Who's Paying for the New Trolley Track Trail Link Behind The Roasterie?

The orange barrels behind The Roasterie and Bela Napoli should be gone soon. As of the City of Kansas City's October 5 update, the new concrete trail between 62nd Terrace and 63rd Street was nearly finished and expected to reopen to the public within two weeks. The new stretch runs only one block. Who is paying for it matters more than its length. The city built the trail itself. The Brookside Shops' property owners asked the city for a community improvement district for the shopping area, and that district is adding its own trail improvements on top of the city's work. The block north of 63rd now has two backers. The block south of it is still a design looking for construction money.

The gap was always the parking lot

For years the Trolley Track Trail has stopped at 62nd Terrace and started again at Meyer Boulevard. In between, as the Kansas City Star described it, users were "forced onto sidewalks or through parking lots." The rest of the trail is a continuous corridor. Through the middle of the Brookside shopping district it had nothing of its own.

The north fix is modest and specific. Once it's done, Inside Brookside reported in September, there will be "a dedicated, 8 foot wide 'multi-purpose' lane" for walkers and runners from 62nd Terrace to 63rd Street, running through the lot behind The Roasterie and Bela Napoli. Parts of that lot closed from August 3 through September 18 while the trail went in. Resurfacing has moved section by section through October, with each patch closed for several days at a time. If you have been parking somewhere different every week this fall, that's the reason.

The shops added a second layer of funding

In December 2025, the Star reported that property owners in the district, which includes Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard, HomeGrown and The Roasterie, had asked the city to approve a community improvement district to pay for upgrades to the Trolley Track Trail and other projects. A CID is a special entity with its own board that can levy a 1% sales tax inside its boundaries to cover planned improvements. According to the Star, the Brookside plan would also draw on PIAC, the city's public improvements fund for neighborhood projects in each council district, plus grants, loans and other money from the owners.

Two council members spoke at the hearing. Sixth District Councilmember Jonathan Duncan said:

"To have them (area owners) put their money where their mouth is to create the CID and help us move that project forward is exciting to me."

Fourth District Councilmember Eric Bunch called the trail plan exciting and said the CID could be a model for the rest of the Trolley Trail corridor.

The city's project page now names First Washington Realty as a partner. The firm focuses on neighborhood and community shopping centers and lists Brookside Shops in its portfolio. The city's own spending started with design. On January 15, 2026, City Council approved more than $340,000 for design work on the trail. The city's July 14 presentation splits the work into three pieces:

1. The city builds the trail from 62nd Terrace to 63rd Street. This is the stretch reopening now.
2. The Brookside Shops CID and First Washington Realty add their own trail improvements on top of it.
3. The city designs the segment from 63rd Street to Meyer Boulevard, with the design due by January 2027.

Why the block south of 63rd is still waiting

The third item is design work, and design is all it covers so far. The city says plainly that the south portion "is still in design phase and seeking construction funding." Inside Brookside put it the same way. Extending the lane to Meyer and improving the park on 63rd by Starbucks have "no funding yet."

North of 63rd, the city's construction is nearly done and the CID's additions are scheduled to follow by the end of November. South of 63rd, the trail would run along Brookside Boulevard and past Brookside Court Park, and no construction funding has been identified yet.

The ideas for the south side are already public, and some of them would change daily routines more than anything in the north block. The city's October 2024 concept boards included these options:

• Brookside Boulevard south of 63rd. Narrow the street from four lanes to two and add angled parking. On the west side that means about 28 spaces, 14 more than today. On the east side it means about 31, an increase of 17. Both versions improve the intersection at Meyer Boulevard.
• The park. One option keeps two tennis courts and one pickleball court, with an 8- to 12-foot trail and about four fewer parking spaces. The other has one tennis court and two pickleball courts, a 10- to 12-foot trail, and no change in parking. Both add an enhanced crosswalk at Meyer.

These were concepts in 2024. None of them has been chosen or funded, and the January 2027 design deadline is the next point where the south side could take shape. Earlier public feedback, according to those same boards, ranked keeping parking losses small and connecting the trail ahead of sport-court upgrades.

The construction schedule runs into the fall calendar

The city's original target for the concrete work was September 24. That date slipped, so the last weeks of construction now overlap with Brookside's busiest stretch of the year. Here is how the dates line up:

Trick-or-Treat Street is the first big test. The Brookside Business Association centers it on 63rd Street and Brookside Boulevard and spreads it through the shops between Wornall and Main, from 62nd Terrace to Meyer Boulevard. That covers the whole stretch the trail project is rebuilding. The resurfacing deadline falls the next day. The Brookside Farmers Market, which lists 8 a.m. to noon as new hours this season, also ends its outdoor Saturdays on Oct. 31.

New stops along 63rd will draw people during that stretch too. Disco Burger opened at 600 E. 63rd St. in late August with indoor and patio seating and a takeout window. Co-founder Matt Chapman told the Star the company picked Brookside for its neighborhood following. The Star described the first weeks as a limited phase, so check current hours before you go. Other storefronts are empty. Plate closed at 701 E. 63rd St. earlier this year and pointed diners to its Leawood restaurant. District Fish & Pasta House closed its location at 1664 E. 63rd St. this spring.

What's actually up for feedback on Oct. 19

The city's project page says the Oct. 19 meeting is a chance to weigh in on "several aesthetic designs." It doesn't say which ones. The best clue is what the CID was set up to pay for. The Star listed new landscaping, signage, art and lighting, plus safer paths for pedestrians. Renderings in that coverage also showed a central square, a gathering space along the trail. Whether any of those items appear on the boards at 118 W. 63rd St. on the 19th is unconfirmed until the meeting.

This is the piece of the project that is still open. The trail's route north of 63rd is set and the concrete is poured. The look of the trail is still undecided: the lights along it, any public art, the signs that mark the route through the shops. Because the CID's improvements run through the end of November, choices made after this meeting could still show up on the ground by the time the Holiday Season Opener wraps up.

The Oct. 19 meeting covers how the new block will look. South of 63rd, the city's design for the segment to Meyer Boulevard is due by January 2027, and the city is already seeking the money to build it.

Projects like this trail link become part of a home's story over time, through a trail you can walk to and through what a district's owners have chosen to invest in. If you would like to talk through how changes along 63rd Street and the Trolley Track Trail factor into a Brookside home you own or are considering, The Gamble Group would welcome the conversation. Schedule a Consultation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.