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Why Kansas Citians Are Fed Up With Highway 71

Alyson Raletz
/
KCUR

U.S. Highway 71 in Kansas City, Mo., is here to stay.

But that doesn’t mean Kansas Citians are happy about it.

When we asked this week: “How has Highway 71 helped or hurt Kansas City?” some listeners, tweeters, Facebookers and callers praised the highway’s convenience for being a main north-south thoroughfare in the metropolitan area.

The Country Club Plaza and downtown Kansas City are more accessible to those in the southwest part of the metro as a result, Neta Davis (@ND6222) tells us on Twitter.

The majority of feedback we received, however, criticized the highway for its continued impact on neighborhoods in Kansas City’s east side and for its traffic issues.

“While I think it's the best way downtown from south Kansas City, I can't stand the traffic lights,” Peter Milakovich tells us on Facebook.

The 71 bashing continued on Reddit.

“Those stupid stoplights!” lamented Jupiterkansas.  

On Twitter, Moti Rieber (@rebmoti) added, “Someday KC has to learn, chopping up or destroying neighborhoods for convenience of drivers is not way to go.”

See other highlights from the Twitter conversation below.

For the full Twitter stream, follow the #TellKCUR hashtag.

Tell KCUR is part of an initiative to engage the community and shine a light on your experiences and opinions. We’ll ask a new question every week and then share your feedback on the air and online. See our arsenal of questions — and your answers

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