V. INFRASTRUCTURE FOUNDATION
VISION:
Before 2024 the Wichita MSA will:
Have adequate infrastructure to support downtown, urban and
suburban neighborhoods that will enhance quality of life and
promote economic development.
STRATEGIES:
A. Urban and Regional Development
1. Provide infrastructure required for downtown, central city
neighborhoods and suburban growth that supports and allows
our Key Benchmarks to become a reality.
2. Maintain greater alignment between cities and
counties on infrastructure issues.
3. Diversify planning commission to better represent the
community.
B. Downtown Development
1. Make downtown a vibrant community and a destination point
for our residents, visitors and businesses. Develop downtown
to attract and retain singles and young educated people, giving
them the desire to reside in the Wichita MSA. Provide more
restaurants, attractions and other people amenities (housing,
grocery stores, drugstores, medical, etc).
2. Build a downtown arena.
3. Offer incentives for inner city residential and business
development.
4. Create a downtown business park with a focus on bio-medical
and technology.
5. Eliminate problems caused by multiple ownerships of downtown
land and land-leases. This ownership pattern discourages renovation
and redevelopment and makes land acquisition difficult. The
city needs to make land available and eliminate barriers.
6. Provide convenient on and off-street parking.
C. Transportation
1. Develop and implement a long range plan for highways that
connect the Wichita MSA internally and externally to the rest
of the United States.
2. Build a new airport terminal and increase the
competitiveness of the Wichita Airport in ticket cost and
number of flights.
3. Develop a viable public transportation system.
4. Optimize air, rail, water and highway passenger
and freight capacities to create a multi-modal logistics hub.
5. Enhance transportation opportunities for the poor and
disabled.
6. Develop and implement a road and rail transportation conflict
resolution plan.
7. Encourage large signs with street names and street addresses
on buildings so they are legible from the street.
D. Neighborhoods
1. Revitalize city neighborhoods and communities to reverse
the population decline and take advantage of existing infrastructure.
2. Identify neighborhoods and establish neighborhood centers
for individual or groups of neighborhoods. These centers will
have meeting places proportional to the size of the neighborhood
or community. A center could be a part of or adjacent to a
school, recreational facility, EMS or public safety station
or church. The center could include retail and commercial
offices. Connect the centers with trails, bikeways and sidewalks.
Retrofit over time for existing development and encourage
for new development.
3. Redevelop the 21st Street Corridor including the old refinery
and stockyards.
E. Water, Sewer and Other Utilities
1. Ensure both quantity and quality of water resources required
to meet Key Benchmarks.
2. Ensure that drainage system eliminates flooding
for all neighborhoods.
3. Develop and implement a comprehensive solid waste-plan,
including a recycling plan for all reusable resources.
4. Seriously look at building wind generator plants to provide
local electricity for residences and businesses. Utilize grain
for renewable energy.
5. Maintain globally competitive communication access.
F. Housing
1. Have housing and home ownership opportunities available
for all income segments and special need groups.
2. Encourage building new houses in existing neighborhoods
on vacant lots or by demolishing sub-standard structures.
3. Enforce housing occupancy and condition standards.
4. Create more mixed income neighborhoods.
G. Environment and Natural Resources
1. Clean up the Arkansas River.
2. Save the land around waterways for conservation and greenways.
Connect these greenways all over the region. Restrict development
in flood areas so they could be used for recreation and green
space. Add land to existing parks and land for linear parks.
3. Resolve environmental issues that are barriers to development
in downtown and inner city neighborhoods.
4. Have policies sensitive to the environment that result
in positive cost benefits.
5. Promote acquisition, protection and stewardship for all
parkland.
H. Beautification and Attractiveness
Continue and support beautification efforts.
I. Historic Preservation
Provide grants and other incentives for preservation of historical
neighborhoods. Work towards adaptive reuse of historic buildings
within the community using private investments and federal
and state tax credits. Continue developing historic tourism
as an economic force for the region.
J. Facilities
1. Implement the River Corridor Improvement plan.
2. Enhance and support accessibility to public and private
infrastructure improvements for the disabled.
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