The Watchdog column “Left-turn signals ‘not feasible’ on 39th Street” (10/21, National/Local) hit home for me and my family. My daughter, 17 years old and a passenger in a car, was struck by oncoming traffic at 38th and Broadway on Oct. 2 while the driver was making a left-hand turn. Thank God that she and all the occupants in the car were wearing their seatbelts and have all recovered from the accident.
The next day, I drove where the accident had taken place. I had to pull halfway into the intersection to view the oncoming traffic, which was blocked by a concrete structure overgrown with rose bushes, placed there by our “highly skilled” traffic engineering staff at the Kansas City Public Works Department for city beatification purposes.
A simple turn signal to slow traffic is a small price to pay. How many more accidents must take place or lives possibly be lost until Kansas City will take action on this self-inflicted traffic nightmare? When the city admits there are issues, they need to be fixed quickly, or they are at fault.
Rick Raines
Lee’s Summit
I wouldn't bet on the beatification of our city any time soon. The Vatican is notoriously slow when it comes to verifying municipal miracles.
Posted by: preservation hall | November 03, 2009 at 08:21 AM