果酱视频

This is the north-south roadway that connects Manchester Road in Ellisville to Interstate 64 in Chesterfield. During rush hour in the morning and afternoon, it鈥檚 packed. Don鈥檛 even think of getting caught in the drop-off traffic outside Marquette High School. And in the middle of the day, or at night, when the road is as wide open as an airport runway, beware the Chesterfield or Clarkson Valley speed trap waiting to catch you.

When construction workers started placing concrete islands in the shoulders of the road last month, my first thought was a positive one. I figured they were making a protected bicycle lane that could add a little life and public utility to the big, wide road.

My wife set me straight. 鈥淚 hate them,鈥� she said of the new contraptions upon getting home one day.

She paused, made sure I was listening and repeated the phrase with a bit more vexation. 鈥淚. Hate. Them.鈥�

She鈥檚 not alone.

The curb cuts, or islands, or whatever you want to call them, are several feet long and feature three poles that poke up. They鈥檝e created quite a bit of angst. It鈥檚 come mostly from Chesterfield, where the islands have been placed by the Missouri Department of Transportation along Clarkson and Long roads. It turns out they鈥檙e a safety measure, intended to slow down traffic.

鈥淣o one saw this coming,鈥� wrote two Chesterfield 4th Ward council members, Merrell Hansen and Gary Budoor, in a letter to a group of homeowners who are upset about the project. 鈥淚t is clear, from Ward 4 resident calls and emails, that many of us are skeptical of these islands and wonder if they will do more harm than good. The intent of the program has merit 鈥� we all want safe roads. The question is, are these measures going to help or hurt?鈥�

The MoDOT project is part of in the 果酱视频 region to improve safety. On roads that are as wide as Clarkson and Long, there is a tendency for people to speed, the state鈥檚 engineers believe, and the curb islands are intended to make a road feel smaller so people slow down.

鈥淯sing industry practices, MoDOT analyzed crash histories on state and 果酱视频 County roads to select routes where installation of safety counter measures could realize a reduction in crashes,鈥� MoDOT spokesperson Marie Elliott told me in an email. 鈥淓ach location will have one or more of a variety of safety improvements, including signal upgrades, additional signing, and others with the goal of reducing over 170 fatal and serious crashes over the next ten years.鈥�

The 鈥渃urb bump out islands,鈥� as MoDOT calls them, are a version of the on the south side of 果酱视频. Those are the cylindrical concrete abutments named by some folks after former Alderman Christine Ingrassia. They were placed on some city roads to not block traffic but instead slow it down. They were installed after a robust public hearing process.

In this case, because Clarkson and Long are state roads, there was no public process, at least not one run by Chesterfield. And that鈥檚 one reason why so many folks are upset, says Mayor Robert Nation.

鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 notify us,鈥� Nation told me in an interview. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 ask us. It鈥檚 a MoDOT roadway so they have the full authority to do with it what they want.鈥�

Nation said his phone has been ringing off the hook. Last week, he spoke to MoDOT officials, who told him they put the project on hold because there wasn鈥檛 enough public engagement.

鈥淭hey apologized and acknowledged that they dropped the ball there,鈥� Nation said.

But that doesn鈥檛 mean the islands already in place are coming off. And that鈥檚 worrisome to folks who wonder what will happen when they get hit by a snowplow, or when folks try to move over for an ambulance and find out they can鈥檛.

鈥淚 highly doubt that the curb medians will slow traffic,鈥� says Steven Kushner, who lives in Wilson View Estates along Clarkson Road. 鈥淭hey fail as a solution but are not benign. They create multiple unintended possibilities for mayhem. To top it off, it鈥檚 a foolish waste of precious road funds.鈥�

At least one person disagrees with the unhappy residents. Jackson Hotaling is the community engagement director for Missourians for Responsible Transportation, a Columbia-based nonprofit that advocates for pedestrians, wheelchair users, bicyclists and mass transit users. Hotaling was in town last week to examine the project along Clarkson Road. He likes it.

For people who use their bicycles as a primary mode of transportation, as he does, they鈥檙e 鈥渂etter than nothing,鈥� Hotaling says. 鈥淭hey provide a barrier, whereas before there was no protection.鈥�

In an emailed statement, MoDOT said it won鈥檛 install any more curb islands while it 鈥渞eviews this situation.鈥�

If the state agency would like public comments as part of that CurbGate review, my wife and thousands of other Facebook users have a few choice words they can offer.