Campaign Pledge Pressed: Armor-Plate Asphalt IsTarget

By Dan Verbeck, KCUR News

Kansas City, MO. – Kansas City's Mayor recalls a campaign pledge to get rid of 90 percent of steel plates covering streets. There is a way to go.

With city council action in place, as taken last week, the show of a crane and trucks could have been called 'gilding the lily.' But Mayor Mark Funkhouser wanted to make the point. He and councilman Russ Johnson had hardhats on to help maneuver plates off the asphalt at 25th and Troost in a news conference/ photo opportunity.

On September 1st, the toughest rules ever will start governing plate placement. How close is he to 90 percent plate-removal? In Hizzoner's words, " we're downto 300, out of what? 800, 900, a thousand? That's pretty good." Funkhouser reiterated the need to work with utility companies which are some of the prime placers of the metal plates to cover holes torn into streets.