CITY TO EXAMINE TRAFFIC BEFORE RIVERBOAT VOTE

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. and City Engineer J. Kensey Russell are preparing a preliminary study on the impact riverboat gambling will have on the city's traffic.

But despite apprehension by some city council members, Boyd and City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said traffic matters likely will not affect the council's choice between the two gaming companies vying for a license to operate here.

"There certainly will be some changes in traffic patterns," said Boyd. "What the impact will be, we don't have any idea."

Councilman Melvin Gateley said last week that the Boyd Gaming Corporation's downtown riverboat site could add to traffic congestion on Broadway.

Boyd Gaming and its competitor for a gaming license in Cape Girardeau, Lady Luck Gaming Corp., both have agreed to fund a traffic study as part of their proposals.

But Gateley said the council should get some of the information before the council chooses a proposal.

"Rather than wait until we award a contract to have a feasibility study, it seems like some of these questions should be answered," he said. "We owe it to the citizens of this town to get the best possible package, and I think traffic is part of that."

Gateley said he believes there's less of a traffic concern with Lady Luck's proposed site, a 100-acre tract south of the downtown district.

The site would be accessible from the west via the William Street and new Highway 74 bridge route. The Boyd site, at the foot of Broadway, could add to an already congested street.

But Fischer said that although the new bridge route would be "ideal for Lady Luck," it won't be built for at least another five or six years.

He noted that the William Street route is four lanes only as far as Sprigg Street.

"I think whoever gets it will be responsible for upgrading William east of Sprigg Street," Fischer said. "Also, Lorimier will have to be upgraded off the new bridge route no matter which company gets it."

Fischer and Boyd conceded that Broadway would be ill-suited to carry riverboat traffic, particularly on weekends. But Fischer said there are other options for getting traffic to the foot of Broadway.

"When you think about Broadway and the heavy traffic on that street on Friday and Saturday night, it would be very difficult to cope with the added traffic a riverboat would bring," he said. "Especially if you think of any university event at the Show Me Center.

"But you've got Independence and William Street, which both can be upgraded to facilitate traffic flow, and you're going to have Lexington Avenue over to Big Bend Road and Sprigg Street, which will move a lot of traffic east and west in the city."

Last week, Gateley and Mayor Gene Rhodes suggested the possibility of making a section of Broadway one-way -- something that was tried, unsuccessfully, in the past.

"That was the first time I had heard that mentioned as an option," said Boyd. "We did that once before, and it was a real problem, because it had some impact on businesses along Broadway.

"If that was considered, those businesses will have to have a voice in that."

Boyd said that although traffic will increase with a riverboat, the crowds will be staggered in accordance with cruise times, which will be easier to manage. "We won't get the impact downtown of a Show Me Center crowd," he said.

The police chief said he and Russell will compile traffic options for a memorandum to council members.

"We're going to look at all the options, and all of these concerns will be addressed by the companies in a professionally prepared traffic study," he added.

Fischer said that traffic study, along with an infrastructure study, will be done before the city enters into a final agreement with either of the two gaming companies.

"Both the Boyd group and Lady Luck have agreed that whatever the independent engineering firm comes up with, they'll fund any item that's directly related to their proposal," Fischer said.

The city manager said he's confident that either company will address traffic problems identified in the study as part of their operating agreement with the city.

"I don't think traffic will be a deciding issue for determining which riverboat company will get the city's endorsement," Fischer said.