When a reckless driver last May crashed into a decorative planter at the end of a residential street in Mission, he did a lot more than dislodge some bricks into the roadway.
The errant motorist sparked an impassioned debate over how best to preserve quiet, safe streets and neighborhood tranquility not far from Shawnee Mission Parkway.
City officials say they can’t just fix the broken planter, which has been there for more than 25 years, because it doesn’t meet the latest national highway safety standards. The city has floated the idea of removing this planter and five others that currently create dead-end barriers for 61st Terrace, 62nd Street and 62nd Terrace off Hodges Drive.
But nearby residents are fiercely opposed and have turned out in force at town meetings and petitioned to try to save the planters. Residents say that, while the planters may not technically meet traffic standards, they help beautify the neighborhood and improve public safety by slowing drivers down and preventing cut-through traffic from Shawnee Mission Parkway.
“We like the friendly nature of these,” said Susie Genova, who has lived on Hodges Drive for more than 30 years and sees the planters as an effective traffic calming device. “You can walk your dog through, you can stroll your stroller through, but not cars.”
Genova said the city used to block the streets with guardrails but replaced those unsightly metal features with the six planters at the neighborhood’s request in the early 1990s.
(Read more: KC Star Local News)