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About Mark
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FUNKHOUSER ANNOUNCES PLAN TO RID KC STREETS OF METAL PLATES Within two years, 90 percent of the metal plates that mar Kansas City’s streets will be gone, Mayoral Candidate Mark Funkhouser announced today. “We’re going to track them down, have the streets repaired and get those pesky plates out of town,” he said. As City Auditor, Funkhouser surveyed city residents annually to find out their level of satisfaction with city services. These surveys found that 80 percent of Kansas Citians are dissatisfied with street conditions. The abundance of metal plates is the most visible sign of the streets’ disrepair. “I think just about everyone would agree that one of the things that annoys Kansas Citians the most is all the metal plates on the streets,” Funkhouser said. “These big, bulky plates that rattle tires and jolt shock absorbers are a symbol of how city leaders have neglected maintenance of streets.” “This is not a difficult problem to solve,” he continued. “All we have to do is make it a priority.” Funkhouser’s plan is simple. “We can identify the number and location of the metal plates, how long each one has been in use and who is responsible,” Funkhouser said. He noted that more than half of the metal plates were put on the streets by someone other than the City, such as telecommunications companies. Funkhouser added, “An geographically based internet web page would permit everyone with web-access to look up who put a specific steel plate in the street, how long it is supposed to be there and when it is supposed to be removed.” Though this seems an obvious first step in solving the problem the City does not currently keep an accurate record of the metal plates. “The City can make innovative use of available technologies to solve a serious and deeply irritating problem,” Funkhouser said. Then, once the plates are identified, the City staff will ask that the repairs be made and the plates removed immediately, if they are not removed in a timely manner, the responsible parties will be fined daily for every day they fail to remove them. “Removing these metal plates simply has to be a top priority,” Funkhouser said. “This is a quality of life issue. When people are dissatisfied with their city, when they have to constantly drive over thick steel plates that put wear and tear on their cars and rattle their nerves, they start to think that maybe they ought to move to another city.” He added, “It’s also a fundamental economic development issue. Businesses need happy employees and customers to thrive. It’s hard to do business in a city where most folks are dissatisfied with the conditions of the streets.” |