BROWNSTOWN
Three streets in Brownstown and the park’s parking lot recently were paved.
The smooth surfaces, however, are causing motorists to drive faster than they should, town officials said during a council meeting Monday night.
Councilwoman Sharon Koch said she asked an official with All Star Paving, which completed the projects, about adding speed bumps in the park parking lot. The question was to go with permanent asphalt speed bumps or removable ones.
"They said they think it’s a little bit more expensive for the premade ones, but they said it’s worth it because you can take them out, so if you’re plowing, it doesn’t knock your blade and ruin the speed bumps," Koch said.
She said she would ask for a quote for both options. The council also discussed where to put the speed bumps and how many to install. The members agreed putting one on each end of the lower part of the parking lot, which is where pedestrians cross going to and from the baseball fields.
Clerk-Treasurer David Willey suggested consulting with Street Superintendent Dale Shelton on where to put the speed bumps. Councilman Tim Robinson, the liaison for the street department, said he would do that.
Another improvement made to the parking lot is drainage. Park Superintendent Kevin Hanner worked with All Star Paving on fixing an area prone to flooding after heavy rain.
"They poured concrete and made a flume to the ditch to direct water out of the parking lot," Koch said. "All Star is going to donate that to us, and we are going to pay for a sign to hang on the softball field thanking them. The baseball association will buy two signs and put them up, as well. It’s very nice. It should stop the flooding, which is good."
The council also discussed other areas of the town where motorists drive fast.
Councilman Gary Drake said he has seen drivers speed and disregard stop signs.
"They do in a lot of places in this town, and it has gotten worse," he said. "I sat and watched them here just the other night over here on Poplar (Street) not even slow down, blow right through that stop sign that’s one block south of Commerce (Street) 40, 50 mph."
Koch said she has seen motorists go through the four-way stop on Elm Street without stopping.
"You just have to look. You can’t trust that they are going to stop," she said.
Drake, who serves as a liaison for the police department, said he talked to Chief Tom Hanner about increasing patrols in the problem areas.
He and Koch both said police issuing more tickets may reduce the traffic violators.
"Start ticketing more. That would get their attention," Koch said.
Town attorney Travis Thompson said municipalities used to collect money for the tickets, but a court put a stop to that. Now, the state gets the money, and a portion of it trickles back to the municipality.
"I think we’ve given out too many warnings and not enough tickets, and whether we get the money or not, if you get in some people’s pockets, they have a tendency to slow down a little bit, I would think anyway," Drake said.