Westside/Downtown Pollution!!!

The Fight Against the Substation on the Westside is still on . . . There's a public meeting that's going on right now regarding a substation on the Westside that's going to pollute pretty much all of Downtown . . . Including your precious Crossroads and the Condos.

People are organizing against the Substation . . . Here's just a bit of the reason why:

The substation will sit in the parking lot north of the porters' dormitory structure of 2530 Southwest Boulevard which is directly across the street from Boulevard Brewing Co.

It will sit towards the eastern side of the parking lot. The parking lot sits up about 7-10 feet, then the towers are about another 30' on top of that.

If you are driving easterly along Southwest Blvd when you get to 25th Street and look to your left - you will see a block long brick structure behind chain link and wrought iron fencing. On top of this structure will be towers. It will essentially block out your view of downtown, Observation Park. We are not clear where the transmission lines will go to move the power to downtown and the Crown Center area. KCP&L says they will not go down Southwest Blvd - that's why they had SWB dug up for 2 years putting in trenches and vaults.

The property is owned by DST who will lease them the land. DST did not come to the neighborhood about how we felt about this.

A number of us who live in the Sacred Heart Area did some research and decided that our neighborhood is bearing a disproportionate burden of environmental risks and public infrastructure; we've talked to the EPA and some environmental justice folks from around the country and they agree that this is just wrong and unfair.

Below is a partial listing of many of the environmental issues for our neighborhood
I've not listed the pollutants that come in from Kansas - Fairfax, West Bottoms etc which affect our air quality as well and this is by no means a comprehensive listing . . .

Environmental pollutants include chemicals and vehicle emissions but it can also be light, odor, noise, vibrations. Pollutants can affect our air, our water and the dirt . . .

1. Over 500,000 cars/truck a week ( the pollution includes the tiny particles thrown off by tires and road materials)
2. 600 trains a month (this is low)
3. 1 Missouri Gas Pumping station
4. 3 waste water treatment pumping stations
5. Turkey creek pumping station
6. 3 cell towers
7. WDAF dishes
8. 3 gas stations (every time you pump gasoline, toxic fumes are emitted into the air)

There's more in our neighborhood. Do the lights from the 74 billboards on I-35 from 7th Street to Broadway exit make it hard to sleep. Does your house shake by the trains or the trucks - these are environmental hazards that can cause physiological harm, insomnia, stress, anxiety.

There are 300+ neighborhoods in Kansas City. Not all the City's public infrastructure needs to be situated in the Westside. After DST is long gone - we'll still be stuck with the electrical substation which will limit what our neighborhood could be in the future.

Thankfully, it's not too late to do something about this . . . If you don't want a substantion devaluing just about everything Downtown . . . Contact The Westside CAN center . . . I'm pretty sure there's still time to write letters and contact Council people in order to reduce pollution Downtown.