Community Improvement Districts
The Downtown and River Market Community Improvement Districts have helped transform Downtown Kansas City with a simple but ambitious mission: clean, safe, and attractive. The CIDs provide security, cleaning and promotional services that supplement, but do not replace, basic services provided by the City of Kansas City and the fundamental responsibilities of property owners.
“Bumble Bees”
Our public safety officers patrol the streets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that Downtown continues to be a safe and welcoming place. Known commonly as the “bumblebees”, they are the ambassadors for the neighborhood and are constantly on alert to help deter crime and assist our community.
Homeless Services
The CIDs public safety ambassadors encourage and assist homeless individuals to get into appropriate facilities where they can find shelter and necessary social services. Ambassadors respond to calls from retail businesses and building managers and patrol Downtown on a daily basis. The CID ambassadors are trained to engage our homeless clients and offer them assistance in receiving services.
Coordination with the KCPD
The public safety ambassadors work closely with the Kansas City Police Department. Our public safety staff are trained by the KCPD and assist the local precinct in dealing with thefts and the prevention of other crimes.
Partnership with KC Streetcar
Through a partnership with the CIDs and the KC Streetcar Authority, public safety ambassadors play leadership roles in safety and way-finding services aboard the KC Streetcar since it started operations in 2016.
Partnership with the Central Library
Through a partnership with the Kansas City Central Public Library, CID public safety ambassadors provide safety services, keeping the Libary safe during hours of operation and at special events.
Training
The CIDs are committed to the development of its ambassadors through year-round training through numerous programs and classes provided by our partners.
Sidewalk Cleaning
The CIDs deploy uniformed workers who manually clean sidewalks and parks on two overlapping shifts, seven days a week so that Downtown opens clean and remains clean throughout the day. The CID’s maintenance ambassadors manually sweep all sidewalks at least twice a day. All sidewalks also get a monthly power washing in warm weather months to remove accumulated stains and grime.
Graffiti Removal
The CIDs have zero tolerance for graffiti. Specially trained teams use solvents and high-pressure washers to blast graffiti from the ground floor of building walls, light poles, signs and street furniture while protecting architectural surfaces.
Snow Removal
Following snowfall, CID maintenance staff gets to work clearing bus stops, fire hydrants, all corner caps, sidewalks, and crosswalks to create clear and accessible pathways. In addition to coordinating with the City, our crews prioritize areas by taking into account pedestrian traffic and the entrance/egress of public transportation nodes.
Streetscape Maintenance
The CID maintanance ambassadors maintain a variety of street furniture throughout the district. Our crews are responsible for cleaning and repairing these elements as needed, and repainting them seasonally to keep them looking fresh and clean.
Landscaping Services
Making the streets of the Central Business District and River Market more attractive and convenient for pedestrians is a top priority for the CID landscape ambassadors.
Tree Plantings
The CID landscape ambassadors are always working on improving the health and vitality of its street tree collection. We have studied the effects of different soil types within our tree trenches in order to determine a Best Management Practice for maintenance of existing trees as well as for future plantings. Last year, the CIDs planted 40 new trees throughout both districts.
Street Planters
The CIDs plant and maintain street planters with seasonal plantings throughout the Central Business District and River Market neighborhoods.
Partnership with KCMO
Our landscape ambassadors partner with the City of Kansas City’s Parks Department and Neighborhood and Housing Services Department. Through those agreements, our ambassadors provide prune trees, maintain tree grates and landscape select areas throughout the Central Business District.
Special Projects
Our landscape ambassadors engage in additional special projects such as landscaping the Muse Island at 9th and Main Streets and overhauling the planters along 12th Street with Bridging the Gap.
