CITY, AMERENUE IN PROCESS OF IMPROVING STREET LIGHTING

Cape Girardeau motorists shouldn't be in the dark much longer while driving along city streets. The city and AmerenUE are in the process of upgrading street lights to make them brighter and burn more efficiently.

There are 2,100 street lights in Cape Girardeau, and all but 40 are maintained by AmerenUE. The city operates 40 street lights along Route K from Kingshighway to Interstate 55.

Operation of the lights maintained by AmerenUE is paid annually by the city. The cost, nearly $225,000, is the largest portion of the public works department street budget, said Doug Leslie, public works director.

Street lights in the southeast portions of the community already have been upgraded. The lights are being changed from a mercury-vapor type to a pressure-sodium bulb, he said.

A proposed extension of the Transportation Trust Fund tax would provide money to install street lights in cul-de-sacs, along major thoroughfares and in gaps around the city where blocks are without lighting.

The city's street light policy, which was adopted in 1987, does not allow for lights to be placed on dead-end streets, at alley entrances or private driveways or parking lots. Lights can be installed at least 300 feet apart and between 200 feet and 250 feet on hills or dangerous curves.

The proposed cost of added street lights is $3 million, to be funded over a five-year period as part of the Transportation Trust Fund.

The City Council has approved placing a TTF tax extension on the Aug. 8 ballot. However, that ordinance only calls for a five-year extension of the existing half-cent sales tax. It does not list specific projects and costs.

Yet, the Planning and Zoning Commission has made specific recommendations for 13 projects and several general improvements to the city's roads. Vision 2000 and the city hosted several public meetings in April to get residents' input on the tax extension proposal.

Few people attended those meetings, but those who did listed improving street lighting as the second-most important priority project, said Charles Haubold, chairman of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.

None of the proposed Transportation Trust Fund projects has been placed in ranked order for completion. Neither have specific projects to be funded by the tax extension been approved by the council.