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Pedestrian safety glaring issue for future of Buck O'Neil Bridge

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"A lot of people walk over with no problem, but me, I won't do it again," Wendy Kiger said.

Kiger lives at Holiday Apartments, a little community tucked back on Harlem Road next to the Buck O'Neil Bridge. Many people there don't have cars, and, like Kiger, have had to make a decision.

"People do walk over the bridge because it's easier to get downtown, because if you go over there, it's backtracking us,” she said.

Kiger pointed east down Harlem Road. She chooses to walk nearly two miles to a bus stop at 10th & Burlington in North Kansas City to avoid the speeding traffic on the bridge. But she's crossed it before.

"That was out of desperation because I didn't feel like walking all the way down there, so I walked straight down the middle, but those cars, they'll just be speeding. Driving real close to the edge of the divider, and you get scared," Kiger said.

Many people still do it, although the bridge built in the 50's wasn't designed for pedestrians.

"Pedestrian strikes are pretty common," Sgt. Bill Mahoney with KCPD's Accident Investigations Unit said. "And we have a pretty sizeable homeless population; unfortunately some of them have wandered into traffic."

A car hit a man walking on the narrow median on Monday when he stepped into the lane. He's recovering. The woman who accidentally hit him won't be charged.

But it calls to mind a bigger issue the city and MoDOT are trying to work out.

"It needs folks to be able to access both sides of the river on foot or bike. Right now it doesn't do that," MoDOT Assistant District Engineer Brian Kidwell said.

MoDOT is juggling a $49 million rehab project to keep the bridge safe, waiting for the city and the Mid-America Regional Council to come up with a way to fund a total redo. MoDOT doesn't have the money for the $200 million project, which would involve bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks. Whatever happens, the bridge could shut down for two years.

In April, the Kansas City Council appointed City Manager Troy Schulte to work with stakeholders and partners on the plan. The 60-day deadline is approaching June 20. Kidwell said MoDOT is looking forward to what the council will present.

MoDOT asked for public comment on its Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan. It received 127 comments, and 126 of them were concerns about the Buck O’Neil Bridge. Comments closed on June 2.

"There are folks that need to cross the river, and this is where they want to do it," Kidwell said.

Kiger said many of her neighbors fear they'll have to find another place to live because of the inconvenience.

"You ain't going to be able to balance it. People are just going to have to sacrifice, either it's a place to stay or they have to make sacrifices, a lot of us do," Kiger said.

The Mid-America Regional Council will discuss the bridge with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission on June 7 in St. Joseph.

MHTC is meeting with MoDOT to review the transportation improvement plan public comments at another meeting on June 29.