The Leavenworth County Region, including the cities of Basehor, Lansing, Leavenworth, and Tonganoxie along with the County of Leavenworth and the Leavenworth County Port Authority, in cooperation with the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) and the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), are working to prioritize transportation investments in the coming years. The goal of the project is to focus on how these projects will enhance economic development (access to jobs and freight corridors), safety, mobility (moving traffic, bike, pedestrian, and transit) and transportation equity within the region. The plan is being referred to as Priorities for Progress: Connecting Community Opportunities.
Over the past few decades there have been numerous studies on transportation infrastructure in and around the Leavenworth County region. These studies have focused on projects that range from modest investments to grand visions of new freeways and river crossings. With these wide-ranging studies, however, comes the question: what projects do the leaders, stakeholders and general public in the region want to prioritize to seek regional, state or federal funding? Public input has been gathered via stakeholder focus groups, public open houses, and an online public survey to help prioritize these projects.
The final report is now available and can be downloaded here as well as a brief summary.
Two public open houses were held in Fall 2022 to accommodate participation throughout the project area:
- The first open house was held on Wednesday, November 9 at Lansing City Hall
- The second was held on Thursday, November 10 at the Basehor Library
- A virtual meeting option was available as well.
In Spring 2023, meetings were again held with the stakeholders, as well as the local governmental bodies (city councils and county commissions) to discuss progress, initial results of the project evaluations, and continued discussion on priorities. These meetings were conducted in late March and early April:
- March 22, 2023 – Basehor
- April 3, 2023 – Tonganoxie
- April 4, 2023 – City of Leavenworth
- April 5, 2023 – Leavenworth Port Authority
- April 6, 2023 – Lansing
- April 19, 2023 – County of Leavenworth
A virtual open house was provided through 2023 to share the same information that was presented to the governing bodies for public input and comment. While comments are no longer being collected, that material is still available, as well as access to a project prioritization tool here or on the “Public Engagement” link at the top of the page.