KANSAS CITY, Mo — A group of Hispanic businesses in a historic Hispanic neighborhood in Kansas City are asking for your support.
In a letter sent to businesses, and obtained by KSHB, a water line main installed in 1887 is currently being replaced. As a result, parking and foot traffic on Southwest Boulevard is being impacted. Crispin Rea, council member representing Kansas City's 4th District-at-Large says the work is imperative in preventing flooding concerns routinely seen on the Westside neighborhood.
"The water department project has been long overdue for the businesses who operate down here and the folks who live down here," explained Rea. "The flooding has been a problem for decades, and every couple years when we have a big flood, there are always videos and photos of cars being stranded, business being flooded out and this project will help with that."
Teresa Grado, co-owns Lilly's Cantina says she understands the works needs to be completed, but the site has dwindled down sales and foot traffic along the boulevard.
"It's just me and my kid, so it's really been hard. I want to be able to employ people from my neighborhood because it's in walking distance, but I can't right now, because there's nothing for me to give," said Grado.
A couple doors down, Acostas Taqueria is also dealing with sluggish sales with work crews taking up their parking.
“There’s no parking, you cant see us, and our customers can’t get their food and don’t want to deal with it," said Olivia Garcia, owner of Acosta's
Currently, a time frame as to when the water main project will be complete is unclear. But after it’s complete a major redevelopment of Southwest Boulevard will begin in an effort to make the corridor safer. The city approved the redevelopment last year, and KSHB41 obtained records showing, 275 crashes have been recorded on Southwest Boulevard 2020 to 2024.
"We have to reconstruct this Boulevard, we have to fix the water issues so that we deal with the flooding problems, because it's just not sustainable for the folks down here," said Rea. "We have some businesses that have, you know, done a great job and thrived in spite of all that, and it's going to be a little difficult with some of the infrastructure work, but I think we can get through that and the light at the end of the tunnel will be a better opportunity for them to operate," he added.
The redevelopment project will be rolled out in phases. Phase 1 will implement traffic-calming and other roadway safety changes to Southwest Boulevard from Broadway Boulevard to 25th Street. The city will use $1.7 million from a development fund to jump-start the project, then find money from other funds dedicated to sidewalks, road paving, and other related duties to complete the roughly $5 million first phase. Rea anticipates phase one be done in time for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
Grado has observed several of the crashes reported on Southwest Boulevard and is looking forward to a safer corridor, but is concerned she may not be able to keep her doors open.
"I want to make it to FIFA, it would be great, life changing for some of us, but I have to make it there," said Grado.
At Acosta's a similar uncertainty is being felt, but Garcia and her staff are leaning on their faith as they navigate the work that they agree needs to be done.
"We don’t know if we will be able to serve everyone coming to the World Cup, but we have faith everything will be ok," said Garcia.
Last month, Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca hosted a Cash Mob week, highlighting business to help boost foot traffic on Southwest Boulevard.
The city also remains contact with businesses and bringing updates to them routinely.
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KSHB 41 Traffic anchor/reporter Daniela Leon covers all sorts of transportation topics across Kansas City. Have a story idea to share or a question about something in your neighborhood? Send Daniela a news tip.
