CHAMBER SEEKS 5 LANES ON MOUNT AUBURN

A committee of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce wants to see five lanes for traffic on Mount Auburn Road from William Street to North Kingshighway. Although the city has limited improvements in the works, there are no immediate plans to widen the road and add a center turn lane.

The chamber would like to see Mount Auburn Road widened since it provides a vital link from the city's north side to the retail area and new schools on the western portion of the city.

Members of the chamber's transportation committee believe that Cape Girardeau should be building city streets that can accommodate the amount of traffic that moves through a regional hub, which is why Mount Auburn Road needs to be widened.

The chamber office is located on North Mount Auburn Road.

The chamber also wants improvements to the intersection at William Street, but those improvements are the responsibility of the Missouri Department of Transportation since William Street (Route K) is maintained by the state.

As a hub for retail, educational and health care services, Cape Girardeau should be taking the lead in development, says John Mehner, chamber president and CEO.

Current city plans only call for widening Mount Auburn Road by 5.5 feet from Independence to William Street to build four, standard 12-foot-wide lanes for traffic. A traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of Mount Auburn Road and Independence.

The widening work and traffic signal are part of the current Transportation Trust Fund program and would match the road's width on the segment from William Street to Bloomfield Road.

The chamber committee thinks the city should consider creating a fifth lane for traffic before the widening work is completed.

Mehner said it only makes sense to do all the work at once, and the expense would be less now than later. However, issues about right-of-way would still have to be addressed.

He wrote a letter to Mayor Al Spradling in February outlining the chamber's support for widening the road. Another letter to the council and planning commission is expected in the coming week.

The chamber wants to remind city leaders about the importance of widening Mount Auburn Road since the city's planning and zoning commission recommended Wednesday that Mount Auburn Road from Independence to North Kingshighway be painted for four lanes.

The recommendation now heads to the city council for approval. It should be considered by the council in the coming month.

The city should try to make moving around Cape Girardeau easier for visitors because "the easier it is to get around, the more time they will spend and more time means more money at retailers and using our services," Mehner said.

People have to wait a long time to pull onto Mount Auburn from the residential side streets. Other people drive too close to the center lane to avoid mailboxes and residential driveways on the segment north of Independence down to Kingshighway, Mehner said.

Widening the road isn't a new topic for the city, nor are complaints about its heavy traffic. "This project has had a checkered past," said Bratton.

Yet Mount Auburn Road was expected to carry heavy volumes of traffic. It was built as a secondary arterial street, according to the city's major streets plan, and handles traffic from local and collector streets.

While Mount Auburn Road is heavily traveled, police have recorded only 43 accidents since January, said Corporal Kevin Eudy of the police department's traffic division.

Traffic counts, the number of accidents on a road and the number of "conflicts" or points where cars slow down on a street to stop for other vehicles or pedestrians are all considered when looking at proposed improvements to a city street, said City Engineer Mark Lester.

Traffic counts

Counts were taken by city engineers for an average weekday and include two-way traffic numbers during a 24-hour period.

Mount Auburn from Highway 74 north to Bloomfield Road intersection:

1,746 vehicles.

Mount Auburn Road from north side of Bloomfield to Route K:

7,520 vehicles.

Mount Auburn Road from Percy Street to Independence Street:

16,150 vehicles.

Mount Auburn Road from Independence Street to Collins Street:

13,392 vehicles.

Mount Auburn road from Kage Road to North Kingshighway:

14,590 vehicles.

Source: City engineering department