Elizabeth Orosco
Northeast News

Four speed bumps have been installed around Indian Mound Park, located in the northeast portion of the Indian Mound neighborhood.

Residents and board members of the Indian Mound Neighborhood Association said speeding has been a huge issue in the neighborhood, resulting in accidents, parked cars being smashed into, and families being afraid to let their children walk across the street to the park.

The wall, on the northeast side of the Mound, has also been hit numerous times by speeding and errant drivers.

Residents said that drivers heading east on Gladstone Boulevard will often continue south down Wheeling Avenue at a high rate of speed.

Christopher Lowrance, a member of the Indian Mound Neighborhood Association, said numerous accidents have occurred around the park, including one family who had two of their parked vehicles crashed into.

Lowrance sent a letter to the then-4th district city council members to see what could be done.

“Jolie Justus got back to me, suggesting I put in a request for PIAC funds,” he said.

The Public Improvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) solicits resident’s input and makes recommendations regarding both the citywide and neighborhood portions of the capital budget.

A series of public hearings are held every year that provide residents with an opportunity to express opinions concerning project requests.

Projects that are eligible for PIAC funds include storm water drainage, flooding streets or roadways, street improvements, community centers, street lights or traffic lights, curbs and gutters, park facility improvements, monuments or fountains, and ball fields or swimming pools.

The Public Improvements Advisory Committee consists of 13 individuals, two from each council district and one chair person, who are appointed by the mayor and City Council.

Donna Miller-Brown, then-treasurer on the Indian Mound Board, collected data from the neighborhood and submit the request.

According to the research submitted with the request, there have been 21 major wrecks along Gladstone Boulevard from August 2017 to August 2018, not including wrecks surrounding the Mound.

As part of the request to install speed bumps, Lowrance said collecting signatures was also required, so he spent time visiting with neighbors who live directly around the Mound to talk about the issue of speeding and offer a potential solution with the PIAC-funded speedbumps.

Twenty-four residents from Gladstone, Wheeling, Belmont, and Bellaire signed the petition. Six residents also left comments about how many of their personal vehicles were hit.

The neighborhood got word earlier this spring that the project had been approved. They then met with Parks and Recreation project managers and were notified that the drawings had been approved and a work order was created.

Monday, August 19, the four speed bumps were installed and painted, directional white arrows were added. Signage will also be going up to alert drivers.

Lowrance said he hopes this solves a major issue in the neighborhood and that ultimately, neighbors feel safe.

“We’ve had to use funding to repair that wall instead of adding playgrounds or other things to the neighborhood,” he said. “I hope this helps and makes people feel safer.”

PIAC requests are still being accepted until Saturday, August 31.

To see a full PIAC calendar of events, visit kcmo.gov and click “Programs and Initiatives” tab.