BOARD ACTS ON UNSAFE CROSSING; JACKSON HOPES TO SLOW DOWN TRAFFIC

JACKSON -- A three-way stop intersection will be installed at the hazardous intersection of Greensferry Road and Clark Street in the north central part of Jackson next month.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen this week voted unanimously in favor of a motion by Alderman Jack Piepenbrok to amend the stop-sign ordinance to include the Greensferry Road-Clark Street intersection.

"It's just a matter of time until we have a bad wreck there," said Piepenbrok. "It is also a school bus stop, and the intersection is extremely dangerous for students because they cannot see cars that come over the crest of the hill."

The intersection is at the foot of a steep hill. When vehicles traveling north on Greensferry Road top the crest of the hill, the Clark Street intersection is a short distance away.

The speed limit at the intersection on Greensferry Road is 30 mph, but Piepenbrok said few drivers obey it. He said a speeding car traveling north on Greensferry Road could not stop in time to avoid hitting a student or another vehicle trying to cross or turn onto Greensferry Road.

"I've had persistent complaints about speeding vehicles on Greensferry Road since I've been on the board," he said.

Currently, traffic on Clark must stop before turning left or right onto Greensferry Road. If the board approves, the additional stop signs will be erected on the north and south sides of Greensferry Road.

In seconding Piepenbrok's motion, Alderman Phil Johnston suggested a flashing light be placed above the intersection to warn motorists of the three-way stop.

Alderman LeRoy Brown said long-range plans call for the steep hill to be cut back, which would improve the visibility of motorists entering the intersection from the south. But he agreed a three-way stop may be needed until the work can be done.

If the board approves the change in the ordinance at its March 2 meeting, the stop signs will be put up in about seven to 10 days from then, weather permitting.

Before moving on to other business, the board welcomed back Mayor Carlton Meyer, who is recovering from major surgery he underwent at a Kansas City hospital last month. Meyer set with the board for about 35 minutes during a public hearing, then left.

In other business, mayor pro tem David Ludwig cast the tie-breaking "no" vote that defeated a motion to grant a special use permit to Roy Stroder. Earlier this year, Stroder asked the city to allow him to put a mobile home at his place of business on the Old Toll Road. The board refused.

Since then, Stroder said the only place he has found that can take a mobile home the size of his is in East Cape Girardeau, Ill.

The motion to give Stroder the special use permit was made by Alderman Paul Sander, who noted the permit would be revoked if the Stroders moved or sold the mobile home.

The vote on the Sander motion ended in a 4-4 tie, with aldermen Kevin Sawyer, Sander, Phil Johnston and Piepenbrok voting yes, and aldermen Val Tuschhoff, Brown, Glenn Oldham and Ludwig voting no. As mayor pro tem, Ludwig voted again in breaking the tie by voting no.

"I do not want to start a precedent here tonight," said Ludwig. "It would open up a can of worms."

But Sander disagreed. "My motion was carefully worded so the special use permit would be revoked if the Stroders moved or sold their mobile home. It would not open a can of worms," he told reporters after the meeting.

The board approved a motion by Sawyer to authorize the city engineer to prepare cost estimates for opening a city street from Ridge Road into Litz Park. Sawyer suggested a 20-foot-wide, three-inch-thick asphalt surface, but the engineer will also obtain cost figures for a concrete street of the same width and depth. The entrance will be across from the Fairway Estates subdivision.

Jim McClard of 118 Donald Street asked the board if something could be done about barking dogs kept next to his residence. Sander told McClard and the board that a proposed ordinance that will be discussed at next week's study session would address the problem. He said the board will vote on the animal-noise-abatement ordinance at its March 2 meeting.

Also approved was a motion to participate with the Jackson American Legion post in the construction of a storm sewer from the Legion Hall west to Missouri Street.

The board set March 2 as the date for a public hearing to consider the 1992 city budget. The hearing will begin at 7:30 p.m.