Politics & Government

City Postpones Tenbrook Road Guardrail Decision

A $22,000 guardrail would protect subdivision homeowners from errant drivers traveling into their neighborhood.

After at least six weeks of meetings, Ward 3 Councilman Bob Lindsley said he was disappointed that the city council voted, 5-3, against installing a guardrail along Tenbrook Road to protect a subdivision.

“This is why we’re here, for the public service and to solve a problem, regardless of who created it,” Lindsley said during a city council meeting on Feb. 17.

Residents near the intersection of Tenbrook Road and Arnold-Tenbrook Road have seen drivers’ cars veer off the road and cause damage to their properties over the last five years. The neighborhood lies at the bottom of a hill near the intersection.

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Cars have destroyed porches and decks, said Paul Freese, also a Ward 3 Councilman. In one case, a car would have ended up on someone’s home if a utility pole did not stop the car, he said.

Strong wires kept the broken pole from falling on the house or onto the road, Freese said.

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The council considered installing a guardrail to protect the residents. The project would cost about $22,000 with the monies coming from Arnold’s Public Works Department. The council hoped the project would cost half that amount.

“This sets an expensive precedent for the city and creates a blank check for any subdivision with the (same) problem,” City Treasurer Dan Kroupa said.

None of the residents were killed or injured in the wrecks, Kroupa said, only the drivers were injured. The developer who created the subdivision was responsible for the safety problem.

Kroupa also said the guardrail placed an unfair cost on Public Works Director Bryson Baker and his budget. The series of ice and snowstorms required employees to work hours of overtime to clear streets. Those expenses have stretched the public works budget thin.

An alternative was for the residents to borrow the money from the city.

The city administrator said the city could install concrete barriers instead of a guardrail.

No one knew the cost of concrete barriers or if they could be used at the intersection. The road must have a certain width for placing the barriers.

The council members decided to postpone the guardrail decision until Baker could provide information about the cost and possibility of using the concrete barriers.

Lindsley, Freese and Ward 4 Councilman Jason Connell opposed the postponing the guardrail decision. 

 

Correction: City Finance City Treasurer Dan Kroupa used the word precedent, instead of precedence, during the meeting. Precedent is a decision or action to which future actions refer to for guidance. Precedence refers to a hierarchy. The original article had the incorrect term. The writer erred.


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