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| BY GREG WALTERS |
I took
some time the other day to see how long it takes to open a traffic gate. There
are two such gates at the old Raytown Super Splash site located at 55th
and Raytown Road.
I am
Chairman of the Raytown Parks Improvement Committee. The Committee has been
meeting for the last month. The main topic at these meetings was how to better
enforce Raytown’s curfew at city parks.
The
focus of the discussion has been on whether or not to “gate” Colman Park. Most
of the members of the Committee are in favor of placing gates at the two
entrances to the park. The plans would be to close the park to vehicular
traffic at 11:00 p.m. and then re-opened when Park employees come to work at
7:30 a.m. the next morning.
But the
debate does not end there.
Some
members of the Committee would like to make use of electronic gates so police
and ambulance service could easily access the park in an emergency.
On the
surface this sounds like a great 21st Century type of idea. On the
other hand it can be very expensive. One member of the Committee placed the
cost at around $50,000, once you oufit all of the emergency vehicles in Raytown
with the needed hardware and software to make the gates open and close
automatically.
On the
other hand, a set of traditional locks, with keys provided for every police,
ambulance and fire vehicle could be had for about $100.
The
other “plus” to the old fashioned lock and key is it negates the need to run electricity
to the gates. Manual locks work, even in a power outage.
So this
Saturday I drove up to Super Splash. Stopped the car outside the gate entering
the parking lot, and walked over to the gates (there are two at that location)
to open them to gain access.
It took
all of 17 seconds.
Sometimes
simple is better.
Local Business Owner Offers to
Help Fund Park Security Upgrades
A local businessman, who at this time has asked to remain
anonymous, has offered to help fund part of the improvements at Colman Park.
Mayor Michael McDonough has expressed his fear that if
gates are installed at Colman Park, people would simply jump the curb alongside
the northern side of the park (59th Street).
Whether or not anyone would actually drive over a six
inch commercial curb is debatable. All the same, there has been one instance of
someone driving through the park by “hopping” the curb along 59th
Street.
The plan would call for the use of bollards along 59th
Street. These are metal tubes, six inches wide, filled with concrete. You see
them used at many retail outlets and
governmental buildings to keep vehicles from driving up onto sidewalks in front
of retail stores and as a deterrent to crime and terrorism.
Once installed, the bollards can be painted to blend with
the scenery. In the case at Colman Park, the bollards would also serve as
protection from street traffic for people using the walking trail that skirts
the north side of the park.
The un-named donor has offered to pay for the material and provide manpower to install the bollards.
It is hard to say “no” to free.
Kenagy Park Entrance Discussed
Another park that has come into discussion was the possible gating of Kenagy Park. The
area targeted would be the parking lot that enters the park off of Raytown Road
near 79th Street.
Reports
of people hanging out after curfew are common at that particular parking lot.
The
consensus of the Committee is to move ahead with Colman Park at this time, see
how it works, and then expand the program if it is successful.
Who will Lock and Unlock those Gates?
It is
important to remember that the use of the gates will only be for curfew hours
with the stated purpose of following city ordinances.
By
closing the parks down, especially to vehicular traffic, it is expected to free
up police to strengthen their patrols in other parts of the city.
Which
leaves the question . . . “Who will lock and unlock those gates?”
Unlocking
the gates is not a problem. Park personnel are on hand every day of the week
when they make their early morning rounds, starting at 7:30 a.m. to clean up
and check out the parks. They will simply unlock the gates.
Closing
down the park at night is a problem. The police department has made it clear
they cannot forecast what may be happening in the city at any given time and
may not be available to lock gates.
The
Committee believes it has come up with a solution. Hire a security service firm
to secure the parks at the beginning of the curfew at 11:00 p.m. If the service
has a minimum time period to be used they could also make a visible check of
Raytown’s other parks for curfew violators. The cost is minimal, and they will
be able to call the police if anyone in the park is not willing to leave when
curfew begins.
Similar
enforcement has proven to be very effective at the Graceway Sports complex
located at 55th and Blue Ridge Cutoff.
The
next meeting of the Raytown Parks Improvement Committee is scheduled for
Wednesday, August 14, 2019. The meeting is held at the Raytown Fire District
Headquarters located at 6020 Raytown Road. The meeting begins at 6:30pm.
Other
Park News
More Lights for City Parks
At its
next meeting, the Raytown Park Board is expected to approve a requisition for
solar powered LED lighting for use in some of its parks. The Board of Aldermen have it on next Tuesday’s
agenda for consideration.
The
initial purchase is planned for ten solar powered lights. According to Park
Board Director Dave Turner, the lights will be distributed at the parks as
follows:
3 at
Colman Park 3 at Southwood Park 2 at Minor Smith Park 2 at Kritzer Park
Jackson County's $52M Hike and
Bike Trail in Limbo after Feds deny Right of Way
BY ERIC ADLER Kansas City Star, Saturday, August 3, 2019
Jackson County, which
paid $52 million to acquire nearly 18 miles of the old Rock Island Railway to
rip up tracks and ties and build a hiking and biking trail from Lee’s Summit to
the Truman Sports Complex, no longer has a right to that corridor, a federal
regulatory agency has ruled.
The decision Tuesday
by the federal Surface Transportation Board, which regulates rail corridors in
the United States, effectively places the fate of the trail in limbo.
It raises questions
about who actually now owns the 17.7-mile strip, what will become of it and
whether the county squandered $52 million of taxpayer money.
“It means Jackson
County is totally (expletive),” said Kansas City attorney Tom Stewart, who sued
challenging the method in which the county took possession of the land to build
the trail. “What that means is that they have spent $52 million and, as things
stand today, they don’t even have any right to be on the corridor, let alone
build a hiking and biking trail.
“This has got to be
Jackson County’s worst nightmare. What’s worse, they are now subject to be
evicted from the railroad corridor and all the work they have done to be pulled
out of there.”
28 comments:
I love the idea of bollards.
I hope the city/Parks dept will allow that idea to proceed.
The plan about having gates and locking the gates sounds great too.
ok. It took someone 17 seconds to run up to a gate, open and then close it. Big Whoop. Did you drive through the area to make sure everyone was out of the park? Did you stop and remind those people in the parks that it was closing time? Did you ask them to leave? When they refused to leave, did you wait for the police to come and run them out? If not, then it takes more than 17 seconds to close a park.
It is real simple. You put signage at the entrance to the park stating when the curfew goes into effect (at 11 o'clock). You have someone to close the gates at 11. At first you may have to remind some folks the curfew has been on the books for many years. The person that locks the gate can remind them if they are not gone at 11 o'clock. If they refuse to leave, the gate locker calls the police.
Under our new Chief of Police the department has already shown they are willing to enforce the law as written in Raytown.
Speaking of signs you could put a phone number (to the police department) if their car is locked in during the curfew. Or, they can retrieve the car the next day as they do in other public and private parks throughout Kansas City.
See, all of your fears are taken care of.
Of course, you may have a better plan. Please share it with us.
It looks like people are beginning to wake up to the problems in our city parks. They are putting in additional lighting and taking a serious look at gates to enforce curfew. I appreciate the effort. Keep up the good work!
What about when there's a shooting. Being exposed for only 17 seconds still sounds like a really long time.
Better plan is to tow the cars left overnight. Maybe ticket and tow.
But the mayor says there isn't a problem and the DOJ just released state that show crimes are down across the country. Hhhmmm....
7:05pm. You’re absolutely right, that’s how it would work. But all that takes more than 17 seconds. Besides, where did anyone get the idea there are going to be gates at the parks? The park board hasn’t approved that. In fact, they only briefly discussed it. It’s not been on the park board agenda for over a year.
ALERT
City of Raytown is having several budget meetings Tuesday and Thursday next week.
"Municipal Budgeting 101 and Citizen Polling"
6 pm-7 pm
Public · Hosted by City of Raytown
City staff presentation and opportunity for citizen feedback regarding the City's 2019-2020 budget.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
at Raytown Wellness Center
10301 E State Round 350
Thursday, August 15, 2019
at Raytown Christian Church
6108 Blue Ridge Blvd
Perhaps the police volunteers corp and CERT would be able to lock and unlock the park gates as needed. "Stronger Together"
4:32 - good idea. Take it to the park board on August 19.
I agree not all parks need to have gates. Let's see. Little Blue Trace has massive gates to it. So does the old Super Splash water park. At least the ones at Little Blue Trace are used. The ones at Super Splash have not been locked in a long, long time. In fact, even if they are locked it does not block entrance to the park. The gates only block the entrance to the parking lot! Not really true because those gates have been unlocked all this past spring and summer.
Be fair about. After the shooting at Colman Park where to armed men opened fire on a crowd of 50 people - and murdered a 17 year old girl - the shooting happened one and one half hours after curfew. If there had been gates, judging by the number of cars at the park that night, that young woman would not have been killed.
There is a real good reason many cities and private parks, like the one at Graceway has installed gates. It is because the gates work in keeping people out during curfew hours.
Go check it out at the sports complex at Graceway. They had the same problems Colman Park is experiencing. Drug dealing, drug use, elicit sex, the illegal firing of weapons at all hours.
This past Saturday night a young woman was shot and killed at the Crossroads during First Friday. The reason she died was because some young man was angry and fired eight shots blindly at a crowd of people.
Sound similar to what happened in Raytown? It was. And the best way to stop it is to make it difficult for people with little regard for life. Make our park curfews mean more than just some words on paper.
When is the next parks improvement meeting?
"Perhaps the police volunteers corp and CERT would be able to lock and unlock the park gates as needed. "Stronger Together""
Is this a slam against these two groups? I really hope not!
Does it include a free picture? That's when they help.
August 6, 2019 at 6:43 AM
What??
Oh my gosh. Do you read the Raytown Report or just copy stuff from facebook to post here? The committee was formed over a month ago when the City Council gave permission to Alderman Greg Walters to form the Park Improvement Committee.
The park board is well aware of what is going on. Park Board Director Dave Turner and Park Board member Loretha Hayden are on the committee. So are representatives from the police and fire departments, as well as three aldermen and four private citizens.
Trust me on this. There has been a lot of dialogue between the Park Board and the Committee.
Go spin your tales somewhere else. We no better than to listen to what you are trying to sell.
The next meeting of the Raytown Parks Improvement Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, August 14, 2019. The meeting is held at the Raytown Fire District Headquarters located at 6020 Raytown Road. The meeting begins at 6:30pm.
Could someone please explain the controversy regarding emails that Ms. Mims was describing in her BOA public comments?
I know it was mentioned here but I would like the back story.
I see Pete and Repete were at the meeting tonight. Do they have to tag team everything?
I couldn't make the Board meeting last night but I listened this morning. Bravo to the city for putting it up so quick it says volumes.
I do notice there seemed to be more people than normal commenting things that seemed to allude to something I guess I just didn't get the meaning. But I will say the mayor should turn the mics off during public comment because while the first speaker was talking you could hear sighing and heavy breathing.
Also, why were people leaving if the meeting just started? Is that normal? I watch most of them but can't catch them all and I don't think I've seen that.
August 7, 2019 at 1:27 PM
There was a committee meeting prior to the BOA meeting. Maybe they were leaving that and didn't want to stay for the BOA meeting.
Repete is always there. Sometimes he forgets to take votes or pay attention but by golly he was just about to say that too.
Several people also came to what they thought was court (a night early)
He did it during the Mayor protemps speech too. When her name was called you can clearly hear him say to Ryan Myers (former pro tem) "this outta be good". I applaud her for taking a stand and trying to stop the division, I hope more follow in her steps.
He's right. It's time for the pettiness and back stabbing to stop. There's one person that needs to end his temper tantrums and grow up.
Greg can you do a story on subtext? You don't have to post this comment I just don't know how to get a suggestion to you. I don't pay attention all the time, I just try to tune in and it seems like I and several others are missing some important behind the scenes things.
I received a message from a reader regarding subtext. I understand the meaning of the word, but not the topic you wish to have discussed.
Send me an email at gregtwalters@sbecglobal.net with your phone number and I will give you a call regarding our request.
August 10, 2019 at 11:21 PM
Maybe they are referring to Ms. Mims email.
I would like to know too what her comments at the BOA were pertaining to.
She received and email then sent out an email is all I know.
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