Trump Administration Reverses Long-held Guidance On 'road Diets' For Traffic Safety

A stylist was just starting her shift at a salon in Kansas City, Missouri, when a car smashed through the storefront window and landed in the waiting area a few feet away.

Such crashes were so common along 31st Street that business owners regularly texted one another photos showing the damage caused by vehicles speeding along the four-lane road lined with shops, bars and restaurants, which drivers used as a shortcut between major highways.

"A wide road makes people think, 'We'll just drive as fast as we want on it,'" said Ryan Ferrell, who owns the property housing the salon, a bookstore and apartments above.

When concrete sidewalk barriers didn't work, Ferrell and other business leaders campaigned to put the street on a "road diet."

Removing lanes has been a tool numerous cities have used for years to calm traffic, despite resistance from some Republican governors. President Donald Trump's administration doesn't like it either.