A Half-Assed Attempt to Get a Handle on Those Damned Metal Plates!

Kansas City is finally doing something about the shock-killing, bone-jarring metal plates that plague our streets like a feric pox. Now a permit must be obtained and the plate can only be in place for a finite amount of time. And the best news of all: The biggest offender in town, the city's own water department, is subject to the same fines and regulations as the utilities.

There are a lot of metal plates in my neighborhood. I don't think that will change until a few more quarter-million-dollar lofts sell on my block. And I wish the new law had more teeth. But given that we have been bitching for years, and nothing happens in KCMO unless it's on the Plaza, in Hallbrook, or in Verona Hills, I guess we will take what we can get and keep pushing for more.