Page 56 - KCMO Parks Master Plan 2032

parkland in the system, the 955-acre Riverfront a 93, was the highest scoring park not funded
Park (55). One of the most challenging issues by a major league sports team. Other parks
the department faces overall, and in this district in the Ward Parkway corridor and Brookside
especially, is the plight of the unhoused. This is a neighborhood also scored in the 80s and high
city-wide, and arguably region-wide, issue that 70s. The lowest scoring property was Sante
will require more than one department to solve. Fe Trace Park Greenway (46) which could be

Council District #5 turned into a high functioning greenway with a
walkway, signage, and the occasional seat. Other
park spaces that lack easy access or amenities
This council district features 38 park properties, such as Klapmeyer (59) , Terrace (58), and
totaling 42,924 acres, with an average score Warford Park (61), lowered the average score
of 66.5. It’s highest performing park properties slightly. These parks too, could be improved with
are ones that have seen recent and significant paved trails, a single amenity, and optimization of
investment, such as Martin Luther King Jr. Square mowing areas.
(84) , Town Fork Creek Greenway (83), and Arleta
Park (78). It’s lowest scoring parks are all natural
parks or greenways like Ingles
Park (40), French Tract (44), and
Legacy West and Legacy East
Parks (42 and 46, respectively).
This is a district that contains
many natural parks or greenway
spaces on the city’s southeast
side and that’s not at all a bad
thing when managed properly.
Not all lightly developed parks in
this district scored low. Little Blue
Valley Park (75) on the east side
of Raytown provides visitors with
a new playground, a safe parking Figure 4.6: Roanoke Park
lot, and ample trails through
an otherwise natural area of
grasslands and riparian forest.
Swope Park (75) is the flagship
property of the system and while it faces a list of TakeAways
deferred maintenance projects, this means that
the district doesn’t have the resources readily The average criteria and composite scores for
available to maintain all of their properties. There’s the overall park system are shown on page 51.
more than 1,000 acres of natural terrain offering The overall score was 65.2. The criteria scores
some of the best hiking and mountain biking provide a breakdown of what contributes to this
available in northwestern Missouri. number. The areas where this system scored

Council District #6 relatively well were in the comfort and character
and the amenities criteria. As a whole, KCMO
parks earned 72% of the possible points for their
The 26 parks located in this council district scored comfort and character and 67% of the possible
a composite average of 71.1, the highest of any points for their amenities. What this means is
district. It features Jacob Loose Park which, with that, in the average Kansas City, Missouri park,

50 KANSAS CITY PARKS MASTER PLAN