Planning staff: applicant seeks vacation of Midland Valley railroad corridor for Red Guard expansion; advocates press for preserved bikeway

Planning staff told the Wichita board that an applicant has requested the city vacate a strip of city-owned former Midland Valley Railroad corridor south of East 47th Street, between Broadway and Seneca, to allow expansion of an industrial campus owned by Red Guard.

The request has drawn opposing recommendations from planning bodies and public comment that stressed competing priorities: economic development and a potential north–south bikeway identified in multiple city plans.

Scott (Planning Department staff) told commissioners the corridor was acquired by the city in the 1980s, was recently platted as right of way and is roughly 6 acres. He said public utilities, fire and stormwater raised no objections to the vacation; Wichita Public Works requested an easement for a future water line. He also said contamination testing for the corridor showed levels that would not require remediation, and that the corridor could be surfaced as chip rock, similar to…