KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Business owners, customers and residents near west 75th Street and Wornall Road in Kansas City, Missouri, are optimistic about improvements coming to the area.
The KCMO City Council passed an ordinance Dec. 7, which approved $13.9 million in improvements to the intersection area.
This includes new concrete pavement, curbs and gutters, sidewalks, traffic signals, street lighting, streetscapes, water main replacement and Green Infrastructure for storm water detention.
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson
Those living and working near the area say this intersection is notorious for potholes, construction and congested traffic.
These are things Shelby Nelson, an employee at Soap Refill Station, faces every day on her commute to work.
“It’s pretty chaotic, it’s always very busy,” Nelson said. “I have seen a lot of almost accidents before, just because there’s a lot going on.”
According to data from KCPD, there have been 49 accidents in the last two years at this intersection — 28 of which happened within the last year, which is seven more than the year prior.
Despite the chaos surrounding the intersection, it’s not enough to deter customers from like Emily Smithey from stopping by regularly.
“[It] honestly doesn’t feel super safe driving around here all the time; there’s lots of potholes, [it] feels super congested, the lanes are very narrow,” Smithey said. “I still shop here because I love it, but I definitely think it can make it cumbersome to be in this area sometimes.”
Smithey says she would like to see road improvements in the area, some that are a part of the ordinance, and some that are not.
“I think if they could actually make the roads wider and add a lane, that would be beneficial as well,” she said.
Nelson, on the other hand, says her concerns come from firsthand pedestrian experience.
“I get a little nervous about crossing that intersection,” she said. “I tend to kind of run across that intersection instead of just strolling. Road improvements on Wornall would be huge, and crosswalk improvements would be huge just because in this area, there’s a lot of pedestrian traffic, there’s a lot of bikers, even parents that are pushing strollers.”
As a parent of boys ages one and three living in the area, Ben Fortney is no stranger to the stress this intersection brings.
“I have figured out pretty quickly that I should just completely avoid that intersection,” he said.
Fortney says his alternate routes typically mean going through residential area, like the neighborhood he lives in that surround the intersection.
After noticing a change in the traffic in his neighborhood, he figured other people had the same idea.
“I see people come down this road pretty fast, might be going 30, 35,” he said. “I think that that’s because they’re trying to avoid the intersection.”
While businesses and residents await the changes, they say safety is their top priority in the meantime.
“I’ve just kind of had to deal with it, and you know, I look both ways multiple times before I cross the street, and I try not to let my road rage get the best of me,” Nelson said with a smile.
As far as the outside chaos goes, she’s happy that at least within the walls of her store, there’s a sense of control.
“Once it’s actually finished, it’s gotta be better than what it is right now,” she said.
—
