COUNCIL PROHIBITS PARKING AT SPRIGG-74

The city of Cape Girardeau will prohibit on-street parking along most of the 500 block of South Sprigg because of safety concerns tied to new Route 74.

The City Council voted 3-2 Monday night to allow continued parking along most of the east side of that block. But the majority vote wasn't enough; the measure failed because it didn't get the necessary four votes.

The council has seven members, but two of them -- councilmen Jack Rickard and Richard Eggimann -- were absent. Eggimann recently underwent quintuple heart bypass surgery. He was at home Monday recuperating.

Councilmen Melvin Gateley, Tom Neumeyer and J.J. Williamson voted to allow continued parking along most of the east side of the 500 block of South Sprigg. Mayor Al Spradling III and Councilman Melvin Kasten voted against the amendment.

The council did approve a minor change, slightly reducing the area along the west side of Sprigg where on-street parking will be banned.

The amended parking ban was approved on a 5-0 vote.

The new parking ban will take effect within 10 days.

Gateley said the city should look at uniform parking restrictions along Sprigg from Bertling to new Route 74 rather than focus on a single block.

Gateley said parking restrictions vary along Sprigg from Broadway to Morgan Oak.

Motorists can park on Sprigg within 35 feet of the southwest corner of the William Street intersection, Gateley said.

"Just to isolate one block is, to me, not reasonable," Gateley said.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Department had requested that on-street parking be removed along a large stretch of Sprigg between Jefferson and the recently opened new Route 74 intersection.

City staff also backed the move, despite objections from a number of South Sprigg Street residents who had signed a petition to retain on-street parking.

State highway officials said that allowing on-street parking near the intersection could result in alignment problems for the lanes of traffic at the new Route 74 intersection, creating a potential traffic hazard.

Eliminating on-street parking will provide for center turn lanes that will allow northbound and southbound traffic to continue through the intersection without being blocked by vehicles waiting to turn, city officials said.

They said on-street parking impedes traffic flow and increases the chance for accidents.

The new highway will eventually extend eastward to a new Mississippi River bridge that will be built. But construction hasn't started on the bridge and new Route 74 currently ends at Sprigg Street.

As a result, the traffic patterns don't warrant such parking restrictions, Gateley said.

The city's police and engineering departments said the parking ban would allow for more efficient snow removal, increased traffic flow at the intersection and make it safer for pedestrians crossing the street by eliminating sight obstructions.

Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. said the new highway will be heavily traveled by trucks. Eliminating on-street parking in the area would make it safer for trucks turning from the highway onto Sprigg.

Neumeyer said after the meeting that the parking ban would create problems for residents in the neighborhood who have limited driveway space.

Neumeyer suggested the council monitor the situation. He said he was uncertain if council members would seek another vote on the issue.