KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
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The City of Shawnee is working to become a destination for its neighbors around the Kansas City area and for visitors in the metro area for the first time.
People in Shawnee shared with KSHB 41 at our Let's Talk listening session that they want to keep seeing growth and improvements in the city's downtown.
Now, they have a chance to provide some of their feedback over the city's new wayfinding plan.
The initiative is paid for primarily through federal grant money from the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC). It aims to enhance downtown signage to help people find parking and destinations, and increase safety and overall appeal for both residents and visitors.
The plan is to create this signage downtown once the city collects the feedback it receives through the community survey.
"What do you want to know about downtown when you go there?" Assistant City Manager Lauren Grashof said. "How do we identify and build on all of those sorts of safety improvements, placemaking, identification and again, just building this as more of a place?"
Grashof said the project focuses on improvements for pedestrians and drivers alike, with an emphasis on creating a more welcoming destination. The tentative timeline on the city's website lists the final plan approval coming in March 2026.
"We want all the feedback we can get," Grashof said.
For business owners like Brooke Franklin, who opened Franklin General Store downtown this summer, the timing couldn't be better. Her shop carries products from over 70 local vendors and serves as an example of the area's growing potential.
"Years ago...you wouldn't probably be able to survive down here, because nobody came downtown for anything, because they were all empty or offices," Franklin said.
Franklin has lived in Shawnee for over 20 years and has witnessed the downtown transformation firsthand.
"Having better signage and walkability and having more events will bring in people from outside Shawnee," Franklin said.
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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