WHAT DO WE WANT TO SEE?

The extermination of all government-subsidized housing.

A red-light district.

A 20-foot statue of Rush Limbaugh.

These were three of the more colorful responses to the recent www.semissourian.com poll, "What one addition or improvement would you most like to see in the Cape Girardeau area within the next 10 years?"

But the vast majority of the responses to the poll which appeared on the Southeast Missourian's Web site from Feb. 2 to Feb. 6 were more realistic.

Among the requests for White Castle and Olive Garden eateries and for clothiers The Gap, Abercrombie and Fitch and Old Navy, many of the responses contained the thoughtfulness of ideas that have been germinating in readers' minds for some time.

The most common suggestion offered was that Cape needs to hunt for more commercial development, luring businesses to the city by emphasizing such features as Cape's strategic location within the region.

Take advantage of river

Brandon wrote, "Cape ... needs to advertise, showing all that the town has to offer for businesses that move to the area. I mean, you all do have the Mississippi River and a major interstate, I-55, that border both sides of the town. You also have a well known university. ... Another thing you need to do is not make it hard for businesses that want to move to the town... That is the biggest complaint that St. Louis business owners have, that there is too much red tape' they had to go through to get their business started."

Location, location, location

An anonymous poster agreed, writing, "Cape needs to focus on being THE retail/entertainment center between Memphis and St. Louis instead of always acting like the long-lost stepchild of St. Louis. ... Move ahead and make the statement that Cape is the destination that links both of those major cities.

"I think Cape is missing out on a huge marketing ploy right there being smack dab between the Gateway to the West and the grandest Old South city."

Another anonymous respondee lamented that he would like to move back to Cape if the city could offer more career opportunities.

"Cape Girardeau is a nice community; however, it is lacking career opportunities. If you are not a doctor, dentist, or a Procter and Gamble employee, the job market is extremely limited. I graduated from Southeast Missouri State University and was not able to find a decent job upon graduating, due to a lack of corporate jobs. I would have loved to have stayed in the community, instead I had to move to St. Louis to find a job. ... I know several others like myself who had to relocate after college to find a job in which they could build a fulfilling career."

On a similar thread, several readers suggested launching a revitalization of the downtown area, and developing both the Missouri and Illinois banks of the river.

"What a gift we have with the Mississippi," an anonymous reader posted, "why not build around it?"

Cape's own hockey team?

Of the 44 legible responses to the poll, the most popular entertainment facility was an IMAX theater. The second most popular suggestion was building a regulation-sized hockey rink in the city, and attracting a semi-professional hockey team.

Libby Crane, who said she will be moving to Cape in a few years, wrote, "I would like to see a sports complex built in Cape Girardeau so that Cape can start its own city ice hockey team. It is a great sport and would be something all of Cape could support. I live in North Carolina and we have a hockey team here and it is a blast to watch, and all of Fayetteville goes to these games."

Poll results There were 44 responses to the semissourian.com online poll that asked: What one addition or improvement would you most like to see in the Cape Girardeau area within the next 10 years? The answers were as diverse as the Southeast Missouri residents who responded:

Better airport facilities/service 1

Better public ground transportation 1

Ice hockey rink/team 2

Improved regional highway network 2

Olive Garden restaurant 2

Revitalization of riverfront/downtown 4

IMAX theater 3

Old Navy retail clothing 2

Higher pay scale for city employees 1

Better synchronization of city stoplights 2

Increased commercial/industrial development 6

Homeless shelter 1

Better medical doctors 1

More 24-hour pharmacies 5

Improved taxi service 1

Emerson bridge completed 1

Southeast Missouri State University riverfront campus completed 1

Abercrombie & Fitch retial clothing 1

White Castle fast food franchise 1

Other 6