the project. Today’s groundbreaking officially begins the construction of Phase 1, which is scheduled to open in the Fall. The continued success of the Phase 2 fundraising campaign could potentially allow for the Academy to be fully operational by the summer of 2017.
“As the father of a son who played baseball, I understand first-hand the ways that this game can give a young person a sense of direction. It can help them develop a strong work ethic while also learning what it means to be part of a team.” said Mayor Sly James. “As Mayor, I couldn’t ask for a better project to positively impact the lives of our City’s youth and help revitalize one of our City’s most historic districts.”
The Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy’s initial goal will be to serve approximately 800-1,000 youth, ages 6-18, per year. In addition to providing free, year-round baseball and softball instruction, the Academy will provide youth access to educational and vocational programs.
“The Kansas City Royals are deeply committed to growing the great game of baseball in our community and throughout the region,” Moore said. “The Kansas City Urban Youth Academy will provide special opportunities for boys and girls to develop their baseball and softball skills while, most importantly, growing as leaders.”
This project will enhance Parade Park for neighbors and support the existing efforts of MLB to attract more youth to the game, particularly through the MLB Urban Youth Academy network. The Academy will partner with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City to help support the local Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) programs and youth baseball initiatives around the area.
“Major League Baseball is proud of our role in bringing the Urban Youth Academy project to this point,” said Reagins. “We believe this facility will provide a safe haven for young people to grow as individuals and ballplayers, and will be a tremendous source of pride for the community. We thank the Royals, Governor Nixon, Mayor James, the City of Kansas City and the MLBPA for their dedication and partnership in this effort.”
The Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy is among nine Urban Youth Academies either in development or fully operational in the United States. The cities of Cincinnati (OH), Compton (CA), Houston (TX), New Orleans (LA), Philadelphia (PA) and Washington, D.C. all have operational Academies; while Kansas City is joined by Dallas (TX) and San Francisco (CA) as cities with Academies in development. The Kansas City Royals, the Glass family and local charitable support will provide personnel and cover all of the Academy’s operating expenses including equipment, supplies and utilities.
The Academy and park improvements will be developed in two phases:
● Phase I includes three baseball fields; one softball field; a walking trail with views of the baseball and softball diamonds; relocated basketball courts; relocated and renovated tennis courts and a relocated playground near the community center.
● Phase II includes the indoor training facility with a turf infield, batting cages, pitching mounds, restrooms and concession facilities for the diamonds; a Great Lawn that will serve as a front yard and shared event space for the Academy; and additional parking. Phase II is contingent upon the success completion of a fundraising campaign.
Weather permitting, mobilization is scheduled to begin on site next week with the site clearing planned for May 11 and the mass excavation planned for May 16. The turf for the fields is planned to be installed mid-to-late July and the completion of Phase 1 is scheduled for early November.
Funding for construction comes from the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Foundation; the Major League Baseball Players Association; the City of Kansas City capital improvements sales tax; the State of Missouri and private donations raised by the Academy’s Fundraising Committee.
The Show-Me State Games and Shelter Insurance® are hosting a Torch Lighting Ceremony and Run in Kansas City on Tuesday, April 19, in preparation for the 2016 Show-Me State Games. The event will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Mill Creek Park.
The event will begin with a brief Torch Lighting Ceremony at 1:30 p.m., including speakers from the Show-Me State Games and Shelter Insurance, as well as Kansas City Parks & Recreation, who is an instrumental supporter of this event. Kansas City residents will bring the torch through the Country Club Plaza.
The Show-Me State Games is an annual Olympic-style sports festival offering more than 40 sports for Missourians of all ages and ability levels, taking place June 10-12, July 22-24 and July 29-31 in Columbia. The torch will be traveling across Missouri during the months leading up to the GAMES . The full schedule includes: Hannibal on April 13, Kansas City and St. Joseph on April 19, Springfield on April 28, Joplin on April 29, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis on May 3, St. Charles on May 4 and Jefferson City and Columbia on July 22.
Media interested in covering the event, please contact Emily Lorenz at 573-882-2105 or 314-808-6047. For more information on the torch run or GAMES, you can visit www.smsg.org.
Join KC Parks, Feast Magazine and the Food Truck Mafia for our second food truck event of the season! Each month through September, we’ll highlight prominent fountains throughout KCMO while guests enjoy food from some of the city’s most popular food trucks and entertainment from some of KC’s finest musicians. A portion of the proceeds from these events will go toward the City of Fountains Foundation to support our city’s flowing treasures.
