KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is deploying its entertainment district plan, which means there will be more officers across town on Friday and Saturday nights.
The goal is to reduce dangerous traffic issues like sideshows, and illegal ATV and off-road vehicles.
“It becomes an unwelcoming experience, especially for pedestrians," Cristina Hernandez said.
She works in the Crossroads district and said riders frequently drive through the area.
“Very much a nuisance," Hernandez said. “I would say harassment, especially when they are approaching people that are out and about. It’s very intimidating I would say because you are on a vehicle still."
KCPD is upping enforcement on illegal riders, especially on weekends in areas like the Crossroads, Power and Light and Westport districts.
It’s a part of their larger “entertainment district plan.”
On Friday’s and Saturday’s there will be more than a dozen officers and specialized units to keep traffic moving and parties peaceful.
Down on the Country Club Plaza, Richard Adams says riders keep him up at night and finds it tough to hear his television sometimes.
“We’re all dependent on DVR rewind,” Adams said. “But it’s just a flood of them and people will pull off onto these side roads to get away from them. But the sound of it off all the tall buildings where I live is deafening."
Both Adams and Hernandez are weary of what increased police presence can do for this problem, but are open to solutions.
KCPD was unable to pass along specific data related to stops, tickets and arrests in entertainment areas over its first weekend of the plan.
The department said it does not track individual statistics in entertainment areas.
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