Rison Holding Off on Speed Bumps For Now

RISON - After a public hearing last week, Rison Mayor Charles Roberts said he will look at some other options before installing speed bumps along Oak Street or any other city street in order to slow down traffic inside the city limits.Roberts chaired a public hearing held by the City of Rison last Thursday evening at Rison City Hall to possibly install speed bumps along Oak Street, which is often used to access the Unionville Road area from Magnolia Street. Councilman Curtis Marks, who has a residence on Oak Street, suggested installing speed bumps along his street during the January city council meeting.At the close of the meeting, Roberts said he would reach out to both the Cleveland County Sheriff's Department and the Arkansas State Police about increasing speed patrols in town, while also looking into putting rumble strips along Oak Street and possibly consider them for other streets as well.About 10 people were at the public hearing, including Marks and fellow council members Cleve Reed and Michael Barnett.While all those attending the meeting agrees there is a problem with speeding inside the city limits, the ideas about how to handle it varied.Roberts told those gathered for the meeting that he had received more feedback about this issue than nearly any other topic since he has been in office. He said one resident told him there used to be speed bumps along Oak Street and an ambulance once hit them responding to a call and was knocked off the road. There were also concerns about fire trucks loaded with water having to go over the speed bumps while responding to a fire.Reed said during the meeting that he once favored installing speed bumps, but has since changed his position. "I'm not so sure that's the right thing to do," he said. Reed said he felt more enforcement of existing speed limits would be one solution. While he said the city is no longer in a position to afford a police department, he said the city needs...