Residents ask commission to make North Third Street one-way after repeated hit-and-runs

At a public forum before the Atchison City Commission, residents from the North Third Street block urged the city to make the street one-way to reduce collisions and near-misses.

"My vehicle has been struck on 2 separate occasions," said Kathy Ebrick, who gave her address as 621 North Third Street and said neighbors’ cars have been hit multiple times. Ebrick proposed converting Third Street to a one-way route from Unity to Maine and said narrow streets designed for earlier eras cannot safely handle current traffic and parking patterns.

Donna Schwarz of 620 North Third said her car was hit in March, the second time on that block. "It is very dangerous on Third Street. These cars fly up no matter what," Schwarz said, and she supported converting the street to one-way and adding stop signs to slow traffic.

Mayor Laurel Shaw Young and staff said they would take the comments into consideration and that residents may supply photos to the city clerk, Tina Fitzpatrick. City Manager Mark Westhoff later noted the city has joined a regional grant through MoKan to produce a Safe Streets for All road safety action plan; the study will collect data and on-site observations to inform decisions about problematic locations and to help pursue federal grants in the future.

Commissioners did not take immediate action but said the topic would be brought back for further review. The meeting record includes residents’ offers to provide photos documenting damage and requests that staff examine potential one-way conversion and additional stop signs on Third Street.