Yellow curbing By Anne Scheck
A recent report on the unavailability of yellow paint is causing red flags to fly.
When Independence Police Chief Robert Mason, who’s scheduled to become the interim city manager in a few days, was asked at a recent city council meeting why there aren’t more yellow no-parking zones, he had the answer – in dollars and cents. Funds for it don’t seem to be in the budget, he explained. Soon it became evident that some residents had tuned in to the live-streamed meeting, viewed that comment, and considered his statement nothing short of eye-opening.
“I’d love to go out there and do their job for them,” said Julie Baker, apparently frustrated that a solution involving the application of paint has been put off. However, if she took matters into her own hands near her house with a can of semi-gloss yellow and a paintbrush, “I’d get slapped with a graffiti or destruction of property charge,” she said.
A recent report on the unavailability of yellow paint is causing red flags to fly.
When Independence Police Chief Robert Mason, who’s scheduled to become the interim city manager in a few days, was asked at a recent city council meeting why there aren’t more yellow no-parking zones, he had the answer – in dollars and cents. Funds for it don’t seem to be in the budget, he explained. Soon it became evident that some residents had tuned in to the live-streamed meeting, viewed that comment, and considered his statement nothing short of eye-opening.
“I’d love to go out there and do their job for them,” said Julie Baker, apparently frustrated that a solution involving the application of paint has been put off. However, if she took matters into her own hands near her house with a can of semi-gloss yellow and a paintbrush, “I’d get slapped with a graffiti or destruction of property charge,” she said.
Independence Police Chief Robert Mason A follow-up inquiry to the police chief was answered with the same candor he exhibited at the city council meeting. “I was told they don’t have a budget to paint all curbs that I would like to have painted,” Mason said.
However, even if the city did have the buckets of money for the buckets of paint, the Independence Police Department doesn’t do any of the painting, he pointed out. “Curb painting is done by contractors as directed by the public works department,” he explained.
Is this how the need for such color-coding on curbs slipped through the proverbial cracks? For nearly a year, the city’s public works department has been functioning without a director. City Manager Tom Pessemier took on that additional role when it was vacated last winter. When Pessemier announced his imminent departure less than a month ago, the new public works director, Gerald Fisher, had been on the job only a few weeks.
Unsurprisingly, Fisher didn’t know at that time about the need for more mustard-colored curbs. “I’ve been recently made aware of concerns around parking, signage and curb painting requests and will review each of them as they are received,” Fisher said, when contacted. Curb painting has to be conducted during the dry weather season, so any outdoor painting projects – from street striping to street edging – won’t be undertaken until at least spring, he said.
“There will be time for me to review our past practices for pavement striping and curb painting,” Fisher noted, adding that this will allow consideration of what changes, if any, are needed based on funding availability, standards related to the application and use of roadway signage and striping, as well as determining the “engineering priority for safety reasons.”
However, even if the city did have the buckets of money for the buckets of paint, the Independence Police Department doesn’t do any of the painting, he pointed out. “Curb painting is done by contractors as directed by the public works department,” he explained.
Is this how the need for such color-coding on curbs slipped through the proverbial cracks? For nearly a year, the city’s public works department has been functioning without a director. City Manager Tom Pessemier took on that additional role when it was vacated last winter. When Pessemier announced his imminent departure less than a month ago, the new public works director, Gerald Fisher, had been on the job only a few weeks.
Unsurprisingly, Fisher didn’t know at that time about the need for more mustard-colored curbs. “I’ve been recently made aware of concerns around parking, signage and curb painting requests and will review each of them as they are received,” Fisher said, when contacted. Curb painting has to be conducted during the dry weather season, so any outdoor painting projects – from street striping to street edging – won’t be undertaken until at least spring, he said.
“There will be time for me to review our past practices for pavement striping and curb painting,” Fisher noted, adding that this will allow consideration of what changes, if any, are needed based on funding availability, standards related to the application and use of roadway signage and striping, as well as determining the “engineering priority for safety reasons.”
The curve where Hyacinth meets Northgate, which some neighbors believe needs yellow paint on curbing The sooner the better, according to some residents. From streets downtown to those in the city’s subdivisions, where and how yellow curbs are placed has been a source of confusion for some residents. At Northgate and Hyacinth, for example, a corner has long been identified by neighbors as in sore need of the yellow paint, to stop cars from parking there and obscuring the ability to see around the curve. And the intersection of C and Main streets by Riverview Park has been called an accident waiting to happen – the absence of yellow paint allegedly means too many cars parked by that corner make it hard to see oncoming traffic on Main Street when making a turn.
The police chief seemed sympathetic to the criticisms. “I, when representing the traffic safety commission, have requested that yellow curbs be painted in areas where parking is a concern and enforcement is requested,” he said. “I feel it is much fairer to enforce parking restrictions when a yellow curb indicates parking is not allowed rather than measuring and enforcing from the written code.” After all, many people are “unaware of parking restrictions without visible indications like signs or yellow paint,” he observed.
The police chief seemed sympathetic to the criticisms. “I, when representing the traffic safety commission, have requested that yellow curbs be painted in areas where parking is a concern and enforcement is requested,” he said. “I feel it is much fairer to enforce parking restrictions when a yellow curb indicates parking is not allowed rather than measuring and enforcing from the written code.” After all, many people are “unaware of parking restrictions without visible indications like signs or yellow paint,” he observed.
Downtown intersection some drivers have voiced concern they cannot see around the corner when cars are parked nearby When easy-to-understand curb color is missing, parking problems can follow, agitating residents – as in the case of the Hyacinth-Northgate curve, in the Northgate neighborhood off of Gun Club Road. When cars park along the curve, they interfere with the line of sight by drivers navigating that part of the street, according to two of the people who live nearby.
The issue, which also arose at the city’s recent traffic safety commission meeting – along with the perceived need for more street markings – was the subject of a liaison report by City Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden, who serves as council’s representative to that commission. “We are going to research getting those paints back on curbs,” Hedrick-Roden told fellow city councilors. “I think it was a great meeting,” she said.
Painting curbs yellow to show where parking isn’t allowed turns out to be far more complicated than simply spraying on the durable color. Nearly 75 years ago, “The Police Journal,” an international magazine for law enforcement that’s still being published today, weighed in with commentary on streets that included the obvious fact that many of them in towns and cities aren’t very well planned, due to being old pathways now paved, as “survivors of food and cart tracks.”
For anyone who doubts that this form of street preservation has occurred in Independence, the metal girds around curbs in some downtown locations, including the corner by the library, provide proof; The hard bands are remnants of a bygone era when they were installed to protect against the damage of carriage wheels.
That isn’t the only historic legacy: the section of downtown where some current drivers worry about nosing out into traffic on Main Street is owned and operated by the state not the city, as part of Highway 51. Nor is everyone more anxious to see more yellow on the corners there.
“I’ve been here for years with quite a view on that corner,” said Bonnie Andrews, owner of Melting Pot Candy, with a storefront window that faces the part of Main Street that has been a topic of some concern. “And I can tell you that I have never seen anything happen. Nothing,” she said. Her worry is that more yellow areas “will mean we will lose more parking, and we actually probably need more of it,” she said.
The issue, which also arose at the city’s recent traffic safety commission meeting – along with the perceived need for more street markings – was the subject of a liaison report by City Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden, who serves as council’s representative to that commission. “We are going to research getting those paints back on curbs,” Hedrick-Roden told fellow city councilors. “I think it was a great meeting,” she said.
Painting curbs yellow to show where parking isn’t allowed turns out to be far more complicated than simply spraying on the durable color. Nearly 75 years ago, “The Police Journal,” an international magazine for law enforcement that’s still being published today, weighed in with commentary on streets that included the obvious fact that many of them in towns and cities aren’t very well planned, due to being old pathways now paved, as “survivors of food and cart tracks.”
For anyone who doubts that this form of street preservation has occurred in Independence, the metal girds around curbs in some downtown locations, including the corner by the library, provide proof; The hard bands are remnants of a bygone era when they were installed to protect against the damage of carriage wheels.
That isn’t the only historic legacy: the section of downtown where some current drivers worry about nosing out into traffic on Main Street is owned and operated by the state not the city, as part of Highway 51. Nor is everyone more anxious to see more yellow on the corners there.
“I’ve been here for years with quite a view on that corner,” said Bonnie Andrews, owner of Melting Pot Candy, with a storefront window that faces the part of Main Street that has been a topic of some concern. “And I can tell you that I have never seen anything happen. Nothing,” she said. Her worry is that more yellow areas “will mean we will lose more parking, and we actually probably need more of it,” she said.
Sign on Osprey Lane that designates public parking That’s a concern also expressed by Pete Ferren, who lives in one of the apartments at Independence Landing. Recently, Ferren addressed the city council, advising them that, although Osprey Lane seems too narrow for parking on both sides of the street when there is two-way traffic, it’s nonetheless necessary. Many of his neighbors have two cars, he noted.
Osprey Lane provides spaces for the overflow and “I recommend that you consider leaving parking on both sides of the street and that you consider one-way traffic” there instead, he said. With anticipated growth, the parking crunch is only going to increase, he stressed.
The way to address the problem may not lie only in decisions on where to put yellow paint. Study after study has shown that parking challenges can be solved, at least partly, by charging parking fees. However, the complications won’t end there, according to one of the most highly published experts on the matter, Donald Shoup, a distinguished professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Mixing free parking with paid parking can lead to a phenomenon known as cruising, in which motorists creep along streets looking for the no-cost alternative, often circling back to continue the quest – a situation that can mean a special type of traffic clog.
“The obvious waste of time and fuel is even more appalling when we consider the low speed and fuel efficiency of cruising cars,” Shoup wrote recently in Access Magazine, which covers research by the University of California Transportation Center. He and his graduate students at UCLA have found that traffic congestion isn’t always caused by the volume of drivers on their way to a destination but, rather, by those who have arrived at the place they intended to go – and are on a slow hunt to find a parking place.
Osprey Lane provides spaces for the overflow and “I recommend that you consider leaving parking on both sides of the street and that you consider one-way traffic” there instead, he said. With anticipated growth, the parking crunch is only going to increase, he stressed.
The way to address the problem may not lie only in decisions on where to put yellow paint. Study after study has shown that parking challenges can be solved, at least partly, by charging parking fees. However, the complications won’t end there, according to one of the most highly published experts on the matter, Donald Shoup, a distinguished professor of urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Mixing free parking with paid parking can lead to a phenomenon known as cruising, in which motorists creep along streets looking for the no-cost alternative, often circling back to continue the quest – a situation that can mean a special type of traffic clog.
“The obvious waste of time and fuel is even more appalling when we consider the low speed and fuel efficiency of cruising cars,” Shoup wrote recently in Access Magazine, which covers research by the University of California Transportation Center. He and his graduate students at UCLA have found that traffic congestion isn’t always caused by the volume of drivers on their way to a destination but, rather, by those who have arrived at the place they intended to go – and are on a slow hunt to find a parking place.
Independence Historic District: A Place of Pride and Controversy
The porch that represents part of the historic Underwood-Bush property line -- lot line is under dog's hind feet By Anne Scheck
At the same city council meeting where two downtown property owners received the city’s first achievement award for historic preservation, a homeowner testified that Independence was preventing her from restoring her turn-of-the-century house the same way they did.
A lot line on her property had escaped notice for years, a boundary that means the city owns part of her yard, including a sliver of the home’s front porch. This is making it impossible for her to move forward with plans for similar refurbishment, said Catherine Underwood-Bush.
“In a city that claims they want to preserve historic properties this, in effect, does condemn the property,” she told the city councilors in public testimony during the meeting. So far, the city has declined to sell or return that portion back to her, she added. “Why would I continue to put any time, effort or money into restoring a home that I have no equity in, at this point?” she asked.
Before Underwood-Bush spoke, the city councilors were advised by Mayor John McArdle – citing legal advice -- to listen to her comments but not to respond to them. Underwood-Bush confirmed that she’d hired an attorney. “The reason a lawyer got involved was because, after a year of no responses, that was my only option to get this moving forward,” she told the councilors.
At the same city council meeting where two downtown property owners received the city’s first achievement award for historic preservation, a homeowner testified that Independence was preventing her from restoring her turn-of-the-century house the same way they did.
A lot line on her property had escaped notice for years, a boundary that means the city owns part of her yard, including a sliver of the home’s front porch. This is making it impossible for her to move forward with plans for similar refurbishment, said Catherine Underwood-Bush.
“In a city that claims they want to preserve historic properties this, in effect, does condemn the property,” she told the city councilors in public testimony during the meeting. So far, the city has declined to sell or return that portion back to her, she added. “Why would I continue to put any time, effort or money into restoring a home that I have no equity in, at this point?” she asked.
Before Underwood-Bush spoke, the city councilors were advised by Mayor John McArdle – citing legal advice -- to listen to her comments but not to respond to them. Underwood-Bush confirmed that she’d hired an attorney. “The reason a lawyer got involved was because, after a year of no responses, that was my only option to get this moving forward,” she told the councilors.
Catherine Underwood-Bush Sitting nearby as Underwood-Bush recounted her property-line plight were Jeff Myers and Tyler Kolb, recipients of the first ever “Cairns-Weaver Award” for excellence in historic preservation. After the meeting, the two held their plaques while photos were taken. They both said they were proud and honored; Underwood-Bush, however, said she was deeply disappointed.
If this seems like an unusual instance of contrasting viewpoints about decisions in the city’s oldest residential area, it isn’t. In fact, the occurrence at the recent city council meeting is far from the only one in which perspectives differ substantially on issues within the historic district.
If this seems like an unusual instance of contrasting viewpoints about decisions in the city’s oldest residential area, it isn’t. In fact, the occurrence at the recent city council meeting is far from the only one in which perspectives differ substantially on issues within the historic district.
Brick archway on the historic J.S Cooper Building (photo courtesy of Jennifer Flores) From debates about the appearance and size of store signs to calls for protecting the brick archways on downtown buildings, a band of impassioned, volunteer appointees have worked largely behind the scenes on such situations, to keep several blocks at the downtown core looking like a chapter from its architectural past. They form a board known as the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC).
They’re the ones who made the selection for the Cairns-Weaver award; They’re the ones who came up with the idea and approved the concept; They’re the ones who first heard Underwood-Bush plead her case.
They have weighed in on everything from the library “reader board” – a box-like structure that flashes messages, which was pronounced an atrocity by one member – to the apartments at Independence Landing, which were similarly disparaged by another.
“There is zero warmth to them. Zero character,” said HPC member Jennifer Flores, when asked to recount her assessment of the riverfront apartment complex. In contrast, “look at the arches over any window or even some doors downtown,” she said. “They have personality.”
They’re the ones who made the selection for the Cairns-Weaver award; They’re the ones who came up with the idea and approved the concept; They’re the ones who first heard Underwood-Bush plead her case.
They have weighed in on everything from the library “reader board” – a box-like structure that flashes messages, which was pronounced an atrocity by one member – to the apartments at Independence Landing, which were similarly disparaged by another.
“There is zero warmth to them. Zero character,” said HPC member Jennifer Flores, when asked to recount her assessment of the riverfront apartment complex. In contrast, “look at the arches over any window or even some doors downtown,” she said. “They have personality.”
Jennifer Flores, member of the Historic Preservation Commission (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Flores) “The architectural accoutrements on our historic buildings downtown are what give our town its charm and historic vibe,” she added.
Underwood-Bush first took her problem to the HPC, to inform commissioners that it’s affecting her ability not just to refinance her home, but to meet the vision so often expressed by city officials: Home restoration. The property line is set along the outer area of her front porch -- a porch that has been reconstructed to look like it did when the 1880-era home was moved near Pioneer Park in 1923.
A swath of the land had been vacated to the home years ago, but it was reclaimed by the city after payment of property taxes on it had lapsed – it fell through the cracks after Underwood-Bush became divorced. She was stunned to learn that ownership had changed. “The city didn’t even know they had it until I told them,” Underwood-Bush stated at the council meeting.
The home contains symbols of a bygone time, from an oval bathtub with clawed feet to the original parlor chandelier, with its light-catching teardrops. However, there’s a lot more work needed on the house, according to Underwood-Bush, who gave a brief tour of the home recently. Between her dining area and the kitchen, for example, a century-old wood floor meets up with decades-old linoleum.
Underwood-Bush first took her problem to the HPC, to inform commissioners that it’s affecting her ability not just to refinance her home, but to meet the vision so often expressed by city officials: Home restoration. The property line is set along the outer area of her front porch -- a porch that has been reconstructed to look like it did when the 1880-era home was moved near Pioneer Park in 1923.
A swath of the land had been vacated to the home years ago, but it was reclaimed by the city after payment of property taxes on it had lapsed – it fell through the cracks after Underwood-Bush became divorced. She was stunned to learn that ownership had changed. “The city didn’t even know they had it until I told them,” Underwood-Bush stated at the council meeting.
The home contains symbols of a bygone time, from an oval bathtub with clawed feet to the original parlor chandelier, with its light-catching teardrops. However, there’s a lot more work needed on the house, according to Underwood-Bush, who gave a brief tour of the home recently. Between her dining area and the kitchen, for example, a century-old wood floor meets up with decades-old linoleum.
Original wood floor in historic Underwood-Bush home, where it meets more modern linoleum When City Manager Pessemier viewed the property -- after multiple requests and months of waiting, Underwood-Bush asserted -- the conversation "did not go well," she said.
She was informed that nothing further would happen, she said. However, noting that the city manager is resigning from his job, she isn't sure of the final outcome. (Asked about the matter involving Underwood-Bush, Pessemier declined comment.)
Since 1989, the city’s historic district has been on the National Register of Historic Places. Having a well-defined historic area brings benefits ranging from placing emphasis on design quality to creating a source of civic pride, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Part of the HPC’s prescribed role includes hearings on construction and alterations within the district. The commission was formed to “identify, recognize, and preserve significant properties that showcase the community’s history,” according to the city’s description. The HPC also is charged with encouraging “the rehabilitation and ongoing upkeep of historic resources” as well as strengthening public support for historic preservation efforts.
Sometimes that requires giving an instructive talk, observed Curtis Tidmore, a longtime HPC member who also serves on the board of The Heritage Museum Society, a non-profit organization that helps support the city’s museum.
“I've had several people, in the time I have lived here, knock on my door wanting to sell new siding and vinyl windows,” Tidmore observed.
“When I told them I wasn't allowed to do that kind of work (on the home), they quickly corrected me saying that I could,” he recalled. “Well, needless to say, each one of them got a short lesson on what you have to get approval from -- the HPC,” he said.
She was informed that nothing further would happen, she said. However, noting that the city manager is resigning from his job, she isn't sure of the final outcome. (Asked about the matter involving Underwood-Bush, Pessemier declined comment.)
Since 1989, the city’s historic district has been on the National Register of Historic Places. Having a well-defined historic area brings benefits ranging from placing emphasis on design quality to creating a source of civic pride, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Part of the HPC’s prescribed role includes hearings on construction and alterations within the district. The commission was formed to “identify, recognize, and preserve significant properties that showcase the community’s history,” according to the city’s description. The HPC also is charged with encouraging “the rehabilitation and ongoing upkeep of historic resources” as well as strengthening public support for historic preservation efforts.
Sometimes that requires giving an instructive talk, observed Curtis Tidmore, a longtime HPC member who also serves on the board of The Heritage Museum Society, a non-profit organization that helps support the city’s museum.
“I've had several people, in the time I have lived here, knock on my door wanting to sell new siding and vinyl windows,” Tidmore observed.
“When I told them I wasn't allowed to do that kind of work (on the home), they quickly corrected me saying that I could,” he recalled. “Well, needless to say, each one of them got a short lesson on what you have to get approval from -- the HPC,” he said.
Historic house of early pioneer and founder Henry Hill However, local government control of a historic district has its drawbacks, said Ken Larson, who lives in one of the city’s most well-known historic homes, the “Henry Hill House.” Its name reflects the town’s founding family, and he takes pride in the buttercup yellow house with its pillared porch. However, he worries about it, too.
"If this would pass out of our family, it would go into this commercial zone," he explained, gesturing to the surrounding area. "That would mean that the bottom floor would have to be commercial," he said.
Independence initially came about in 1845, when Elvin Thorp arrived and claimed land. Eventually that land claim was named after the starting place of many of those early pioneers, Independence MO. Then, in 1847, Henry Hill staked out more land, expanding the young community.
"If this would pass out of our family, it would go into this commercial zone," he explained, gesturing to the surrounding area. "That would mean that the bottom floor would have to be commercial," he said.
Independence initially came about in 1845, when Elvin Thorp arrived and claimed land. Eventually that land claim was named after the starting place of many of those early pioneers, Independence MO. Then, in 1847, Henry Hill staked out more land, expanding the young community.
Page from early city record book A few decades later, the new city formulated its first set of ordinances, which demonstrated commitment to housing -- the offense of “disorderly” homes was second only to acts of bad behavior. On large sheafs of paper penned in hand-written ink, these laws of yesteryear remain part of the record at the Independence Civic Center, and they include some nuisance rules similar to current ones, such as a warning against roosters being kept in town, which was alleged to make egg-laying hens “cross and peevish.”
Chandelier from the historic Underwood-Bush home (photo courtesy of Catherine Underwood-Bush) The historic flavor of the city has been embraced by some local builders, including Yul Provancha and his wife, Mary, who currently are at work on a house down the block from the civic center. The home’s first floor will be a cupcake shop, Provancha said. The second floor is slated to be a beauty salon.
Provancha also refurbished, restored and rebuilt the structure on Main Street that now houses Gilgamesh-The River.
As the city moves forward and such projects seem to win support and approval, Underwood-Bush is hoping that the same will happen for her, as she continues the battle to win back a slice of land she’s lost. “If that doesn’t happen, I feel like I have to file a lawsuit,” she said. “And that’s something I just really don’t want to do.”
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