Why is Kansas City cutting down trees in Penn Valley Park? What’s going on
It may seem counterintuitive to think trees and parks don’t mix. But some trees don’t.
Recent visitors to the west side of Kansas City’s Penn Valley Park, just south of the pond — between Penn Valley Drive and Penn Drive — may have noticed a stand of trees no longer standing.
The trees, lining the base of the ravine at the park’s narrow creek, have been turned to stumps and piles of branches.
The reason:
“Plans have been developed to improve and revitalize the space,” said Toni Zibert, public information officer for the Department of Parks & Recreation. “The trees that were removed were a mix of invasive and volunteer trees — meaning they were not the best trees for that area.”
Didn’t know that trees could volunteer? The term refers to trees or shrubs that have not been planted intentionally, but instead have been seeded by wind, birds or animals.
In other words, they’re weed trees.
Their removal, Zibert said, is part of a three-phase improvement project underway in the west section of the park.
Phase 1 involves clearing all remaining stumps and undergrowth. Phase 2 will see a heavy-duty soil pulverizer prepare the ground for seed and fertilization. Phase 3 entails planting new, native trees “intentionally spaced to create a more open, visible landscape, which will help maintenance as well as create a more welcoming green space for the public,” Zibert said.
Phases 1 and 2 are expected to be completed in April. Phase 3 will begin in May.
In June, the south lawn of the nearby National World I Museum and Memorial, located in Penn Valley Park at the Liberty Memorial, is to be the site of the Kansas City’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival, free to the public.
Vistors welcome. Weed trees not.
