KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Days after a business owner writes an open letter to the city about parking problems in the Crossroads District, city leaders encourage drivers to change their expectations.
David Lopez is the owner of Manny's Restaurant in the Crossroads District. Two days after complaining about construction workers monopolizing three-hour parking all day long, 41 Action News cameras caught workers doing just that.
"All that two-hour and three-hour parking is filled with construction workers. They'll come, eat lunch in their car for about an hour and go back to work." said Lopez.
Brandon Barkley is a sub-contractor working on the ArterraKC high-rise development in the Crossroads District. He said the designated parking area is too small to accommodate everyone who's working on the project.
"Everybody's got to move cars when they hear that they're coming out towing people. A lot of people have been towed here," said Barkley.
Jeff Williams is a city planner for Kansas City. He says some downtown developers choose to include parking, but it's not required.
"We waived the parking requirements. The idea is creating an environment that encourages transportation other than cars," said Williams.
Williams says parking enforcement is key, but as the landscape of downtown Kansas City changes so should downtown parking expectations. He says drivers should be open to paid parking options and walking further to get to their destination.
"These are some of the growing pains," said William.
