KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. City leaders contacted her about this story and she followed up with local neighbors about the changes implemented. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Overland Park city leaders are taking action following several fatal pedestrian crashes this year.
Back in October, a 10-year-old Leawood boy was struck and killed while riding an e-scooter. Around the same time, a 68-year-old woman was hit by a car and killed while on a walk off of Switzer Road in Overland Park. In July, a 25-year-old man was killed on his e-bike near 95th Street, also in a car crash.
Neighbors across Johnson County wanted to see safety changes to prevent any more tragic incidents.
Drivers in Overland Park can expect to see more flashing speed signs in neighborhoods, near schools and across the community. The goal is to slow drivers down, after neighbors called on city leaders to address speeding in residential areas.
Johnson County drivers often take 99th Street to cut through rush-hour traffic, rushing past Mark Sutton's house with little attention to the speed limit.
"It's not just here, I see it in other neighborhoods as well," Sutton said. "If I'm out working in my yard, it's very prevalent."
Sutton is the HOA president of the Nall Hills Neighborhood Association. He was one of dozens of neighbors who asked the city council to put in speed signs so his grandchild can play safely.
"He loves to come spend time with Nana and Pops," Sutton said. "Putting [the speed signs in] is a great first step."
Overland Park received $100,000 from a federal grant to address infrastructure concerns, putting it toward 33 solar-powered speed signs in town. U.S. Representative for Kansas' 3rd District Sharice Davids helped get that infrastructure bill through.
"[The speed signs] are proven to slow down drivers and help prevent accidents, which is really what we all want to see more of," Davids said. "Given the recent tragedies that we've seen on the roads, I'm just grateful that Overland Park has secured these investments and is looking for ways to address this problem right now and not just looking out years down the road."
Neighbors in Overland Park want to see more safety solutions from the city, too.
"We'd like to see them do a little bit more with the global concept of safety for children," Sutton said. "It just seems slower sometimes than what those of us who experience it every day would like to see."
But city council members say several plans are in place to address traffic safety in the new year.
"This is a start, it's not the end," Ward 2 councilwoman Melissa Cheatham said. "I hear from residents every week about wanting our streets to be safer. There's definitely more that we can do, that I want to do, and that residents are asking for. We're working through some planning processes right now."
Overland Park is launching a safety action plan following several fatal pedestrian crashes.
"That's just an unacceptable amount of fatalities, and we know that there's ways to prevent those crashes," Ward 2 councilman Drew Mitrisin said. "That plan will come with a priority list of projects that we will hopefully be able to fund and execute."
The year-long study will analyze traffic and crash data, then decide what neighborhoods will need to slow drivers down, such as speed cushions or road diets.
"I just think about my own three-year-old daughter, who's just starting to try and ride a bike," Mitrisin said. "I hope that parents feel safe letting their kids go on the sidewalks and cross the street."
Neighbors feel the speed signs are a good start, but plan to keep calling on city leaders for more.
"We are listening," Cheatham said. "It can take time, but we feel that urgency, and I am always grateful to residents for keeping that urgency top of mind."
You can find more about Overland Park's speed study here.
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