Kansas City, Missouri – Kansas City officials have taken new action to make streets safer for students traveling to and from school. Earlier this week, the City Council unanimously approved Mayor Quinton Lucas’s school zone safety ordinance. This law will keep kids safe by making it illegal to turn right on red lights when school is in session.
The legislation, number 250927, is a big step forward for the city’s Vision Zero plan, which aims to end all deaths and serious injuries caused by traffic. The program comes after people in the neighborhood became more worried about pedestrian safety, especially in places where many people walk to and from school.
“Kids don’t need to die on the streets of Kansas City. Any loss of life for a young person, especially a young person going to school, deserves our full policy focus,” said Mayor Lucas. “The goal is that our young people, who are an important part of our roads, sidewalks, and trails, can be made as safe as possible as they navigate our city.”
The new law says that in school zones with lower speed limits, drivers can’t turn right on red lights. To let drivers know about the change, the city will put up new signs at all of the affected intersections. If the restriction could make it harder for schools to pick up or drop off students, they can ask for waivers.
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The law became more important after the tragic loss of nine-year-old Hazen Nevaeh Lyn Workman-Duffy, who was hit and killed near her elementary school earlier this year. Her death brought attention to how dangerous it is for kids to cross major intersections and gave city leaders more motivation to make the roadways safer.
Kansas City is now one of many cities across the country that are raising safety regulations near schools. City officials said that enforcing the rules and teaching people about them will be very important for keeping the city’s youngest pedestrians safe.
The measure shows that both council members and locals agree that children’s safety should come before convenience. The city wants to take a big step toward stopping future tragedies by dealing with one of the most common reasons for near-misses and crashes in school zones.
