Frequently Asked Questions FAQs

What is Kansas City Scout?

Kansas City Scout is Kansas City's bi-state traffic management system. The Kansas and Missouri departments of transportation (KDOT, MoDOT) designed Scout to lessen traffic jams by improving rush-hour speeds, to increase safety by decreasing the number of rush-hour accidents, and to improve emergency response to traffic situations.

Scout manages traffic on more than 125 miles of continuous freeways in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area. Scout uses cameras to monitor the highways from its traffic management center in Lee's Summit, relies on sensors to gage traffic flow, uses large electronic message boards to send urgent traffic notices to drivers along the freeways, and activates a Highway Advisory Radio system that motorists in Missouri can tune to in the event of a freeway incident.

How does Scout affect me?

If you travel on Kansas City's metropolitan freeways, Scout has a direct impact on you. Scout can't control what happens on the roadways, but it can detect and manage various traffic situations on its system. If a freeway lane is blocked for any reason and traffic slows down, Scout will know and respond appropriately. In the event of an accident, a stalled car, or debris in the road, the sooner the response, the sooner the situation is resolved, and the sooner you're on your way.

Scout doesn't promise to relieve congestion and prevent accidents completely, but it is a system designed to keep freeway traffic flowing as smoothly and safely as possible.

Is Scout an AMBER Alert system?

No. Scout is a traffic management tool that uses its technology to alert freeway drivers to problems on the road ahead. However, Scout also uses it message boards to notify drivers of emergency alerts such as evacuations and child abductions (AMBER Alerts).

Scout does not determine whether an AMBER Alert is issued. Locally, those decisions are left to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), the Kansas City Metro Police Squad, and/or the Missouri Highway Patrol. When either, or all of those entities declares an AMBER Alert, they notify local media along with staff at Scout's operations center. Both the media and Scout voluntarily choose to notify the public as quickly as possible.

When Scout receives an official AMBER Alert notification, Scout verifies the information with the agency that issued the AMBER Alert then posts the alert on its freeway message boards.

When does Scout use the electronic message boards?

Primarily, you'll see the big, black message boards lit with information about what is affecting normal traffic flow at that moment. Those message boards are also used for alerts. Below is a current list of common uses of Scout's message boards:

  • If one or more lanes of freeway are blocked for any reason.
  • If a work zone is in place AND Scout operators are able to monitor the work zone with their cameras (otherwise smaller, portable message boards will continue to warn drivers about work zone lane closures).
  • If an AMBER Alert (child abduction) is issued.
  • If an Ozone Alert (air quality crisis) is issued.
  • If a state or other public emergency or evacuation is issued.
  • In the event of severe weather that is impacting traffic at that moment (such as impassable roadways due to flooding, ice, etc. and slow traffic due to heavy snow, tornadic activity, heavy rains, etc.).
  • If traffic is unusually heavy for unexplained reasons.
  • Running travel times if no incident is currently in progress

Why does Scout post travel times?

As Kansas City's urban region continues to expand, congestion on the interstates keep growing along with driver frustration. Motorists are tied up in traffic with little information about the length or extent of the delay they will experience. Rising to the challenge to empower motorists with real-time travel information and improve the quality of the commuting experience, Kansas City Scout launched Travel Times, a key weapon in congestion management, on January 8, 2007.

Trip time is practical information travelers can use to assess traffic and routes. Motorists can decide early in their commute if they should choose an alternative route because their intended route is too congested. Delivering needed information, Scout with Travel Times allows the commuter the choice to stay the course or adopt a new route. As an added bonus, commuters can log on to Scout's website before leaving home to determine and/or adjust departure time based on Travel Time information.

Will the cameras on the highways be used to catch speeders and aggressive drivers?

No. Scout is not a law enforcement tool. However, Scout believes the presence of law enforcement and other traffic and emergency services inside its management center is helpful to the traveling public. Such partnerships could foster better public service by providing quicker emergency response and creating a safer highway environment.

Are red light cameras on city streets and intersections managed by Scout?

Cameras deployed at non-freeway locations within city limits are generally managed by the city itself. Red light cameras in Kansas City began with 17 intersections in early 2009. They resulted in a significant decrease in red light violators due to the automatic issuance of $100 traffic fines. However, they have been turned off since November 2013 due to an appeals court ruling that determined them to be in violation of Missouri state law. A settlement reached in September 2014, resolving the numerous class-action lawsuits associated with the devices in KC, Grandview, Excelsior Springs, Sugar Creek and 23 other MO cities may return a partial refund of about $20 to the over 100,000 drivers who paid fines under this ordinance, despite the resulting significant drop in persons running red lights and the positive safety impacts that had on the motoring public.

How will Scout's web site help me with my drive to and from?

Scout's web site will be most useful to you before you head out the door and into rush-hour traffic. With a click of your mouse you'll be able to pull up camera views along the Scout system. You'll be able to see for yourself how well traffic is flowing and where the back-ups are on Scout's routes.

At www.kcscout.net you'll also be able to read Scout's activated message boards to find out what's causing the traffic snarls and where. With that information you can make decisions ahead of time about which path to travel. Or, maybe you'll decide to just sit tight and wait things out.

Scout's web site also features information about freeway work zone locations in Kansas and Missouri. Knowing where the work zones are before you head out on the road could make a big difference in the route you choose or in determining your delay time.

How much did Kansas City Scout cost, and who's paying for it?

The project's cost was $43 million.

Of that amount, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) contributed 80-90 percent of the project cost. KDOT and MoDOT shared the remaining cost.

At $43 million for an initial 75-mile project, Scout's deployment costs average $573 thousand per mile. That compares to a conservative $3-$6 million cost per mile for a single, new lane of roadway.

Why are KDOT and MoDOT spending money on a traffic management system?

Inadequate funding and, in some cases, inadequate room to widen roadways increasingly prohibit new construction and lane additions. Still, the demand from freeway travelers continues. As Kansas City's driving population grows, traffic issues such as congestion, accidents, and air pollution become even more prevalent. In many states, technology and traffic management have become the answer. For Kansas City, the answer is Scout.

Why are there signal lights at on ramps along I-435 between MO and KS?

Those signal timing lights are part of Scout's 2010 Ramp Metering pilot project with the goal of decreasing congestion and improving merging safety. Since their installation at seven on-ramps between Three Trails Memorial Crossing in MO and Metcalf Avenue in KS, evaluation studies have shown a marked reduction in overall accidents on I-435 by 64%; reducing merge-related accidents by 81%; and enabling consistent travel times and speeds, despite increased traffic volumes when accidents are not a factor. (Ramp Metering Info)

What's the reasoning behind messages like "Where's Baby? Look Before You Lock"?

That is just one of several Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that Scout has been supporting with its electronic message boards at select locations throughout the Metro area. They are used primarily on Dynamic Message Signs (DMS) that currently do not have calculated Travel Times, because the necessary infrastructure has not yet been deployed. That will be changing in 2015 as more detector data becomes available. Recent media attention has been focused on the problem of babies being locked in hot cars all across the nation. PSAs are designed to bring focus to common sense issues that often get overlooked due to habit or simple inattention on the part of motorists. Scout hopes these sometimes "quirky" messages will make an impact and possibly save a life.

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