Broadway officially reopens with ribbon cutting Wednesday

Broadway, said the mayor of Cape Girardeau on Wednesday, should never be done.

"We want it to be constantly evolving," Harry Rediger told local officials, city staff, downtown business owners and community group leaders who gathered in the 500 block of the street to cut the ribbon on a $4.4 million road resurfacing and streetscape project. The reworked stretch of road opened completely to traffic and pedestrians last month.

Rediger called the project "critical" because of timing and interruptions for businesses along the route. It stretched from Pacific to Water streets and had to be complete before the opening of Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. Money for improvements came from the city's voter-approved Transportation Trust Fund, a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects, and for amenities outside the scope of streetwork, from an agreement with the casino.

City leaders, staff and representatives of Old Town Cape, the not-for-profit organization that works toward revitalization of the downtown area, thanked one another, residents, business owners affected by the project and others involved, including contractors and casino representatives, during the ceremony.

Lisa Bertrand, president of the Old Town Cape board, commended the city, consultants on the project and construction crews from Fronabarger Concreters, the main contractor on the project, whom she said have become known as "the guys in green shirts."

"There wasn't a day in the 600 block where we couldn't go outside and ask what was happening and how it would impact us," she said of the workers' time spent on the street in front of the organization.

Bertrand touched on how "collaborative partnerships and effective communication" between those involved shaped the progress of the project and said, although there were issues for business owners and downtown residents, such as dealing with limited access to parking

lots and storefronts and dusty conditions from construction, she thought many considered the project successful and that it would act as a catalyst to continuation of downtown improvement. Still, she said, "we've got work to do."

Filling empty storefronts and adding parking along Broadway and other downtown areas have to be the next steps, she said.

The city is working to add more parking along the route since a 15-foot wide pedestrian promenade sidewalk and other features of the street eliminated parking spots. No parking is allowed on the north side of Broadway the length of the improved area.

An agreement between the city and Trinity Lutheran Church will add a lot in the 500 block with 47 spaces if approved by the city council Monday night. City engineer Casey Brunke said the cost of the lot will likely be $118,000, which is the amount of the lowest bid received by the city. Part of $750,000 the city has dedicated to improve parking downtown resulting from revenue the city expects to receive in the first year of operation of the casino will pay for the project.

Kenny Pincksten, a local developer who recently rehabbed the historic Vasterling building in Broadway's 600 block into commercial space and plans to build an eight-unit luxury townhouse complex on the 300 block of North Main Street starting in the spring, said access to parking is among the largest considerations of developers who are looking to build and companies that may want to locate business downtown.

Pincksten and a partner, Jim Riley, who owns Red Letter Communications on North Main Street, expect the townhouse development to be complete by next fall.

"Parking is my first, most important aspect in development," Pincksten said. "Parking is, just, well, paramount."

Traffic, in addition to parking, along the new Broadway also is under the watch of the city at the moment. Assistant city manager Kelly Green said Wednesday that a traffic count conducted between Oct. 25 and Monday is one of several that help the city monitor activity downtown since the street completely reopened.

Numbers from the count, conducted by the public works department, show 19,000 vehicles traveled Broadway at the Spanish Street intersection within the four-day period.

Brunke said the count shows an increase from 2010, before the Broadway project began, when there were around 7,000 vehicles that traveled the street.

Green said another count will be conducted within a month or two so the city can continue to monitor use and let businesses know about the amount of traffic passing. The traffic counts are also part of a development agreement with the casino.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

Broadway and North Main Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.

Broadway and North Pacific Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo.