Committee forwards downtown parking change, signal and crack-seal projects to council

The Lee's Summit Public Works Committee on Sept. 8 forwarded several traffic- and pavement-related items to the full council, including a downtown parking regulation change, federal CMAQ funding for signal upgrades and an annual pavement crack-seal contract.

Downtown parking: Susan Berry, city traffic engineer, asked the committee to amend Chapter 29 of the city's code to revise stopping, standing and parking restrictions on Johnson Street from Second to Third streets. Berry said the west side will be marked two-hour parking and the east side will be marked no parking because the street is too narrow to accommodate parking and driveway access. The committee recommended the ordinance to full council.

Signal controller and detection upgrades (Chipman Road): John Persing, staff engineer, presented a congestion mitigation and air-quality (CMAQ) agreement for $200,000 to upgrade signal controllers and vehicle detection along Chipman Road, covering roughly 10 city-owned intersections. Persing said the project is an 80/20 split with the state (state 80%, city 20%). He said upgraded controllers and coordinated signal timing reduce idle times and therefore emissions: "So the coordinated signals through Chipman, the reduced travel times, ... reduces emissions through the corridors," Persing said. The committee forwarded the CMAQ agreement to council.

FY26 crack-seal program: Finch Schmager, project manager, presented the annual crack-seal contract (project number 893) for the FY26 program. Schmager said the work will treat approximately 63 lane miles of roadway and is funded through the transportation sales tax. The committee recommended awarding the FY26 crack seal contract to Sweeten Sealing Services LLC for $262,000 and forwarded the ordinance to council.

All three items were forwarded to full council for final ordinances and contract authorizations.