Kansas City is Investing $4 Million Into Traffic Safety as Deadly Collisions Continue to Rise

Kansas City plans to spend $4 million to make its roads safer. This is important for leaders, as the city sees an increasing number of fatal car accidents every year.

They believe that taking this step will help reduce deadly car collisions and make roads safer for everyone, including drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and other road users.

About Kansas City’s plans

According to a recent news report released by Yahoo News, Kansas City leaders held a meeting in the Brookside Neighborhood in June 2024 to note the large number of traffic-related deaths that continue to occur. The event also served to inform the community of their plans to combat this growing issue. Mayor Quinton Lucas stated that Kansas City is dedicated to investing $4 million into its Vision Zero program to ensure that roads are safer for everyone.

Councilman Eric Bunch explained that the meeting was difficult, as he wanted to celebrate the $4 million investment, but the reality is that the city is experiencing record-breaking traffic fatalities each year. He said, “These deaths that we experience on our city streets are not accidents. They are preventable.” He concluded his speech by saying that “the city has the tools and the data to make the necessary changes, so it’s time to put the money where its mouth is and prevent unnecessary traffic violence and deaths.”

The data on traffic-related deaths in Kansas City, MO

As of June, 47 fatal collisions had occurred on Kansas City roadways. This number was 38 percent higher than the 34 deaths reported in June 2023. By the end of 2023, there were 102 traffic-related deaths across the city, and it is expected that fatal crashes in 2024 will surpass this number.

What is Vision Zero and what has it accomplished so far

Vision Zero started in Sweden, but spread across Europe and into more than 50 communities in the US. The basic premise of Vision Zero is that all traffic deaths are preventable. That simple idea is a shift from past approaches, which assumed some traffic fatalities were unavoidable. The approach also looks for ways to make traffic systems safer instead of expecting human drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists to be perfect. The idea is that people will make mistakes, so traffic infrastructure needs to make it so that the consequences of those errors are not deadly. In fact, the goal of Vision Zero is not to reduce collisions, but rather to focus on eliminating the most devastating traffic accidents.

Roundabouts, for example, are one traffic calming technique that forces drivers to slow down. While they reduce all crashes as compared to intersections using stop signs or traffic lights, they cut down on pedestrian crashes by about 75%. Considering about 18% of fatal crashes are pedestrian accidents, roundabouts are a traffic feature that could go a long way toward making the roads safer.

In some cities, including Helsinki, Vision Zero programs eliminated traffic deaths. New York City, the first city in the US to enact a Vision Zero program, pedestrian fatalities dropped 29% between 2014 and 2023. At the same time, other cities were experiencing an increase in traffic deaths. However, the results are not as impressive everywhere.

Kansas City’s Vision Zero setbacks

Kansas City started Vision Zero later than many other US cities. The program officially began at the end of 2020. Mayor Lucas explained that “Vision Zero was designed to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries on Kansas City streets by 2030 while increasing safe, healthy and equitable mobility for all.”

Over the last three years, Vision Zero has completed around 300 different projects to make roads safer across the city. However, the number of traffic fatalities continues to climb, which is why city officials are now putting $4 million into the program in hopes that it can do more to fix the problem. While the city still has a long way to go, leaders believe that this investment is a great way to start.

Kansas City’s Vision Zero projects include several traffic calming strategies, such as:

• Protected mobility lanes for cyclists and scooters
• Speed humps, which are similar but smaller in height than speed bumps, and to force drivers to slow down
• Curb extensions, which narrow the roadway, suggesting to drivers that they should slow down because they are entering residential areas
• Enhanced sidewalks that are raised above street level
• Diagonal parking which make pulling in and out of spaces easier, reducing the risk of collisions
• More signalized crosswalks for pedestrians

Despite setbacks, officials are optimistic about the investment and its ability to curb traffic fatalities.

If you were injured by a negligent driver, reach out

Were you recently involved in a car accident due to another person’s negligence? If so, Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys is ready and available to assist. Our car accident lawyers have proudly earned the title of Kansas City’s Favorite Law Firm. When you work with us, we guide you through the entire legal process, help you collect valuable evidence to support your claim and fight for the compensation you need to move forward with your life. Please call our office or submit our contact form to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation at our office in Kansas City, MO, today. We also have offices by appointment in Lee’s Summit, Parkville, and St. Joseph, MO, as well as in Overland Park, Kansas City, and Olathe, KS.