Arleta Park

Located in the Walnut Grove neighborhood of south Kansas City, Arleta Park was officially established as a city park in 1967 after decades of nondevelopment. Serving as a gathering place for the surrounding Marlborough communities, the 4.6-acre park offers picnic shelters, a playground, half-court basketball, open green space, and paved walking trails. It is also part of Kansas City’s Green Infrastructure Project featuring a series of bioretention basins, rain gardens, and a water collection system surrounded by native plants and grasses, which aid in improving water quality and the reduction of flooding, pollution, and trash in nearby streams.

After 60 years from its initial proposal, Arleta Park became official in the Park System in 1967. It was first proposed as community park for Marlborough Heights in 1907, when the neighborhood was platted for a second time to extend its southern boundary from 75th to 79th Street. Neighborhood developers attempted to establish Arleta Park as a city park in 1910 and, at the same time, proposed a second park that would adjoin Arleta to the north. The idea was first accepted, but ultimately rejected. 

The property for Arleta Park was finally procured by the city in 1931, however, the Parks Department refused to take any action due to the costs of development and maintenance. By 1953 the land still had not seen development, but the city used bond funds to clean up the site for recreational activities implemented by the Welfare Department. When the Welfare Department joined the Parks Department in 1967, officially creating Kansas City Parks & Recreation, Arleta Park was finally accepted into the system.

In 2012, Arleta Park was chosen as the location of a pilot for a Green Infrastructure Project, which helps to manage stormwater by capturing and utilizing rainwater where it naturally falls. For years the neighborhood was experiencing deteriorating street and sewage infrastructure, as well as localized flooding. The pilot was to determine the most effective, natural solutions for Kansas City communities. As a part of the Middle Blue River Watershed Basin, roughly 100 acres of land north of and including Arleta Park absorbs and filters stormwater through a 360,000 gallon storage system and contains 81 rain gardens, 36 bioretention basins, and pervious pavers to control runoff. This drainage system helps to replenish groundwater and sustains plants, trees, and natural habitats, while the excess water overflows into the Blue River. 

The Target Green Marlborough project was awarded the Envision Platinum rating for its environmental, social, and economic impacts on the community. In addition to the project reducing stormwater runoff by nearly 80%, the 134 trees planted annually sequester an estimated 3,831 pounds of atmospheric carbon. Perhaps most notably, the project helped to improve the overall appearance of the neighborhood and contributed to the rebounding of home values by more than 17% in comparison to a nearby control area. In addition, a Livable Streets Corridor was constructed to connect the Green Infrastructure sites at 82nd Street and Troost Avenue, Rachel Morado Drive and Arleta Park with RideKC MAX transit stops on both Troost and Prospect, increasing accessibility and transportation to nearby residents. 

Arleta Park, Kansas City Parks and Recreation. Accessed August 8th, 2022. https://kcparks.org/places/arleta-park/.

About, Marlborough Community Coalition. Accessed August 8th, 2022. https://wearemarlborough.org/history/.

Target Green Marlborough: Arleta Park, City of Kansas City Missouri. Accessed August 8th, 2022. https://www.kcsmartsewer.us/home/showpublisheddocument/7716/637780143595030000.

Middle Blue River Basin Green Solutions Pilot Project, Landscape Performance Series. Accessed August 8th, 2022. https://www.landscapeperformance.org/case-study-briefs/middle-blue-river-basin-green-solutions-pilot-project.