SHARED ROADWAY SIGNS MAY GO
County officials cite condition of roadways after flooding, insurance liability concerns
The shared roadway signs denoting the various bicycle routes around Madison County may have to come down, at least temporarily, according to county officials. Reasons are two-fold. One is because of the recent flooding. Another is that of the county's insurance liability. About 70 shared roadway signs were purchased by the Madison County Cycle Club — the group that sponsors the annual BRAMCO (Bike Ride Around Madison County) — and installed by county officials. Four designated routes: There are basically four routes marked around the county. One is in northwest Madison County on the Earlham and Pitzer pavement areas; one is in northeast Madison County on county road G4R — known locally as the Cumming Road — while two are in southern Madison County. One of the southern routes covers the circuit from Winterset to St. Charles via the St. Charles Road and then south to Truro and back to Winterset through East Peru to old U.S. Highway 169 and north. The other shared roadway area is the Winterset to Macksburg area. Flooding damaged roads, shoulders County officials say the early June flooding caused a tremendous amount of damage to not only the roadways, but also the shoulders of the roads. And according to county engineer Todd Hagan, the roads aren't really safe until they can be fixed. He says keeping the signs in place may encourage cyclists to ride "because our roads are in perfect shape, and they're not." "Do we need to take the shared Roadway signs down? I think we do," Hagan told county supervisors last week. While Hagan's recommendation to perhaps temporarily remove — and the definition of the word "temporary" is highly subject to interpretation — the signs is "because of current condition of the roads" there's also the nagging issue of liability. When the signs were put up at the behest of the cycle club, some officials were adamant that perhaps the signs shouldn't be erected, because it would expose the county to certain liability issues if a cyclist is injured, or worse, traveling the county roads. "They probably need to come down," supervisor Steve Raymond reluctantly said. "I want to encourage them to ride," supervisor Bob Weeks said. "So do I," echoed supervisor Joan Acela.
[yeah, and i want money to come out of my ass. i'm telling ya, this stupid nonsense is worse than the creeping charlie in my front yard, and it's not going away on its own, either.--the mostly reverend]
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