OVERLAND PARK, KS (KCTV) -
As the memorial for Nate Trinkle grows, neighbors wonder if this deadly crash could help speed up the process of getting what they call a "dangerous road" fixed.
"Maybe something good could come of it. That is what we are all hoping for," said Kristy Hane, who lives in the area near 143rd and Caenen streets in Overland Park.
Trinkle was killed in a car crash over the weekend. Click here to read previous coverage.
Hane and fellow neighbor Christi Bostwick said it was only a matter of time before a wreck like this happened.
"What happens is the edge of the asphalt will break off and form a lip. When tires get on the other side of that lip you have to over-correct," Bostwick said.
Part of the issue is that 143rd Street forms the border between Olathe to the south and Overland Park to the north. Both planning departments in both cities know this road needs work. It's narrow and it's hilly.
Overland Park has the design of an improved road scheduled for 2015, but no plans for construction. Olathe had the stretch in the capital improvement plan twice, but both times the project was pushed because of a lack of funding.
"It's the next logical roadway in the area for improvement and it is high on our list and is programmed for design," said Daniel Miller, the Overland Park city engineer.
In the last three years, Overland Park police have worked 20 wrecks there, none as severe as Saturday's. Because 143rd Street is two lanes in the area, it has a speed limit of 35, lower than most around it.
"If they slow down, if they do a good job of watching the road, I think they won't have any problem. But when they don't do that, they're speeding, they don't keep track of the road, then that's where we run into these issues," said Officer Gary Mason with the Overland Park police.
Overland Park police are still working on Saturday's accident report and don't know if speed was a factor, but witnesses told police they saw Trinkle hanging out the passenger side window just before the crash.
While the road is a top priority for city engineers, the traffic volume and accident numbers aren't high enough for immediate attention. Add to that there's just not enough money to pay for it, officials say.
"Our capital improvement budget is about a third of what it was in was in 2008, so the money available for that type of work has diminished dramatically," Miller said.
So for now 143rd Street will stay two lanes. Hane hopes the road gets better before her 12-year-old daughter starts to drive.
"When we moved in we thought for sure this was going to be resolved and we're hearing now it may not be, we're just not getting our hopes up," Hane said.
Overland Park reviews the capital improvement plans every two years. Factors like amount of traffic, number of wrecks and planned development in the area all go into deciding which roads to improve. Olathe engineers review the capital improvement plans every year. This section of 143rd has been on the radar since at least 2006.
Both cities said the fact that they need to work together on the project does not cause any delays.
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