City draws alternative plans for Fountain Street extension

~ The new idea is to connect it north with William Street.

Cape Girardeau is moving forward on a plan to extend Fountain Street, but city officials are not certain whether the improvements will resemble the ones already made to the stretch of the street south of Morgan Oak Street.

The city planner's office has released a preliminary drawing of the extension of Fountain Street that will connect it north with William Street. The plan calls for paved stone, ornamental lighting, a central median and a roundabout at the intersection of Morgan Oak Street and Fountain.

This style is consistent with the "beautification" improvements made to Fountain between Highway 74 and Morgan Oak.

The roundabout, said officials, is the safest and most cost effective method to intersect with Morgan Oak. "This is not an intersection you would want to do with a stoplight," said city engineer Jay Stencel. "Because of the uneven alignment of Morgan Oak on the east side and west side of Fountain, you would end up with a big dog-leg in the road. This would be similar to what you have now at the intersection of Mt. Auburn and Independence."

Stencel insists that this roundabout will be easy to navigate. It would be 130 feet in diameter, he said. The driving lanes would be 24 feet wide with an inner ring approximately 12 feet in width that would be mountable for vehicles with a large turning radius.

Without the roundabout the city most likely would be forced to acquire the property where the Jaspers gas station is now located, Stencel said.

City planner Kent Bratton hopes to have the drawings, which already have approved by the planning and zoning commission, ready for final city council approval by mid-March or April. Bratton said construction could begin early next year.

The drawings were made by Poplar Bluff-based Smith and Co. engineers.

Funding for the extension is not sewn up. Three-hundred thousand dollars for the improvements will come from Transportation Trust Fund 3 money approved by voters last August. An additional $500,000 has been secured through federal earmarks. But that total is still short of the project's projected cost.

Tim Arbeiter of Old Town Cape said his organization will work with the city to write an application to the Missouri Department of Transportation requesting an additional $300,000 in enhancement funds. The majority of that money would go towards ornamental lighting and other "beautification" improvements.

"The intention of this is the overall beautification of the area, so we want the extension to be pavered, lighted and tree-lined. This will provide an overall visual confirmation for the driver [looking for downtown] that there is something that way," said Arbeiter. "It would also encourage some unique development in the Good Hope area and give it a visual historic feel and look, the unique look that makes the downtown feel different."

Some people aren't so sure it's worth the extra cost. Bill Hinckley and other planning and zoning commissioners have expressed concern over the cost.

"My concern is with the boulevard-style street," said Hinckley. "I was just worried about the need for continuing it on with the pavers. I wanted to see the cost estimate of that. I still think that when you look at these things you've got to see whether or not the money is wisely spent...I'm not sure it requires all that money to do that."

The hope is that Fountain will eventually become the main route used by motorists coming from the Emerson Bridge and Highway 74 to get downtown.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245