CAN CAPE GAMBLING, RIVERFEST CO-EXIST?

Could Riverboat gambling and Cape Girardeau's annual Riverfest coexist in complete harmony?

It would take some work and the willingness of both parties to compromise to get the job done. At least this is the opinion of Ron Jagels, who conducted a traffic impact study for Horner and Shifrin, a company selected by the city of Cape and hired by Boyd Gaming Incorporated.

"I would say that some parts of Riverfest would probably have to be moved to different areas of town," said Jagels, who cited the heavy congestion of traffic by both operations as the reason for a change.

Riverfest, which attracts from 25,000 to 30,000 persons during the mid-June event, would require temporary re-routing of casino traffic to other local streets with the aid of signs and traffic police.

Future traffic volume projections, which base a riverboat conducting 2,000 excursions per year with an average of 430 passengers per excursion, show a casino drawing 2,500 passengers per day here.

Riverfest forces many street closures throughout the downtown area. Streets closed for the festival include Spanish Street (Independence to Broadway), Main Street (Merriwether to Broadway), Water Street (Merriwether to the casino site), Independence Street (Spanish to Water), Themis Street (Spanish to Water) and Broadway (Main to Water.)

Charlie Haubold, chairman of the Cape Planning and Zoning Commission, suggested to J. Michael Brady, who was representing Boyd Gaming at the most recent P&Z meeting, that there be a study made by Boyd Gaming during this year's Riverfest.

"Make a visit June 10-11 and take a camera with you," said Haubold. "Twenty-four pictures should give you all that you need to know."

The problem would also entail lack of space for Riverfest booths and patrons. "We block off all the streets, so that's not a parking problem," said Haubold. "But I don't know where all the booths would go once a casino is here."

The proposed riverboat casino and entertainment complex will be located on Main Street, north of Broadway in downtown Cape.

"We would have to take a closer look at it and determine what can be done," said Brady, who asked how many days Riverfest lasted. "Two days?" said Brady. "I'd say we'd have a 48-hour traffic problem."

Brady said Boyd Gaming could offer the shuttle buses it normally uses for casino patrons to work with Riverfest as a way to attract new customers.

"We could work with the Riverfest people and help people get to the event from different locations in the city," said Brady. "It would be a public relations effort that could work well for both Boyd Gaming and Riverfest."

That attitude is the very reason Riverfest President Peggy Barringer feels good about the possibiliity of both parties coming up with a solution.

"I would expect some changes would have to be made, but I have a good feeling about the folks involved with the Boyd Group," said Barringer. "They seem to be the kind of people who are willing to work with the community. The Riverfest board people are of the same ilk. I feel something can be worked out."

Barringer noted that even though Boyd will be unable to bring a pirate ship to this year's Riverfest, there is still a commitment to contribute to the two-day festival. "They're going to sponsor the Martina McBride concert," said Barringer. Barringer explained that the pirate ship, a wooden vessel, would be unable to reach Cape Girardeau from Texas because the Mississippi River is too high.

"When we realized that the original plan couldn't take place, Boyd was willing to work on something else to give their support," she said.

One of the recommendations by Horner and Shifrin would be to direct arriving vehicles for the casino to Sprigg Street, move them to North Street, Park Drive and on to Main Street.

Additional recommendations to improve access to the casino site during Riverfest include keeping Water Street open to one-way traffic northbound.

Incoming traffic can be directed from Sprigg Street to William Street, then to Water Street to reach the casino site. Vehicles leaving the casino could be directed to use North Street to reaach Park Drive and then move to Sprigg Street.

"The practicality of keeping Water Street open to traffic during the festival weekend will need to be decided by the city," said Jagels.