"In a perfect world, Weatherby Lake would be paying for (the repair) since they're the ones who use it." Ed Ford, Parkville Luminary, August 22
No comments about his constituents/voters/taxpayers who live in WildWood and WildWood West. I guess he would rather make this a Weatherby Lake issue, conveniently, because WL residents are not KCMO voters. Bill Quitmeier, Democratic candidate for Platte County Commissioner, makes a good point, a number of Weatherby Lake folks pay earnings tax to KCMO.
"The immediate concern is that the bridge is literally caving in" Ed Ford, Parkville Luminary, August 15.
Really? So we have been travelling on a bridge for months (years?) that is caving in? I understand the appearance and the potholes. You would think they would produce a report that substantiates the "caving in". More importantly, this isn't something that just happened now, it has been ongoing. Why didn't KCMO do something? Why are the politicians carrying the ball on something Public Works should be engaged? Try and get a response from Department of Public Works head Stan Harris. Good luck. Who is the villain in this story?
"Heavier trucks are really compromising the safety of the bridge...We know overweight trucks are still using it." Ed Ford, Parkville Luminary, August 15.
Ok, so many of you use the BRB daily, if not a number of times a day. How many times have you seen any kind of law enforcement patrolling or conducting surveillance of the bridge? For me twice, and that was well into the cone fiasco and days before the bridge was closed. Is weight limit enforcement on bridges a top priority for KCMO? Nah. Check out the bridge on Amity between 86th Terrace and 87 Terrace. Violations every day.
"We'd hate to have an overweight truck cross the bridge, then have a school bus try and cross and have it cave in...we'd hate to have it cave in on anybody." Ed Ford, Parkville Luminary, August 15
Nothing like a good visual to spice up a story. It was for children, thank goodness.
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2 comments:
If the quotes are accurate, they're some of the most idiotic I've seen. If the bridge is caving in, why has KCMO been MIA? If the weight is an issue, why is the "Detour bridge" not being patrolled? If Weatherby Lake is supposed to pay for it, are they also to pay for Barry Road? Will the KCMO earning tax be refunded or at least redirected to this project? At that point, would KCMO sign over the land and make it the city of Weatherby Lake with power to cut off KCMO residents? There are a lot of KCMO residents and business traffic beyond Wild Wood who use that bridge that come from further west than Weatherby Lake. Ed Ford has a lot of hindsight CYA and idiotic comments, but nothing in terms of intelligent solutions.
The quotes are accurate.
In broader context, I took Mr. Ford's remarks to mean "hey, we've gotten complaints about the bridge from Weatherby Lake, so we did what we could...if they want it done differently, Weatherby Lake should go fix it."
Personally, I found it an odd thing to say, because we all depend on each other's patronage in this economy. That said, I don't think it was meant to appear as hostile as it did in print. Almost like he was thinking aloud. I'm not an idiot, I knew by publishing the comment it'd make waves, but I don't work as a censor.
I thought Dusenbery's comments about "being a good neighbor" and "caring about the Northland" were dead on. Quitmeier made a nice point about the earnings tax, too.
That aside, the way the road closing was handled was shameful. No signs, and lots of dangerous, speeding traffic in nearby subdivisions. (Yes, I'm getting calls from residents.) Last Sunday the metro daily gave us a glib 3 paragraphs written by a "dog" to assuage their readers.
816-885-0504. I'm the publisher of the Luminary and that's my shoe phone. Let me know what your concerns are and I'll look into them and write about them. That's what newspapermen do. Thank you Mike Moratz for all of your assistance and thanks to the folks of Weatherby Lake who rang us up.
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