The first open door Eureka Springs City Council meeting since the onset of Covid-19 was Monday, June 8 in the Auditorium. Aldermen were spread out on the stage with house seating marked to encourage audience separation. Nearly all the audience were masked but only about half of council wore masks.
Council permitted written public comments to be read aloud by an alderman if the citizen was present. Alderman Bob Thomas recognized that this variance lacked the voice of the community and said in his closing remarks he hopes this protocol will be resolved at the next meeting as he wants to see and hear the citizens speak for themselves during public comments.
The topic of the four public comments was focused on the need to slow vehicles on East Mountain and the residential loop behind the Grand Central Hotel. Residents of East Mountain requested the speed limit be lowered from 25 mph to 15 mph and/or speed bumps added. The narrow residential roads on East Mountain provide a shortcut for drivers connecting downtown to US 62.
Alderman and East Mountain resident Harry Meyer said, “The streets of East Mountain Drive, Echols, Council, Hale, and Flint are subject to an average daily traffic burden of 590 vehicles as determined by the State Highway Department,” and added that these roads are not suited for such volume.
Current pipeline construction has required removal of speed breakers, which in response Mayor Butch Berry said would be placed back on the road. Meyer said, “This isn’t a new issue… there is no reason for this condition to continue, there are many remedies, starting with a 15 mile-an-hour limit.”
Alderman Susan Harman said that it doesn’t take a council vote to lower a traffic speed limit, indicating that this could be dealt with by the mayor and police. Harman then suggested the mayor lower the speed limit to 15, put a cop on the road, start ticketing, and let speeding drivers pay for the added speed breakers residents are requesting.
Meyer then presented a formal petition signed by 19 E. Mountain residents asking the mayor to institute and enforce a 15-mph speed limit. Berry said that there may be 19 residents on this petition who want speed bumps, but there are another 19 who don’t want them.
“The citizens living on my street are upset and feel like it’s falling on deaf ears,” Meyer pleaded. Aldermen unanimously agree to Bob Thomas’s motion requesting the Berry have a definitive plan to address issue at the next meeting. The crowd cheered.