KSHB 41 News reporter Lauren Schwentker covers stories in the Northland, including in Clay and Platte counties. Have a story idea? Send her an email.
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North Kansas City is spending $175,000 to improve pedestrian safety around park-and-ride lots as the city prepares for FIFA World Cup 26.
The city is removing trees, adding sidewalks and making other improvements near the private parking lots where thousands of fans will catch charter buses to matches in less than 60 days.
Currently, there are concrete barriers in the area, but that will change in a couple of weeks.
"People don’t walk it because of how bad it is," Ward 3 Councilmember Dylan Cain said at the April 6 council meeting.
At the same meeting, fellow Ward 3 Councilmember Linda Alvarez commented the area looks like it has been neglected for some time.
"I would hate to see it be kind of a hazard," Alvarez said.
Deputy City Administrator Kim Nakahodo said North Kansas City will have two privately-owned lots off 18th Avenue where KC2026 will operate the park-and-ride.
"We’re looking at replacing what are called barrier curbs with ADA ramp curbs," Nakahodo said. "The funding for the project is coming out of the city's convention and tourism fund."
KSHB 41 Northland reporter Lauren Schwentker had a couple of viewers reach out to ask about the logistics for the buses. Schwentker got those answers.
Buses will run to and from FIFA Fan Fest and 15 regional locations between June 11 and July 13.
The buses will run every 20 minutes and can fit around 55 people.
Hours and pricing are still in the works, so Schwentker will keep following up.
Marco Stanich, a North Kansas City resident who owns a shop on Armour, is confident the city is ready and is excited for more business.
"The city has a handle on what's going on and what they need to do," Stanich said. "People from all over the world are going to be here for a month, and North Kansas City is doing a lot to accommodate traffic for those visitors."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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