OSAGE BEACH, Mo. -- Even though the Osage Beach Board of Aldermen decided to discuss other Nichols Road safety improvement options during 2016 budget sessions this fall, a lowered speed zone on the city road in front of the new Osage Beach Elementary School will be in place before school starts Aug. 18.
Last week, the board passed both readings of an ordinance lowering the speed limit to 20 mph in a specificly-marked zone from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily until such time as flashing lights can be installed.
"It is presented as a speed drop in a marked area in front of the school," City Administrator Jeana Woods said. "Once installed, the zone may be revised to match the flash of the lights."
The city has received comments about lowering the speed limit on Nichols Road and after a review with the school district, the limit was lowered to 20 mph. The original request came from the school district, in 2013, during the planning stage for the new Osage Beach Elementary.
Woods said during that meeting, she and fellow city staff discussed including not only a speed zone, but also the use of message boards and city police presence during morning and afternoon school traffic for a few weeks with the Camdenton R-3 School District when classes begin.
Woods also said there is no timeline as to when the flashing lights will get moved from the old school building on U.S. 54 to the new location. However, Superintendent Dr. Tim Hadfield has said the plans are in the works for moving those flashing lights.
A lowered speed limit and school zone were not the only safety improvements addressed Thursday.
Aldermen Phyllis Marose and Jeff Bethurem called for improvements along Nichols Road.
With increased traffic for the new school, needed improvements include widening the road, installing concrete shoulders, sidewalks for students along Nichols, a pedestrian walkway to cross Nichols to Dude Ranch Road, a left turn lane and school zone signage and speed reduction.
Osage Beach residents, many of which live or work along the city road, dicussed their concerns at the beginning of the meeting.
Dana Kahrs, of Sycamore Creek Golf Course, presented a petition circulated for the last few weeks requesting a widening of the street and left turn lane to the new school, among other safety improvements. Kahrs said 305 residents had signed the petition.
Nichols Road resident Jody Hanner said 186 full-time, driving-age residents live within the six main subdivisions - Cayman Beach, Sycamore Creek Estates, Silver Leaf, Shoreline Ranch, Dogwood Park Estates and Woodland Cove - on Nichols and Dude Ranch roads. This number does not include full-time residents in condos, apartments, townhomes or other homes outside these subdivisions, or who work in the area.
Hanner brought up a July 30 memo from Woods to city officials and staff regarding a meeting with Hadfield, stating the city's data supports "the school's perception that there were no issues regarding the width or maneuverability that would adversely affect the buses or other school traffic."
"What about the vehicles of residents of Nichols and Dude Ranch road, as well as the people who work on these roads?" she asked.
Hanner said it was stated the school and city were being "proactive" in their planning for the new school. However, she said in her opinion and the opinions of 300-plus others who signed the petition, "the road situation has become reactive instead of proactive."
Other Nichols Road residents shared similar concerns, including looking at the current safety improvements to roads within both Camdenton and Osage school districts at other new schools; how emergency vehicles would access residences and the school with current road conditions and possible increased traffic; and potential accidents from traffic, pedestrian use and narrow width of the road.
Echoing the residents' concerns, Marose said action needed to be taken given the outpouring of concerns.
"I believe the school has the responsibility to finance the needed turn lane entering and exiting the property, but the city has the upmost responsibility to make Nichols a better and safer city road than what exists today for everyone concerned," she said. "I am asking the board ... to respectably acknowledge and respond favorably to our residents' requests as set forth in their petition."
Alderman Kevin Rucker discussed a comprehensive study requesting a road map of needed improvements to roads throughout the city done several years ago. He said Mace Road was listed as the No. 1 street for improvements with Nichols Road at a close second.
"I would be in favor of asking staff to look into some costs. We also have costs that have been looked into on Mace Road and look at those and come up with some priorities. Both of those roads are in need of them, and we can't do both," he said. "We have the whole city we have to be concerned about it."
Alderman John Olivarri proposed talking with the Arrowhead Centre developer Gary Mitchell about his proposed multi-use residential, entertainment and retail development in the Route KK area and a proposed connector road between Route KK and Nichols Road in his design. He thought the possible connector road, which isn't finalized and not slated for construction until one of the final phases of the eight-phase development, would serve as a second access point to and alleviate increased school traffic on Nichols Road.
The board decided to review Nichols Road safety improvement possibilities during its 2016 budget sessions this fall, with city staff looking at feasibility statistics and cost estimates for such Nichols Road improvements in the meantime.