If you drive down to Martway to catch a bus at the new Mission Transit Center, be careful where you park. A few unfortunate riders have ended up in the wrong parking lot and found that their cars had been towed when they returned at the end of the day.

The new park and ride lot opened June 14, shortly after JO buses began using the new transit center which is located between Johnson Drive and Martway near the Gateway property. However, the park and ride lot is not the parking lot directly across Martway from the transit center. It is farther down the street to the east near the Wendy’s restaurant.

One rider from Mission detailed her ordeal this week in a letter to the Kansas City Star. She had to pay $395 for the towing charge and retrieve her car from Riverside. New signs have now gone up directing people to the park and ride lot, where riders on The JO can leave their cars free of charge.
Signs also have gone up around the parking lot for Mission Bank, warning that it is a private lot and detailing the towing charges.

A notice from Johnson County Transit warns that it does not have agreements with any of the property owners directly across the street or adjacent to the transit center and riders are parking there at their own risk. Some of those lots do not have warning signs about potential towing.