×
×
homepage logo

Long And Winding Road?

By Staff | Oct 7, 2009

The center line painted down the length of the walking trail at Paden City Park is viewed as unsightly by many residents of Paden City. This crooked portion is painted on the main park road. (Photos by Amy Witschey)

The new markings on the walking trail at Paden City Park were the hot topic of conversation at Monday evening’s Paden City Council meeting.

Councilman Richard Wright said he has received several complaints on the directional lines put on the walking trail at the park-a comment that sparked intense conversation between the council and the citizens. “I have received a lot of complaints about the walking trail. People have made a laughing stock out of that..I’ve been blamed for that and I had nothing in that.”

Mayor Bill Fox interrupted, “You absolutely had nothing to do with that walking trail. It was something we passed a year ago. We went down there and striped it off and we probably should not have done that, but if you go down there and try to go over it, it’s going to look worse than it does now.”

The city had the walking trail striped off for the safety of those using the trail, since it is used for walking and biking. According to posted signs at the park, bikers can only travel the trail in one direction; walkers have a choice.

“This was done for safety reasons,” Fox said. “That’s the way it has to be. Bicycles are going to go in one direction and walkers have a choice. I’ve had so many complaints from people down there walking who almost got hit by kids riding bicycles.”

The designations for bicyclists and walkers are now painted on the surface of the walking trail in Paden City Park, as shown here. The center line and arrows are throughout the length of the trail with the word “bicycles” at the entrances.

Wayne Headley, a citizen of Paden City, suggested the city make it mandatory for all bikes to have horns or bells if they are using the walking trail.

Glen Casteel replied, “I tried to get that passed but I got shot down because they said it would be an expense to the citizens.”

“Glen brought it up and people said, ‘Hey, that’s additional money for us because we have to put a horn on a bicycle,” Fox said. It was suggested that the city needed to enforce mandatory signals instead of a line on the pavement for the safety if users.

Headley said, “I travel that trail every day and bicycles come by me going 30 miles per hour and I don’t know where they are at because they don’t signal.”

The general consensus of the citizens gathered was the walking trail should be used for walking only, though Fox disagreed. “How do you go about telling the people who have bicycles they can’t use the trail.”

The issue was referred back to the park and pool committee for review.

Another focus of the meeting was planning for the upcoming month, in spite of low citizen attendance and the absence of three of the six council members.

Among the citizens in attendance was Cindy Slider, who addressed the council regarding tree limbs tangled in the power lines near her home.

Fox commented, “I’m taking care of that, Cindy. The tree limbs will be cut back so they are off the lines up there. Larry called the (electric) company today and they said they could not do anything about it unless they fell. If they fell they said they would come in and clean it up and fix the lines. But we are taking care of it.”

Other citizens brought up the ever increasing issue of stray cats and dogs in the city limits.

“Hopefully we can get that issue taken care of sometime, some way,” Fox said candidly. “I’ve had complaints about the dogs myself. I’ve had people tell me they have gone outside and a dog has been there and no one has cleaned it up. But there is nothing that I can do.”

Fox advised the forum nothing could be done after the fact without proof. “Take a picture, call the police, or call one of us and we can come over,” he said. “If we are there to witness it then we can do something about it. It’s just like anything else, if you see something going on that shouldn’t be, you need to get in touch with people then and file a complaint.”

Eileen Smittle commented, “If people are fined a couple times they should learn their lesson.”

In light of multiple absences, the committee reports were scarce, though Wright updated those present on the state of the park and pool. “The Haunted Trail has been set for Oct. 26. from 7-9 p.m. If it rains then we will have it on Oct. 27.”

Wright also reported the additional playground equipment was in and the holes have been dug at the park for installation.

Fox chimed in, “The holes have been dug and we have a fence around there to keep anyone from falling into the holes. Hopefully this month we can get some of that stuff installed. Hopefully we can get enough volunteers to get it done.”

Additionally, horseshoe pits are set to be installed at the Paden City Park and discussions regarding the installation of handicap accessible ramps to the shelters are ongoing.

“I think as a city we should thank Fred (King) and his daughter Brittany for all the help at the pool this summer,” Wright said.

The council echoed his praise.

The Kings served Paden City as co-managers of the pool this past summer.

In other matters, the council voted to set the 2009 burning season for Oct. 15 through Nov. 15. Residents will be required to procure a burning permit form the city building prior to the commencement of any burning in the city limits. Rules, regulations, and times can be obtained at the city building.

Paden City and surrounding communities will observe trick or treat on the same night – Oct. 29. Paden City ghouls and goblins can prowl the streets in search of goodies from 6-7 p.m. on that night.