The Lawton City Council approved five traffic calming measures Tuesday night, and the push for the most talked-about one began with a resident who had seen enough. Kelly McDonnell, who lives along Pershing Drive near Liberty Lake, told the council she watched a white goose get struck and killed in less than six months, and she removed a duck from the street herself after it was hit. She asked for speed cushions between Oak and Kinyon avenues, and Councilman Taron Epps supported the request.
City staff ran a 24-hour study on Pershing that counted 877 vehicles, with only nine recorded as speeding. McDonnell disputed that figure, saying it doesn’t match what she sees daily. The council approved the cushions regardless, along with four other locations: Northwest Graysons Mountain Drive, Southwest H Avenue, Southeast Camelot Drive, and a corrected“Children at Play”sign moved from Southwest 45th Street to Southwest 54th Street. Councilmen Bob Weger and Allan Hampton brought several of those requests forward from their constituents.
The rubber speed cushions installed by the city typically slow vehicles to 15-20 mph and measure about three inches high and seven feet long. Public Works Director Rusty Whisenhunt reported the traffic study findings to the council.
What street in Lawton do you think needs traffic calming next? Let us know in the comments.
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