May 1, 2013

Recently the city’s parks and recreation department was busy installing some pretty serious speed bumps at all of the entrances to the Cliff Drive Scenic Byway. This work has a number of folks wondering, this newspooch included, what was the reason for installing the offending speed bumps, given one already had to slow his or her vehicle substantially in order to navigate through the gates?

Organizers of the Tour de Kansas City bike race, which was traditionally held here in the late summer, have completely rerouted their racers through the neighborhoods instead of along Cliff Drive as a result of the speed bumps. Negotiating an 8-inch speed bump is no fun in a car, but on a well-tuned racing bicycle, it could cause some serious damage to wheel, frame and ultimately the rider, especially if one is not paying serious attention.

This intrinsically motivated news dog would make a suggestion to the brain trust over at the parks department that installed these idiotic humps, bumps, risers, or whatever you want to call them. We’d like to suggest the parks board try channeling Steve Lampone or Mike Heron, both old school parks department leaders who advocated for no speed bumps and less signage, all with the outstanding idea that those things distracted from the view and overall enjoyment of the park. Sure makes sense to us.