Perrine Bridge Press Clip: Bungee Ban
ITD places signs to ban bungee jumping It looks like the ITD has finally gotten fed up with people ignoring their regulations. Up until now we've had bungee operators on the bridge about once a month, with very few problems. I think I've seen the cops chase them off twice in the last 4 years.
It also looks like the ITD has discovered a loophole in the law that they are exploiting to ban bungee by administrative decree. The law says they can place "traffic control devices" like signs. I wonder when they'll decide to "traffic control" BASE jumpers off the bridge?
In reply to:
ITD places signs to ban bungee jumping
By Jared S. Hopkins
Times-News writer
The cord's been cut.
The Idaho Transportation Department will post signs on the I.B. Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls prohibiting people from attaching items to the handrail and from blocking pedestrians crossing the bridge - hoping to increase the message that bungee jumping is banned, the agency told the Times-News.
The agency hopes the signs will assist police to enforce state law that mandates bridge walkways remain unblocked and the bridge remain free of attached materials. Bungee-jumping equipment - which hangs from the bridge handrail - prevents people walking on the bridge and has led to damage of the hand railing, according to the ITD.
Similar signs will be placed on the Hansen Bridge located on Idaho Highway 50, about 10 miles east of Twin Falls, calling for the same ban on bungee jumping.
The ITD cited state law that requires pedestrians to follow rules of "traffic-control devices" and the signs will act as such devices on the bridge.
"It should eliminate bungee jumping on the Perrine and Hansen bridges," said ITD spokesman Nathan Jerke. "That's kind of what we're going after."
The signs will be placed at eye level at the four entrances to the Perrine Bridge. They should be erected by Friday, Jerke said.
The signs will not affect B.A.S.E. jumpers as long as they don't block the pedestrian walkway or attach equipment to the structure. Bungee jumping, meanwhile, was a distraction to motorists, according to the ITD.
"We need to do what we can to make sure we keep the distractions along the side of the bridge to a minimum for the sake of drivers and pedestrians," ITD District Engineer Devin Rigby said. "We want to keep drivers' eyes on the road and walkways open and safe for everyone who wants to cross the bridge."
Matt Score, 22, who said he bungee jumps about once a week, called the notion that the bungee cords cause structural damage "silly" and said he will continue to jump, despite the addition of signs. Score said he is unconcerned about the new signs and that his friends often talk with police officers on the bridge and the police are friendly, not hostile.
"You mean is that going to prevent me from doing it? Absolutely not," he said. "It's not just a vehicle bridge. It's not just for motorists. I pay taxes too."
The ITD said the signs will also help cut down on commercial businesses, such as online bungee jumping companies, which the ITD said have used the bridge to conduct business.
Jared S. Hopkins can be reached at 735-3204 or jhopkins@magicvalley.com.
Emphasis added by me.
