KA-Motion

[Melalvai]

Check out me getting all in the press and stuff:
http://www.kirksvilledailyexpress.co...ge-on-Boundary

[redrhodie]

Good job!

I also read the comments, and I wonder if it is possible to add a "just add a bike lane", as that person "concerned" suggested? Wouldn't that involve widening the road? I imagine that would be a huge, expensive undertaking. Not seeing the road, but imagining it as having no shoulder, it does sound like adding one would be a good option, but am I right in thinking that there's no way to fund that?

[Melalvai]

The road is narrow, and no shoulders. The MoDOT engineer sent me contact info for the regional planning commission so we can ask for wider road w/ shoulders & bike lane on the plan. But yes, MoDOT is broke, in fact they'll have to turn down fed $ in another year or two because they won't be able to come up with the requisite match.

Even if we get a wider road, I strongly believe the speed limit should still be reduced. Getting the speed limit lowered will take a year or two if we're lucky. Getting a wider road might take a decade. My neighbor said he always thought it would take a fatality to get the speed limit reduced. But maybe it'll "only" take a head injury. If we have to wait a decade or more for additional safety measures, that's a long period of time to be risking that fatality.

[rant]
I don't know what the commenter said. I don't read comments on news stories. In my experience the people who comment don't bother to research or learn about an issue, they just throw their ignorant opinions out there as if they matter, and they typically do it as offensively as possible. Sorry to be so bitter but some of the comments in the past have been unwarranted personal attacks, such as "Why was a teenager biking on that road? Where was her mother?" (implying the wreck was my fault for allowing my 15 yr old daughter to ride a bicycle). Her mother was right behind her with her arm stretched out in a highly visible left turn signal which the driver nonetheless failed to see, b*tch.

Sorry, as you can tell, I was hurt by some comments in the past so I don't read comments now, and I would advise everyone to do the same. The only thing you will learn from reading comments is how ignorant the trolls are.
[rant over!]

[Tri Girl]

Keep fighting the good fight, Mel!

[redrhodie]

Sorry for bringing that up, Mel, especially since it revived hurt feelings. There were only 2 comments, apparently for the same person, and they weren't rude, but just as you expected, ignorant. Like it's so easy to just "add a bike lane". I was just curious if there was something I was missing, but apparently not.

It looks like you've made a great start at lowering the speed limit. More power to you!