Another UMKC pedestrian struck walking to campus

The University of Missouri-Kansas City University News reports that another UMKC student has been struck crossing the street within a crosswalk walking between her dorm and the university. About this time last year a UMKC conservatory student was struck and killed crossing Troost Avenue, within a striped crosswalk and in a marked school zone.

This time the student was struck by a Kansas City Water Department truck while crossing Oak Street within a striped crosswalk. According to the UNews article:

Kansas City Metro Patrol responded to the scene to find Thompson in severe pain but with no critical injuries. Thompson was transported to St. Luke's Hospital, where she was treated and released the same day. Her left leg was severely bruised but not broken.

Kansas City's main concern when considering these issues seems to be creating maximum traffic flow and speed. It is becoming more and more clear that the entire area between Twin Oaks (UMKC Dorms) and Rockhurst University, including the UMKC campus, Oak Street, and Troost Avenue, needs to be re-thought and re-configured as a campus-like pedestrian-friendly zone with 20 MPH speed limits and, eventually, re-designed pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly major streets.

This would create an area where, essentially, the pedestrian is king and automobiles are invited guests. This sounds like a wild-haired and crazy plan until you realize that just a few blocks away there is just such an area--one that has been working successfully for decades: The Plaza.

Not only would this plan increase safety and make the UMKC and Rockhurst campuses more pleasant, attractive, and liveable, it would also lead to an economic resurgence in the area of campus.

Near the UMKC campus, neither Troost nor Oak is a thriving commercial center right now. They should be! Thousands of students (and other nearby residents) would shop, eat, socialize, and spend money at businesses in the UMKC-Rockhurst area--if they dared walk there.

Making the entire area pedestrian-friendly would benefit the two university campuses, area businesses, and the city as a whole.