A stylist was beginning her shift at a salon in Kansas City, Missouri, when a car crashed through the storefront window, landing mere feet away in the waiting area.
This incident wasnโt uncommon along 31st Street, as business owners frequently exchanged photos of damage caused by speeding vehicles. The street, a busy four-lane thoroughfare lined with shops, bars, and restaurants, served as a shortcut between major highways.
โA wide road makes people think they can drive as fast as they want,โ explained Ryan Ferrell, who owns the building housing the salon, a bookstore, and residential units above.
When concrete barriers failed, Ferrell and other local business leaders pushed for a โroad dietโ to address the frequent crashes.
Implementing road dietsโreducing lanesโhas been a strategy used by numerous cities to control traffic flow despite opposition from some Republican governors and resistance from President Donald Trumpโs administration.
Although federal transportation officials have praised road diets for reducing crashes by 19% to 47%, new federal criteria for road safety grants now indicate that projects reducing lane capacity will be viewed less favorably.
The U.S. Department of Transportation expressed concerns that limiting road space can cause crashes and erratic driving behaviors, creating a false sense of security that endangers all road users.
In Kansas City, converting 31st Street in 2022 coincided with gas line work, leading officials to reopen it with fewer lanesโone in each direction, shared turn lanes, improved pedestrian crossings, and protected parking. This approach has become part of the cityโs standard process for repaving streets. According to guidelines, lane reductions are suitable for roads with daily traffic lower than 25,000 vehicles, a threshold seldom met by Kansas Cityโs four-lane streets.
Bobby Evans, an urban planner with Mid-America Regional Council, describes the road diet strategy as โa smashing successโ for reducing speed, crashes, and injuries.
Other cities have also reported positive outcomes. Philadelphia noted a 19% drop in injury crashes, Portland, Oregon, saw a decrease of more than 70% in vehicles traveling substantially over the speed limit, and Fort Lauderdale experienced an average speed reduction of 5 mph (8 kph).
However, Jay Beeber, executive director for policy at the National Motorists Association, argues that many road diets force vehicles off the targeted routes, burdening surrounding streets with displaced traffic.
Leah Shahum, director of the Vision Zero Networkโadvocating for traffic safetyโargues that road diets are cost-effective and prove beneficial through years of research. Cities governed by Republican administrations have adopted this approach, and Shahum hopes federal resistance wonโt discourage its use.
Criticisms of road diets claim they can hinder emergency vehicle response, but a University of Iowa study found no significant impact on response times in Cedar Rapids. Participants did note the necessity of educating drivers on how to react when ambulances use center turn lanes.
Despite the Trump administrationโs stance, skepticism regarding road diets predated it. San Antonio faced state resistance when attempting to overhaul Broadway Street, which was state-owned, to reduce lanes for pedestrian and cyclist safety. Floridaโs Governor Ron DeSantis introduced legislation requiring reviews before reducing lanes, aiming to prevent intentionally clogged roads.
Not all resistance comes from Republican states. In California, Culver City initially implemented a road diet during the pandemic to prioritize alternative transportation, but pressure to reverse it mounted when traffic returned.
Legal actions in Vancouver, Washington, argued for public voting on road diets due to concerns about increased opportunities for traffic conflicts.
Kansas Cityโs Evans acknowledges these changes canโt prevent all reckless behavior. โIf determined to speed, drivers may engage in dangerous maneuvers despite lane reductions,โ he said.