Council tables vote on road gate

To gate or not to gate, that is the question lingering over the Plains City Council.

At the December meeting, residents converged on Town Hall to have their say over a gate that was taken down on Scott Lane following the November meeting.

It was explained by three residents that it was a previous council that had allowed a gate to be erected on the city-owned lane.

What appears to be a simple decision turned into a heated discussion surrounded by the “safety hazards” that can be associated with and without the gate.

Residents such as Shanon Hedahl voiced concern that with the gate down, it was possible a driver could end up in the Clark Fork River. She further explained because of the lane location accompanied by the sharp corner that connects to South Boyer Street, it can be considered a near blind corner, especially when speed is a factor.

The council members did appear to agree to a certain point with residents, however they were not comfortable at the meeting to definitively decide whether or not the gate should be re-attached.

The other major query they had was in regard to the emergency services departments that may need to access houses on the lane.

Representative of both police and fire were at the meeting and put forth their concerns of not just the gate issue but the functionality of the lane for purposes of their specific needs.

The council was unwilling to vote on a final decision, saying there were more variables that needed to be consider.

The issue was tabled until the January meeting.