We're All Going To Die at 43rd and Westport Road
We’re all going to die at 43rd and Westport Road. Scoot referred to it as Kansas City’s "dumbest intersection." Say your prayers if you’re westbound during rush hour. The eastbound cars on Westport Road can either stay right or veer left in front of you. Meanwhile, westbound cars on Westport Road can barrel into you before you can even see them coming. The view is obstructed by the eastbound traffic, as seen in this photo. Even a mind boggling roundabout would be preferable to this mess.
posted by Happy In Bag @ 8:14 AM
5 Comments:
At 8:43 AM,
WLIB said…
You do have options. Turn right onto SW Trafficway and left at the light. Or cut over to Westport Road instead. Nobody has to die.
And really, how much of the average day is this a problem? We could be living in L.A., you know...
(I'm also more than a little reluctant to spend money on this or any other functional intersection, at least until the sewers get fixed.)
At 8:48 AM,
Happy In Bag said…
I demand an immediate remedy, Lee! I'm inconvenienced by this intersection at least once a week! And they're your sewers, not mine! As for LA, how about putting a diamond lane on Ward Parkway?
At 9:25 AM,
FletcherDodge said…
I like intersections like this. Keeps driver on their toes. Helps weed out the weaklings of the heard. If I had my we'd throw in a bus stop right in the middle of it along with a bike lane.
At 9:53 AM,
Anonymous said…
Heading west on 43rd one day, sitting in a line of cars like the one in your photo, I watched a police officer stand just outside my car, in the eastbound lane, and issue tickets to people who made the (illegal) left turn onto 43rd from the trafficway (or Westport Road--whatever it's called at the stopsign). Just a word to the wise. As they made the turn he just directed them by hand into the parking lot on their right, where he promptly wrote them up.
At 4:53 PM,
Anonymous said…
Yes, it is a wacky intersection and yes there are ways around it. And absolutely yes to anything that makes drivers pay attention to driving!
I must admit to getting a bit riled when I hear how we have to make the roads (intersections, streets, stop lights, etc) safer without ever demanding that drivers drive more responsibly (observe speed limits, use turn signals, stop at stop signs). It seems that once a person gets a drivers license as a teenager all supervision ceases and they can drive as wacky as they wanna be for the rest of their life.
Traffic infrastructure "improvements" often result in more traffic which is not always the best solution.
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