The transit agency has installed leaning benches at busy bus stops downtown and touted them as an accessible amenity. But riders and experts disagree and say they’re made to make people uncomfortable.

Bus riders at the busy 12th and Grand stop in downtown Kansas City have a small shelter to protect them from the elements. But there’s no place to sit while they wait for the bus.

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority removed the benches that were there in 2023 after a request from developers and the Kansas City Police Department .

Instead of a place to sit, riders now have a place to lean.

The KCATA recently installed “leaning benches” at three bus stops in Kansas City — 12th Street and Grand Boulevard, 11th and Grand, and the East Village Transit Center. The curved metal str

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