A shelter was removed from a bus stop near Conley Road after the manager of a nearby shopping area complained about trash and noise in the area, a city official said.
John Ogan, spokesperson for Columbia’s Public Works Department, said the property manager at The Kroenke Group also requested the removal because people using the shelter were harassing passersby. The shelter, which was removed about two months ago, had been in place near a Hy-Vee and other stores along Trimble Road, not far from the intersection of Broadway and U.S. 63.
The Kroenke Group, a privately held real estate and investment group founded by Stan Kroenke and based in Columbia, did not respond to numerous requests for comment.
According to an email from Ogan, it’s not unusual for private property owners to have a say in the presence of a city bus shelter, benches and bike racks either on their property or on public right-of-way directly adjacent to their property.
In recent years, the city has only removed one other bus shelter. That one was located near Green Meadows Road and Gray Oak Drive, not far from a Walmart along Grindstone Parkway. That shelter was also taken down due to the request of an adjacent property owner, Ogan said.
In the Conley Road area, now the nearest bus shelters are near a traffic light by Lowe’s and Staples, and a Walmart stop closer to the intersection with Business Loop 70 East and the U.S. 63 overpass. One other shelter is near Stephens Lake Park on East Broadway.
