Those driving down Nieman Road in Overland Park may soon notice a change when they reach the intersection at 91st Street.
Driving the news: The Overland Park City Council voted 9-3 Monday to remove existing traffic signals at 91st and Nieman Road and convert the intersection into an four-way stop.
Reasoning: City traffic engineer Brian Shields said he recommended removing the lights because the volume of traffic at the intersection no longer warrants them.
- Originally installed in 1982, the signals are also near the end of their useful life, Shields said.
Key quote: “In this particular case, Quivira Road did not use to connect through,” Shields said. “So back in the early ’90s, we actually connected that across Interstate 435. You can imagine before that was connected that there was probably quite a bit more traffic that went through at 91st and Nieman to get down to the mall or other places.”
The details: If the city were to keep the traffic signals, about $50,000 worth of repairs, including the replacement of power cables, would need to be done immediately in order to keep them operational, according to city staff.
- The lights would then need to be replaced entirely within the next few years, which would cost the city over $500,000 to do, according to Shields.
- In contrast, simply removing the traffic signals would cost around $20,000.
Going forward: Now that the city council has approved the traffic signals’ removal, it will begin notifying residents, businesses and schools within a 1,000-foot radius of the intersection of the impending change.
- The signals will first be placed in an all-red flash pattern for a 90-day test period leading up their full removal.
- If no issues arise during that testing period, the traffic signals will then be removed and replaced with stop signs on each of the four approaches to the intersection.
- A follow-up study is set to be conducted another 90 days after the removal, as well as another one after a year.
Opposition to traffic signals’ removal
Though the measure won a clear majority of support from the city council, some councilmembers did express concerns about a lack of community engagement before the item was brought before the council.
- “Why are we not engaging with the community first, alerting them, having a town hall meeting with them and then bringing their perspective, plus your expertise, before having us decide?” Councilmember Faris Farassati asked city staff.
- Resident Donna Palatas, who spearheaded opposition to the removal of another set of traffic lights last year at 91st and Glenwood, told the Post that she believed the council should not vote upon the change until the 90-day all-red flashing period is over.
- In the months after the city first deactivated the traffic signals at 91st and Glenwood, there were at least 10 accidents at the intersection, leading to calls from some residents to bring the signals back.
