Crosswalk talk and speed bump banter at council meeting

At last week’s Malta City Council meeting, the painting of crosswalks at Malta Elementary and the possibility of lowering the speed limit, or perhaps inserting speed bumps, near the Cedar View Apartments was discussed.

Crosswalk lines were painted by the Malta Publics Works team near Malta Elementary School earlier this month and then repainted by another group on the behest of the school’s staff. Malta Mayor Shyla Jones said the repainting of the crosswalk was done in the wrong color, i.e. yellow instead of white. Mayor Jones said the school is going to have them re-painted white, but added that the yellow arrows on the one-way street near the school’s entrance will remain yellow.

Mayor Jones, during new business, said she was approached by several Malta City residents about the possibility of lowering the speed limit on 6th St. West, from 1st Ave. West – past the Cedar View Apartments -- and perhaps all the way down to 2nd Ave.

“First they wanted a school speed zone through that area because it would be borders on all sides of the high school,” Mayor Jones said. “But I explained to the people asking for it that if you do a school speed zone, it’s only (enforced) during school hours.”

The current speed limit on that stretch of road is 25-miles per hour. Mayor Jones said there is a stop sign on the corner of 6th St. and 2nd Ave. that is often missed by drivers and there are plenty of children in the area. The thought of dropping the speed limit down to 15-miles per hour at all times was talked about and Councilman William Crowder wondered if putting speed bumps on the stretch of road might be in order.

Public Works Director Jim Truelove said that permanent speed bumps could possibly cause problems when plowing the street in the winter. Councilman Crowder asked if removable, plastic speed bumps could be installed and Truelove confirmed that those type of bumps could be installed.

It was agreed that Truelove would look into the Public Works Department storage to see if there are any on hand and that the subject would be discussed again at the September meeting.

During the Department of Public Works portion of the meeting, Public Works Director Jim Truelove said that the crew did some minor maintenance around the dyke which included mowing and tree trimming. Since the last city council meeting, Truelove said the crew has been busy digging up road around town in order to make changes to underground plumbing including near Albertsons and the Stockman Bar and Grill.

The next Malta City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 8 at the Malta City Hall starting at 5 p.m.