KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.
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Speeding, running red lights and crashes are some of the problems Kansas City, Missouri, residents say plague Meyer Boulevard in the metro.
Three and a half miles of the major roadway could be getting a safety redesign as the latest project of the city's "Vision Zero" initiative.
What Meyer Boulevard might look like from Ward Parkway to Swope Park is up to residents like Nina Whiteside-McCord.
"Meyer is a problem now," Whiteside-McCord said. "It's just the new speedway."
Whiteside-McCord is a strong voice for safer streets after a hit and run driver struck her grandson while he was walking home from school.
"Kevin got hit," Whiteside-McCord said. "I don't know what we would have done if something had happened to him."
Kevin was one of the 1,953 crashes that have happened along Meyer Boulevard since 2013.
"I just don't want any more fatalities over here with babies getting hurt," Whiteside-McCord said. "That's the main thing."
Whiteside-McCord is hoping to see safety solutions like stop signs, fewer lanes or more police presence to slow drivers down.
"Traffic won't be able to shoot out Paseo and shoot into the Meyer traffic," Whiteside-McCord said. "But I'm not an engineer."
That job is left up to Uday Manepalli, who oversees Kansas City's Vision Zero initiative.
He explained reducing the number of lanes in traffic has proven to be an effective solution in other parts of the city.
"We did a road diet on 63rd Street," Manepalli said. "The traffic flow has improved, there is a lot of safety. You can see in the Brookside area there is a lot of jaywalking and people only jaywalk when they are confident they can cross the street."
The Meyer Boulevard project is expected to go through at least seven different neighborhoods.
"One size won't fit all," Manepalli said.
The Brookside Community Improvement District is supporting a possible redesign. The director explained the group is happy to be a part of these conversations with the city.
"It's the right thing to do," Sean Ackerson said. "There's a lot of these things that are very easily and cost effectively resolved and it's just a matter of learning what everybody's challenges are and then putting all the pieces together."
Because the potential redesign affects so many, community feedback is a critical component.
There will be another community meeting on Jan. 27 at the Kansas City Public Library Southeast Branch from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Those who cannot attend are encouraged to fill out this survey to share their feedback.
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