Slap In The Face: Kansas City Super Bowl Parade Hates Midtown?!?!

Right now we share a FASCINATING perspective that not only deserves consideration but offers a glimpse into how some denizens of this corridor feel about city hall leadership.

Take a look . . .

In ultimate show of disdain, Mayor Q eliminates Midtown from Superbowl parade route

As I observed earlier, the long term elimination of much of pedestrian access to jobs, shopping and recreation began a major push by the city to encourage midtown residents to evacuate the area. This was largely accomplished by cutting back on public transportation services which made it impossible for many of these persons to continue to live normally. Living in the midtown area I chose for this access to public transportation myself.  I have never before lived in a city where they actually by design lowered the quality of public transportation.  But in Kansas City it became obvious that people in the midtown area were considered part of the problem to downtown real estate success.  So instead of bringing those people up over the decades by providing decent services and education they chose a 1950's scheme in reverse. In those days autos, highways and loans only accessible to well off individuals encouraged a move to the suburbs.

A street car provided a modern solution to turning that movement around.  It would create a Las Vegas like strip for tourists around which undesirable abandoned property could be converted into over priced real estate adding a tax income to the city coffers.  Interestingly enough none of this money was ever available over the decades to the midtown area where it was needed most. And the extended construction of the streetcar not only made the lives more miserable for midtown residents but helped eliminate any small businesses remaining in that area, further removing any chances for survival in the midtown area to lower income residents.

Now comes the final insult.  Midtown is eliminated as a route for the Superbowl parade.  Bus access for Midtown residents is channeled around the areas where tourists will be arriving at Union Station to celebrate the Super Bowl win, not just for the parade, but 2 days prior to that parade.  Midtown residents who commonly might visit Crown Center in their daily lives or anywhere in that area must walk several blocks, or wait several blocks away from that area.

If this doesn't paint a clear picture of why education, business and the lives of Midtown residents have generally not gone so well over the decades I don't know what could.  This disdain and lack of care for it's inner city residents couldn't be more obvious.  And the intentions to replace them with outsiders is quite clear. 

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You decide . . .