ROAD REFLECTORS SERVED PURPOSE FOR CITY, STATE

Necessity, the saying goes, is the mother of invention, though public bureaucracy must be prodded at times to see the necessity. Motorists on a dark stretch of Route K knew the need in years past for a more clearly defined roadway. The installation of 106 center-line reflectors, markers of the type Missouri transportation officials previously had little use for, enhanced the safety of that road and served as a useful test for the state highway department. We hope the state will continue to pursue low-cost ways such as this one for making roads more safe.

Prior to the installation of the reflectors, Route K between Edgewood Drive and the West Park Mall area could be a dark stretch of road. Motorists searching for the center stripe on rainy nights needed good vision and better luck. While heavily traveled, the route did not meet minimum state highway department requirements for lighting. City officials believed it was the state's responsibility; the state indicated the traffic count demanded no remedy. While the governmental authorities were stale~mated, drivers battled these conditions.

While lighting the route was a point of administrative contention, the state also felt a private proposal for the installation of reflectors along the center of Route K was fruitless. The forecast in Jefferson City was that plows would clip the reflectors from their footings as they wiped away the first snow. In fact, the state learned that the reflectors were not only useful as guides to motorists on dark nights, the markers proved quite durable. When they were removed from the road recently to accommodate the marking of a new center lane on Route K, the endeavor was considerable since they were so well implanted.

Route K is now lighted and the reflectors were less critical to safety conditions on the four-lane road. However, their five-year run utilization (a bargain at $6,000) should earn the reflectors a place in highway department considerations, particularly as a low-cost means of solving visibility problems on rural roads. We believe the reflectors served a useful purpose while they were planted in Route K, enabling state authorities to learn more about their worth in road conditions.