Prairie Village held a meeting at city hall last night seeking comments from the community on a proposed set of improvements to Cambridge Street and Weltner Park that are scheduled to be completed in 2011.

The most significant outcome of the improvements would be the elimination of an awkward island of land just south of the State Line Shopping Center. The island is technically part of Weltner Park, but is not used frequently because it is bordered on three sides by busy streets.

The Cambridge Street project would create a bend in the road that essentially eliminated the island, and increased the size of Weltner Park in the process. The Cambridge Street improvements would also include the construction of a central turning lane that would eliminate some of the congestion along the stretch of road where many residents must turn into their driveways.

The money to fund the street improvement comes from the general obligation bond sale the city held last fall. The park improvements will be financed with money allocated from city’s Capital Improvement Projects fund.

City project manager Keith Bredehoeft said the first phase of the project would cover the redevelopment of Cambridge Street north of 79th Terrace. If the city has enough left over from the funds it allocated to the project, it will assess the feasibility of completing the improvements south of 79th Terrace.

Click on the thumbnails above to see the project plans.