Car Lockout in Kansas City, MO

A locked car on a Kansas City snow route

Under city code Sec. 70-269(b), when snow removal will be needed, the city manager may declare a parking emergency, and cars must then be off streets signed as snow routes within two hours. A car with its keys locked inside on one of those streets is working against that deadline. Check the signs on your block, and if an emergency has been declared, put that first in the request. This is general information, not legal advice.

Garages at the Plaza

At Country Club Plaza, the 14-block shopping district J.C. Nichols opened in 1923, parking sits in multilevel garages beneath and behind the shops or on rooftops. A car in one of those garages is easier to find with the garage entrance or nearest shop, the level, and a row or pillar marking. If phone signal is weak inside the garage, step outside to send the request and say where you will wait.

Heat, cold and safety

If a child, a pet or anyone who cannot get out is inside, call 911 now; do not wait for a locksmith. A closed car is a poor shelter in any season. On a summer afternoon a car on an open rooftop deck gets hotter than one on a shaded lower level, so name the level. On a winter night the person waiting beside the car is the one at risk, so wait indoors if you can.

What to send

• the street address or cross streets, or the garage, level and space
• whether the car is on a signed snow route
• year, make, model and color
• whether the keys can be seen inside, and whether the car has push-button start
• that the person asking can show photo ID, and where the registration is kept

The car lockout page describes the service. For a key that is lost rather than locked in, see car key replacement; the Kansas City page gives the wider city context.