Those familiar blue county road signs are staying where they are. The 911 addressing system street signs will stay where they are as well.
Long-time residents will continue to use the blue signs for directions and 911 emergency responders will use the green street signs to answer emergency calls.
Cowley County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday morning to leave the blue markers alone. They hope any confusion caused by the two signs when someone calls 911 can be eliminated by the dispatcher’s questions.
The debate was initiated by several fire departments who recommended to the 911 committee that the blue signs come down. County Engineer Dale Steward met with the committee and carried the request to the commission, but told them he didn’t hear any specific instances described where the signs had created problems.
No matter whether the signs stay up or the signs come down, commissioners could expect to hear from unhappy residents, Steward warned.
Commissioner Carmelita Clarkson said she has already received telephone calls from people who do not want the blue signs taken down.
“I said as long as people have been here 40 or 50 years, Cowley 1 will always be Cowley 1,” Clarkson said.
Horseshoe Hill and Bolack Corner will always be Horseshoe Hill and Bolack Corner, added commissioner Gary Wilson. “I think we should just leave (the blue signs) alone.”
The blue route markers are posted on K-DOT highways as advisory signs to inform motorists when to turn onto county roads, Steward told the commission in a memo. The Cowley 1 sign, for example, would be replaced with 151st or 141st, as the case would be since Cowley 1 jogs and is not laid out on a straight line.
Federal Aid Secondary roads coincide with county posted routes and the engineer’s office will continue to use the same county route numbers for internal bookkeeping purposes regardless of whether the signs remain up.
