Unfettered Letters

Streets for motor vehicles

Once again, spring-like weather appears and along with it, one of the worst things about living downtown. I refer to the seemingly endless blocking of streets and diverting of traffic for groups of fund-raising runners.

Last Saturday, I needed to go to the grocery store. I head out, only to find I can’t cross Gillham Road because of some run. Also blocked off are portions of Linwood Boulevard and Broadway. I had to drive north until I could turn west and then spent 20 minutes to get back to where I should have been only to find the grocery store parking lot full of the runners’ cars!

Now, fundraising is great. Running is OK for those who like it. But the streets are for motor vehicle traffic. I wish the event planners would go to the Kansas Speedway or out to Arrowhead or the “K.” Park there and run around where there is no traffic and stop disrupting the weekends of the rest of us.

J. Cogswell
Kansas City

Wasn’t a bomb

Police closed a major roadway (Missouri 152) last Tuesday because they could not recognize a broken car part.

This is really going too far, telling people they cannot travel on a major highway because they see some trash at the side of the road.

Demand that we get true service from our public employees, not some Chicken Little response to close off everything they don’t understand.

Steve Barquist
Kansas City

Roadside collections

Somebody needs to tell firefighters Domenic Serrone and Gary Walt (9/13, Letters) that obstructing traffic is against the law. Last time I checked, there was no exception for firefighters begging for money for a “good cause.” I particularly take issue with their view that people who don’t appreciate being inconvenienced by their lawbreaking are the ones with the problem. Perhaps we need to start calling the police when this kind of thing happens.

There are plenty of ways to solicit donations that don’t inconvenience the public. Mr. Serrone and Mr. Walt and their fellow beggars should check into some of them and stop annoying innocent bystanders with their callous disregard for the rights of others. That’s not exactly the smartest method of convincing people to help you out.

I don’t care what your cause is. If you’re interfering with the flow of traffic, the only thing you’ll get from me is a one-finger salute as I drive by.

Dave Hines
Kansas City, Kan.

Firefighters and MDA

This is in response to Jonna Leasure’s letter to The Star (9/8) about Kansas City firefighters delaying her 20 minutes on her holiday weekend while they collected money for sick children.

Maybe next time she should think of someone other than herself.

Kansas City firefighters and firefighters around the country have been collecting money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association every Labor Day weekend for many years. This is nothing new.

What blows my mind is that someone can actually have the nerve to complain about a 20-minute delay, when the point of this collection is to give a better life to innocent children who have been plagued with a terrible disease.

Domenic Serrone
Kansas City firefighter
Kansas City

I had to reply to Jonna Leasure’s whine about being held up in traffic on the Friday of Labor Day weekend.

She complained that because of us firemen, it took her 20 minutes to get through a stretch of road. Maybe she was headed to the lake and to a weekend full of fun and games.

Well, if so, she is lucky.

We were doing a public service for those who do not have that luxury.

We encountered hundreds of charitable people who gave, people who know that they have life better than so many afflicted by a terrible disease that not only incapacitates but also kills.

We raised a tremendous amount of money and received many thanks.

Maybe the writer should have used that 20 minutes to think how lucky she is to be able to drive or to thank God for this. Maybe she should have used that time to ponder things in this world that should make her more upset.

Thanks to those who gave and those who continue to give.

Slow down and be happy!

Gary Wait
Kansas City

Collectors caused back-up

I would like the Kansas City Fire Department to explain why they were collecting money for the MDA Telethon late last Friday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 350 and Noland Road.

They had traffic backed up for two to three miles on the Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend when traffic was already going to be very heavy.

It took me 20 minutes to get through the intersection, and that was at 4:45. I can only imagine what the traffic situation was like at 5:30 as folks tried to get home and out of town for the weekend.

I would like to hear what the Fire Department has to say about the mess they created.

Jonna Leasure
Leawood

More rail, fewer cars

Kansas City is the second largest rail hub in the United States after Chicago. The railroad and its history are intertwined with that of Kansas City.

I have been an employee of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for more than 13 years, and I often hear complaints from people who have to wait at crossings for a freight train to pass — or worse, from people who try to beat the train.

I wonder whether readers know that the train they waited for may have been an intermodal train hauling 280 truck trailers. That’s the equivalent of over 1,200 cars in traffic. Using more rail would mean significantly less pressure on our highways, as well as less time wasted by motorists. It would also mean increased safety and air quality.

Rather than griping about crossings blocked, we need to be pro-active and encourage public support for investment in grade-separation projects. These and other rail-infrastructure improvements would reduce conflicts between vehicles and trains.

Bill Stuhldreher
Kansas City

Can’t get there

Why is it impossible to get directly into downtown Kansas City when traveling east on I-670? The only exit into downtown, Central Street, is blocked. There are no signs indicating alternate downtown exits. We had to drive on I-70 to Troost, turn around and return to downtown.

My family and I come to Kansas City regularly for arts, entertainment, shopping, family and friends — but we’re rethinking our visits.

Leo Schell
Manhattan, Kan.

KC Marathon

In the letters and articles written regarding the Kansas City Marathon, the one complaint that stands out is the problem with the traffic.

This will never be solved in Kansas City. All the major races used to be on Sunday, but cars were 10 deep at some intersections, with people cussing the police and course monitors that they needed to get to church

So several major running events were switched to Saturday. Nothing changed! People in cars this year were breaking through the intersections, and the police were writing deserved tickets.

Why in Chicago, New York, Boston (held on a Monday) and even in a small town like Duluth, Minn., can you find the crowds four and five deep the entire marathon course? Because these cities realize the economic impact of such an event. In Kansas City we’re happy to see a dozen spectators here and there.

A few days ago, The Star had an article devoted to the economic impact of the American Royal barbecue contest. How much economic impact do you think the Hospital Hill Run, the Trolley Run and the Kansas City Marathon have? Now, consider the millions that runners generate for our local charities.

Mike DeGhelder
Kansas City

Downtown mess

I am glad to know the Kansas City Marathon was as unrewarding an experience for the runners as it was for the hundreds of Kansas Citians who could not function in a normal way due to the blockage and barricades that completely throttled traffic in the city.

Another confounding part of this disaster was the staging of the American Royal Parade on the same day. The result of this poor planning was traffic chaos, frustration and lost hours at jobs.

Trying to bus to an appointment, I was redirected by little paper signs to seven different nonfunctioning stops before I finally gave up. The cab ride I eventually took had to weave its way through all sorts of side streets and take several reversals because sections of the city were completely blocked.

I know of many midtown employees who could not get to work on time and several businesses that opened late or stayed closed.

Those who planned the marathon route and who allowed two major street-blocking events on the same day should have been compelled to drive around the looping course of the run for four or five hours nonstop.

Robert Haas
Kansas City