After complaints about lines, state to open driver’s license office in Overland Park

Responding to complaints about long lines and wait times at the two driver’s license offices in Johnson County, the Kansas Department of Revenue announced Thursday that it will open a third location, in Overland Park.

The new location will be at 7600 W. 119th St. Suite A, in the Rosana Square Shopping Center. The space will be adjacent to a taxpayer assistance center that the Revenue Department opened July 1.

The date for the opening is not yet available. Department spokeswoman Rachel Whitten said it should be sometime this fall, depending on the construction schedule to get the office ready.

In the meantime, a temporary license station will be open in the next couple of weeks, Whitten said, within the taxpayer assistance center in Rosana Square. That temporary license station will have a few customer service agents, assisting just people renewing their licenses.

Last month, a chorus of complaints from Johnson County residents about the existing license offices reached a crescendo. People waited for hours at the two state-run locations in Mission and Olathe, sometimes standing in lines outside the storefronts in sweltering weather. The offices would sometimes post signs in early afternoon saying they were full and couldn’t assist any more customers.

Some people who took off from work or had small children with them said they had to make multiple trips, and others observed there was no easy way to make an appointment online.

Johnson County commissioners got an earful from residents, even though the county doesn’t run the driver’s license offices. They said the situation was unacceptable and demanded improvements.

On July 18, the Revenue Department announced that the Johnson County offices would be open on Mondays; before, they had only been open Tuesdays through Saturdays.

The new Johnson County office is expected to be another solution to the long lines and crowds.

The Mission office is at 6507 Johnson Drive and the Olathe office is at 13507 Mur-Len Road.

This story was originally published August 2, 2018 at 4:53 PM.