City to fill gaps in sidewalks in several neighborhoods

Cape Girardeau will use the bulk of its remaining sidewalk money from the Transportation Trust Fund 2 to fill sidewalk gaps in four areas.

The project, estimated at $250,000, will fill gaps in Forest Hills Subdivision, along Cape Rock Drive, Themis Street and Hawthorne Road.

When all is said and done, the undertaking will add 1.5 miles of ADA-compliant walkways to the city.

A meeting is scheduled for public comment from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Osage Community Centre.

City engineer Jay Stencel said the projects were selected to maximize connectivity.

For example, the new sidewalks along Themis Street between Mount Auburn Road and East Rodney Drive will open up much more of the city to pedestrians. East Rodney connects to the nearby recreational trail in Arena Park. In the other direction, once widening is complete on Mount Auburn Road in November it will also have newly installed sidewalks.

Stencel believes sidewalks are badly needed in that area. "Themis is a very high-density area. It's mainly duplexes and apartments, so there are what look like cow paths in the grass from all the foot traffic," he said.

Project manager Ty Gramling said safety is a big concern. "Especially at places like the intersection of Silver Springs and Themis, you see moms pushing strollers and people walking to take clothes to the laundry," he said. "We want to get people out of the streets and eliminate the possibility of someone getting hit."

The section of Hawthorne Road set to be fitted with sidewalks will be important for children walking to Clippard Elementary at 2880 Hopper Road. Stencel says because of complications the city is unable to run sidewalks along the length of Hopper Road, but were able to extend the sidewalks from East Rodney up to the 8-foot-wide Arena Park recreational trail.

"It's always a connection with something; that's our main goal with these," he said.

Stencel believes recent changes to the city's sidewalk ordinance will eliminate the need to fill in sidewalk gaps in subdivisions like Forest Hills. Developers are now forced to prove to city hall that they will install sidewalks.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245