KCATA and KCPD are Forcing Discomfort over Dignity for Community Bus Riders

Photograph of two community members on the northbound Main St bus stop at 50th as the Max bus arrives. (Defender Photo/Lynnie Holl) Kansas City, MIssouri – In yet another act of state violence against poor and unhoused communities, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) and Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) are under sharp criticism by wide swathes of the community for their continued campaign of removing public benches from bus stops.& Last fall, Hyperstition Collective hosted a fundraising event titled “Bench Please” where proceeds were donated to Sunrise Movement KC and their causes. While KCATA claims to not have removed any benches in the last year, community members are claiming otherwise. “Community members raised funds to build benches in areas close to the Kansas City Core,” says Sunrise Movement leader Alexandria Paul. “and KCPD has been tearing those benches up even though the people have come in and said we need these benches.” According to KSHB, KCATA said the last time it removed benches was more than a year ago at the intersection of 12th and Grand and they removed the bench at 39th and Broadway nearly two years ago. But this claim is disputed by bus riders and...