The snowstorm that paralyzed eastern Colorado and western Kansas last week, leaving thousands of travelers stranded, was bad news in many ways. The shutdown of Denver’s airport had a domino effect that forced air travelers throughout the country to deal with canceled or adjusted flights.

Thousands of motorists were stranded along a stretch of several hundred miles on Interstate 70 as it crosses Kansas. Motels were unable to accommodate all the travelers, cars were abandoned and restaurants ran short of food. It was not a pleasant scene.

However, one good thing may have surfaced out of the storm. It may have pointed out that it is far past time for the Kansas Department of Transportation to modernize its system for reporting road conditions on highways in the state. There are few ways – actually none without a phone call to someone who lives or works near a highway – to learn about highway conditions.

There’s no excuse for the antiquated Kansas highway reporting system.

In Colorado, for example, television cameras are mounted at strategic spots on major roads, and those camera views are available on the Internet allowing viewers to see for themselves the real-time condition of the highways.

Why can’t Kansas have a similar system along the entire route of I-70 or I-35, with cameras mounted on overpasses at intervals so that travelers can see highway conditions before they hit the road?

It’s likely some at KDOT or the Kansas Turnpike Authority will have a reason that the Colorado system cannot be duplicated in Kansas. Unfortunately, this negative, can’t-do attitude is far too common in Kansas. Why not have Kansas be a leader, not a follower, and why not have Kansas known for the best, most up-to-date highway reporting system in the country?

Last week’s storm showed just how far behind time Kansas is in the highway reporting business. Maybe it will serve to prod officials to think big, outside the box, and figure out a way to give the public the ability to scan highways, see current conditions and make informed decisions about whether it is safe to get behind the wheel to travel over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house.