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Speeders to face bump in the road at park
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - April 07, 2010)
Speeders to face bump in the road at park
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Munson Township will try to control motorists who speed in Bass Lake Park.
Township Trustees approved the purchase of four sets of speed bumps that will be placed in the drive to the park where children go to play.
Another set was donated, giving the park five sets of speed bumps, said Joe Rosboril, chairman of the township's park and recreation board.
The cost for the four sets of speed bumps is $1,040, he said.
The need for putting in some type of controls became evident last year while the park and recreation board was meeting at the park in a pavilion, Mr. Rosboril said.
The board watched as one parent barreled down the drive at a high speed, he said. "When you see someone whipping through there at 50 mph and there's children playing everywhere, you know it's time to do something," Mr. Rosboril said.
He said the township has tried to use gravel speed bumps in an attempt to discourage speeding, but most people drove around the bumps on the lawn. "The 'slow' signs don't work, either," he said.
Mr. Rosboril said the park attracts a lot of people to the various features, including baseball, basketball and tennis. Often, he said, parents bring entire families, and, while one child is playing on one of the fields or courts, the others may be milling around the area, which increases the chances for an accident if drivers are not moving slowly. "It's their kids' safety," he said.
Trustees recommended last year that speed bumps be installed but noted that the request came at the end of the season. So they asked the board to wait until the start of this season before installing them.
Mr. Rosboril said the speed bumps can be removed during the winter to allow for snowplowing.
He said trustees are considering paving the drive in the park in the future and the speed bumps will provide an extra measure of safety when that occurs, because speeds are likely to pick up.
The speed bumps are expected to help with another problem that occurs because of the gravel drive and speeding. He said speeding cars kick up dust from the road that then covers the pavilions and tennis courts. He said he has seen about a half-inch of dust on the tennis courts and pavilions from the dust storms created, making those park features unusable.
Mr. Rosboril said he hopes to have the speed bumps installed by this week or next week. He said the speed bumps received a favorable response from most parents who heard about the plan. "Some people have called it a nuisance, but that's the idea -- to slow you down," he said.
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