KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Rural vs. Urban. There are unique challenges during inclement weather depending on where you live. KSHB 41 first headed to downtown Kansas City where commuters on their lunch break shared the pros and cons about the “city life.”
“Oh man, the traffic is crazy sometimes," said Kenneth Thomas who lives downtown. "Just snow everywhere, you see, it’s just really slippery and kind of hard to walk. A lot of people, they be on the bikes and uh, scooters, and I seen someone slip and fall."
Most people downtown say traffic and dangerous sidewalks are their biggest concerns. Although having to get around on foot may be a risk, they did say having resources like stores and gas stations right around the corner is a good trade off.
“When you get into the country, you don’t have the funding like you do in the city,” said Cheryl Return.
Kate Hodges, who just moved to the city, says having grown up in a small town, she is able to compare and contrast some of the winter weather challenges.
“School seems to get cancelled a lot quicker down there just because the buses can’t really get through gravel roads,” said Hodges.
She says response times for emergencies are quicker in the city as well. If someone slid off the road and got stuck, EMS would arrive in a small town much later.
“Getting to the store and panic buying the milk, bread, and cheese, and eggs is kind of a a big thing in the rural areas because you do need to be prepared, you know, and have that before you are snowed in without a way to get to the store,” said Hodges.
In Platte County, Bernard Edwards says agriculture is another concern for people in rural counties. He was putting plastic over outdoor plants Thursday afternoon for the forecasted snow on Friday.
“With the arctic, cold air coming in, it’ll be harder on the plants if we didn’t cover ‘em up," Edwards said. "So that’s why we’re trying to cover ‘em up.”
Regardless of where people live, urban or rural, everyone is bracing for another winter event on Friday and the respective challenges it brings.
