Boone County Commission talks new homes on Route K
One Boone County commissioner says it’s time to analyze growth and traffic safety on a highway south of Columbia.
The commission approved two new developments Tuesday night along Route K, between Columbia and McBaine. Arrowhead Lake Estates and Toalson Estates will have 14 lots each for their own subdivisions, using more than 100 acres on various stretches of Route K.
Boone County Commissioner Fred Parry, who represents that area, said the county should contribute to a traffic study of Route K as development grows along it. While he doesn’t expect the two developments approved on Tuesday to worsen traffic, much larger developments are planned in the area. He said the a study would help the county understand which projects would help them calm traffic there and make it safer.
“On a good day, it’s dangerous,” Parry told ABC 17 News. “And I think that we need to be looking at alternative traffic patterns to sort of ease the congestion in that part of town.”
ABC 17 News has covered the traffic and safety concerns of residents along Route K. Adrian Levy, a teen living in the Oak Park subdivision, petitioned the Columbia City Council to add signs along Route K to slow traffic near his neighborhood. MoDOT, which manages Route K, said it does not plan on improving the road in the next five years.
Parry said the county and city’s investment in a traffic study in the northeastern part of the county, including parts of Columbia, was successful in planning the area around Battle High School. Pieces of land alternate between the city and county, and Parry said a study would benefit them both.
“The city is definitely a major stakeholder in that area, as is the county, and so I think it would be pretty important for both the city and the county to both come to the table together to share both the cost and the benefit of such a study,” Parry said.
