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Committee hears bill to designate portion of K‑5 as Rep. Marvin S. Robinson Memorial Highway
Summary
A Transportation Committee hearing on House Bill 2029 took testimony supporting naming a stretch of K‑5 in Wyandotte County for the late Representative Marvin S. Robinson; the bill requires sign costs to be covered by gifts or donations plus 50% before signs are installed.
The Transportation Committee held a hearing on House Bill 2029, which would designate a portion of K‑5 Highway in Wyandotte County as the Rep. Marvin S. Robinson Memorial Highway and redesignate an adjacent section currently named the Harry Darby Memorial Highway.
A staff presenter described the bill’s provisions, saying the Rep. Marvin S. Robinson Memorial Highway “will be designated on K 5, from the junction of North Eighteenth Street in Wyandotte County to the junction with North 30 Eighth Street.” The presenter also said that “signs will not be placed until the secretary of transportation has received sufficient funds from gifts or donations to cover the cost of the signs plus 50%,” language included in the bill.
Representative Penn, who appeared as a proponent, said Robinson — who died in August of pancreatic cancer — had a long record of community and historical preservation work, particularly for the Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City, Kansas. “He gave his all, his all without any recompense or anything, to make sure that it was preserved as a good Kansas story,” Representative Penn said, reading prepared testimony from Robinson’s family and colleagues.
Penn told the committee that the bill passed the House unanimously and that 11 sponsors supported it, characterizing the effort as bipartisan. He cited written testimony submitted by Representative Barbara Ballard and Mayor Tyrone Garner of the Wyandotte Unified Government as additional support.
Committee members asked no substantive questions about technical changes to the highway designation; several members offered brief remarks praising Robinson’s record. The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 2029 without taking a recorded vote.
Why it matters: The stretch of highway runs in front of the Quindaro Ruins, an area supporters said Robinson helped protect and promoted for state and national historic recognition. The bill would memorialize that service while leaving sign placement contingent on private funds to cover installation costs plus a customary 50% reserve, as stated in the bill.
The Transportation Committee did not take a final vote during the hearing and recorded no formal action to advance or defeat the bill at that time.
