Traffic control in the parking area of the new county complex has become a concern and county officials are considering options to address it.
County Clerk Mike Clayborn, who brought up the issue during Monday night’s county commission meeting, said the travel lanes in front of the building lack proper signage and someone could get hurt. “We’ve got a big problem out there with traffic. Somebody is going to get hurt out there. I’ve almost gotten hit four times coming around the edge of the building. They are coming from that (Peking) restaurant and from that (On The Way) service station and they (motorists) are paying no attention. They don’t even see the white stop sign (painted at the end of the travel lanes in front of the building) and we’re fixing to have a horrendous crash,” said Clayborn.
County Mayor Mike Foster said he and Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss, who is also a county commissioner, are planning to speak with the city and county attorneys to see what can be done. “It’s a county facility but its in the city,” said Foster. Jimmy (Poss) is going to talk to city attorney Vester Parsley and we’ll talk to Hilton (Conger) as to what we need to do as far as putting speed limits on that. We’ve talked about speed bumps and ripples. It does need something to slow it down. The worst I’ve seen is coming from the Farmers Market around the corner because they come through there pretty fast and its probably the same way on the other end,” said Foster. There’s about 550 to 600 feet through there (in front of the building). Its almost like a drag strip. I think there needs to be a set speed limit and something to slow the traffic,” he added.
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