Dangers on Clark Lane

A man walking on Clark Lane Thursday night was hit by a car, and the driver sped off. It’s a situation ABC 17 News questioned Columbia leaders about, and asked what is being done to keep pedestrians safe along the busy road. Now some council members and those who live along the street want safety changes. Council members said making cars slow down could help the safety, at least until they find a permanent solution.ABC 17 News clocked drivers speed on Friday and found some going around 25 miles over the speed limit. However, even if the speed of cars change, people who live on the street said more drastic measures are necessary.”Not have to worry about getting near the road or getting hit by a car,” said Adam Anderson who has lived off of Clark Lane for 5 years. For people like Anderson who live on Clark Lane, that constant worry is a reality. ABC 17 News clocked the speed of cars zooming past people walking on the road; some hit more than 50 miles per hour when the limit is 30 miles per hour. However, even scarier is the narrow edge next to the narrow road. For those walking on Clark Lane they are forced to be about a foot from the road and oncoming traffic. “Where you can basically get clipped by a car,” said Anderson.”Clark Lane has been known to be a driving hazard for many, many years,” said Karl Skala who is running for the third ward seat against Gary Kespohl. Kespohl holds the current position and said, “It’s not a sidewalk issue it’s a public safety issue and we need to fix it.”Both running for the 3rd ward council seat agree the road is a danger, but say the solution is not simple. “MoDot owns the road and we have to work with MoDot, we can express to them our urgency to get it done because of the accident last night,” said Kespohl. He is asking that the issue be moved to a number one priority, but that alone doesn’t solve the problem.”To put sidewalks in now before the improvements are in place to widen the road may be problematic,” said Skala.Whatever officials decide, people who live on the road just hope something is done. “Way too many people walking from a job to over here, so I mean its just one of those things where a little bit would go a long way here,” said Anderson.On Monday Council members are proposing the issue be moved up on the agenda. However, if that happens, it’s not likely any construction changes would occur until at least next fall or the summer of 2014.If only sidewalks are added, engineers will have to account for the possibility of the narrow road being expanded in the future.