FRIARS POINT — When Friars Point resident Sue Craig spoke about people carelessly exceeding the speed limit in their vehicles during Tuesday’s city council meeting, mayor James Washington spoke about relief that is on the way.
Washington said Pat Davis, who represents Friars Point on the Coahoma County Board of Supervisors, arranged for speed breakers to be installed throughout the community.
The locations for the speed breakers have not been determined, but Craig discussed some of the issues she saw throughout the community.
“They don’t ever stop at the Stop sign and there were actually two people drag racing in front of my house,” Craig said.
Craig invited public officials to sit on the porch at her house.
“The time of day doesn’t matter,” Craig said. “I was watching them this afternoon and there’s no consideration for the Stop sign. They’re in plain view.”
Craig said she talked to the mayor in Tunica, where her daughter is the city clerk and speed breakers are expensive.
“If you go more than 30 miles an hour over those, you don’t have an engine in your car,” Craig said. “I actually went over it – under 30 miles an hour.
“I don’t think the town of Friars Point can afford a $4,000 speed bump.”
However, Craig said speed breakers could be purchased at a cheaper amount for $200.
She said she does not want young children to get hurt.
“Somebody’s going to get hurt,” Craig said. “It’s probably going to be all these children that are on the bicycles now or little go-carts. They’re going to come around the corner.”
Washington then informed Craig he had spoken with Davis and the supervisors had approved installing speed breakers in Friars Point.
Washington has not determined where the speed breakers should be installed. He and Profit Giles from the county road department will be researching the issue.
“Profit and I were going to ride to see where the speed bumps were supposed to go,” Washington said.
Washington said he and Giles would be going by Craig’s home in Friars Point sometime Wednesday.
“We’re closer than you think,” Washington said to Craig. “Now that you have come, I need to come by your house and get you to show me where you think you need them.
“We’re going to put them sporadically over town, especially on main streets.”
Davis explained the process of funding speed breakers in Friars Point in a telephone interview after the council meeting Tuesday night.
“The city of Friars Point pays us their road tax,” Davis said. “What we try to do when we can is complement them and give them the resource they need to do what they need to make their town safe or make their roads repaired enough where they can run the city in a safe way.”
Davis said he goes through the county administrator and board.
“If we can do this at a very low cost, we take care of it for them,” Davis said.
Davis said Washington would determine the location of the speed breakers.
“We always let him make those decisions as far as where he thinks they’re needed,” Davis said.
Davis also took the opportunity to clarify that speed breakers are not expensive.
“We don’t have to buy these state highway commercially patched speed bumps,” he said. “We can get our Dura-patch machine, which is just rock and a little tar and we can lay that and make a speed bump. You can inexpensively make them. I have heard some little towns say, ‘They’re very expensive. We can’t afford them.’
“No, we can do them relatively cheap, like pennies on the dollar, as opposed to commercially made speed bumps.”
Davis said he would do anything he could to provide Friars Point the help it needs within the law.
“The mayor and I speak every couple of weeks,” Davis said. “A lot of times we’re in communication at least once a week or more.”
