KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Reconnecting Kansas City's westside will not happen overnight. “This will be a long process of community engagement. And we need to hear from folks,” City Councilman Crispin Rea said. “Community engagement, focus groups, surveys, door-to-door canvasing, these folks are going to really reach deep into the community to elicit concerns and opportunities that they see around how we move forward.” The room Councilman Rea would speak in moments later, had people standing without seats. The community showed up to elicit those concerns, like traffic. “The traffic is horrible, and it's just gotten worse,” said neighbor Ramona Arroyo. “The pollution, the noise, I can hear when there's an accident on the highway, it's like it's right in my back door. It's terrible." Evergy speaks about Henry County chemical concern Reconnecting the westside was made possible by a federal grant awarded in March 2023. Kansas City was one of 45 communities selected to evaluate highways that divide neighborhoods and create barriers. “With such a large amount of traffic and a highway system that tears through a neighborhood like this, you get a lot of issues, trash, noise, pollution that impacts health,” Councilman Rea explained. “There are going to be some challenges no matter what we try and accomplish. But this is a conversation that's long, long overdue.” Sue Bustamente voiced her concerns in the kickoff meeting on Saturday. She says that drivers use her street as a cut-through to avoid sitting at stop lights in the Crossroads. Her neighbor, Ramona Arroyo, says her driveway is blocked due to restaurants nearby that use their street to provide customer parking. Both are worried about what might happen in the future. “My big fear is if they decide to put the [Royals] stadium downtown,” Arroyo said about the traffic. “That's going to really screw us!” The meeting left both neighbors feeling a little more hopeful that improvements to their neighborhood might be on the way. “This is the best thing I've heard so far,” Bustamente said. "I think there might be some light at the end of the tunnel,” Arroyo replied. “I'm hopeful.” Man in critical condition after taking hostage, firing on officers Rea says he’s not sure what the project will look like when it’s done yet, but he hopes the outcome will help westsiders feel like they’re just as part of the Kansas City community as anyone else. “I want them to feel connected in simple ways, such as driving from one side of the neighborhood to the other,” said Rea. “I want them to feel culturally connected and that we don't have these long-standing historical barriers creating separation.” The city is hosting another meeting regarding the project in April and hopes to have their final report completed in the winter of 2026.