KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bike lanes along Truman Road in Kansas City, Missouri were installed about three months ago.
In November, KSHB 41 saw the bike lanes confuse drivers, speed up traffic and almost cause a few crashes.
On Friday, the Kansas City, Missouri Department of Public Works acknowledged the problems and said it was trying to make changes.
More than 120 people showed up at the Gregg Klice Community Center for a community meeting on the issue.
The meeting was requested by Shawn Arcidino, owner of Atomic Collision, and KCMO Councilwoman Melissa Robinson.
They said this is a problem solving meeting to find a way forward or an ordinance to remove bike lanes from Truman Road.
“By show of hands, how many business owners on Truman Road are opposed to Truman Road bike lanes?” Arcidino asked at the meeting.
At the meeting, Robinson filled pages and pages with business owners’ safety concerns.
“The dangerous nature of parking lanes and driving lanes are one and the same,” Robinson said. “If you are parked in the parking lane, and there are buses coming behind you, it is extremely dangerous.”
Several business owners on Truman Road spoke of problems with loading and unloading platforms in the industrial area around the bike lanes with a reduced traffic lane.
“Service on and off Truman Road is a nightmare,” said a business owner who attended the meeting.
Steve Leighter of Kansas City Screw Products agreed.
“They’re going to put me out of business if I can’t get the steel for the parts,” he said. “I can’t put my driver out there with a bullet in his back.”
Business owners say there are safety concerns due to customer parking, reduced profits, speeding drivers, no signs and possible collisions with properly parked cars.
“They should have had this meeting before the bike lanes were put in,” Robinson said.
Michael Shaw, KCMO’s director of public works, says he’s here to keep people safe and listen to feedback.
“We have to take responsibility for some problems,” Shaw said. “I will tell you as a director, the implementation could have been better compared to how we set it up.”
A handful of trail supporters were also there
“A lot of it comes down to not enough engagement in the city,” said BikeWalkKC’s Michael Kelly. “This is a new infrastructure, it is necessary to sit down and explain how the infrastructure works and for whom it is intended.”
After Friday’s meeting, Robinson said solutions being considered include removing the bike lanes entirely or adapting them for permanent parking.
Robinson said an ordinance would need to be introduced and it would take seven votes from the KCMO City Council to remove the bike lanes.
Shaw said the new bike lanes have not yet been completed, but installation will not continue due to safety concerns.
In the meantime, Shaw said signs will be added to show drivers how to use the road until a decision is made.
“Because it’s new, I think people are a little confused,” Shaw said. “As a driver, the rules of the road remain the same – the lines dictate where you drive.”
Shaw and Robinson said more details on how the city will move forward will be available in a week.
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