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24-40 highway study group meets

By Shawn Linenberger - | Dec 13, 2006

A photo of a specific business district was popular with most people who attended Thursday’s U.S. Highway 24-40 corridor study meeting, except for one — Larry Meadows.

“I don’t like it,” said Meadows, a Tonganoxie resident. “My wife will want to go shopping there.”

Meadows, of course, was joking about his reaction to the photo, which resembled The Legends shopping area near the Kansas Speedway.

The meeting, which was held at the Tonganoxie VFW Post Home, attracted about 40 area residents and officials involved in the study process.

During the meeting, participants rated snapshots of residential and commercial areas, as well as commercial signs and roads. Participants ranked photos with these descriptions: unacceptable, undesired, acceptable, desirable and preferred.

The photos triggered plenty of discussion about how residents would like development designed in the next 30 years along the corridor. The study is analyzing a 13-mile stretch of U.S. 24-40 from Kansas Highway 7 west through Basehor and Tonganoxie to Honey Creek Road, which is just south of Tonganoxie.

When finished, the study is expected to provide local governments with recommendations on how to preserve high-speed travel on the highway without hindering development.

Kansas City, Mo., planning firm Bucher, Willis and Ratliff is conducting the study. Mid-America Regional Council, the Kansas Department of Transportation, Leavenworth County and the cities of Basehor and Tonganoxie are funding the project, which should be completed in the spring.

The next meeting likely will be held in March, according to Charlie Schwinger of Bucher Willis and Ratliff. A date and site have not been selected.