KANSAS CITY, Mo — Over the past year, Emanuel Cleaver Boulevard between Oak Street and Troost Avenue has been sticking to a road diet in an effort to shake off its reputation as one of the most dangerous streets in Kansas City.
The road diet called for installing concrete-protected bike lanes and raised medians for pedestrians while trimming down on traffic lanes.
"These concrete things make this permanent and I think the drivers are going to see it and be better informed about the bicycles," said Bill Taft, one of the cyclists KSHB 41 spoke to for this story.
According to the city's website, work is to be completed by the end of the year, but city workers already noticed an increase in use among cyclists and pedestrians.
Traffic counts were conducted before and after the road diet measures using Miovision cameras that revealed the number of people walking, biking, and rolling more than doubled during a 13-hour period.
The data is part of the Kansas City Physical Activity plan.
The project is part of Kansas City’s Vision Zero initiative.
The goalis to eliminate traffic fatalities by 2030 in Kansas City, Missouri.
BikeWalk KC is surveying to find out how these bike lanes are changing transportation in Kansas City. The survey closes on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
KSHB 41 asked the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department about crashes along Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard between Oak Street and Troost Avenue in 2022, 2023, 2024.
The numbers indicate a decrease from 2022 to 2023, but the number of crashes this year already surpassed 2023.
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KSHB 41 Traffic anchor/reporter Daniela Leon covers all sorts of transportation topics across Kansas City. Have a story idea to share or a question about something in your neighborhood? Send Daniela a news tip.
