Lexington Trace to extend Cape's trails

Cape Girardeau's newest sidewalk will have a fancy name -- Lexington Trace -- and double as a recreation path that will connect to the city's heavily used Cape LaCroix Recreation Trail. But more than anything else it will provide a safer route for pedestrians -- particularly children -- keeping them out of the driving lanes on busy Lexington Avenue and parts of North Sprigg Street, Perryville Road and Bertling Street, city officials say.

The city council awarded a contract to Lappe Cement Finishing Inc. of Perryville, Mo., for the $398,528 project on Aug. 16. The work will involve construction of 4.9 miles of sidewalks that will more than double the length of the city's trail system, said Dan Muser, Cape Girardeau's parks and recreation director.

But serious walkers and bicyclists say Lexington Trace shouldn't be confused with a recreational trail. The sidewalk will be 6 feet wide from Route W to Perryville Road, but the rest of the concrete path will be only 4 feet wide, the width of a regular sidewalk.

The city's asphalt trail, in contrast, is 8 feet wide in most places and in some places is 10 feet wide, Muser said.

Bicyclist Judy Cureton of Cape Girardeau said she and other serious bicyclists will still prefer riding in the streets. A wide street like Lexington is a better route to travel than a narrow sidewalk, she said. "We don't have to dodge pedestrians."

Any path less than 8-feet wide isn't a trail, she said. "You will have some subdivision cyclists ride on it, but that will be all."

Construction could start by late September and is expected to be completed by next summer, city engineer Mark Lester said. "This is actually a good winter project," he said, adding that concrete can be poured during much of the winter in Southeast Missouri.

Concrete can be poured at temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit. The city won't allow pouring at colder temperatures because the concrete won't set up properly.

The pedestrian path will run along the north side of Lexington Avenue from Route W to Sprigg Street. It also will include sidewalks on parts of Perryville Road and North Sprigg Street (see map).

The sidewalk will run on the west side of Perryville Road northward from Lexington Avenue to the existing sidewalk. South of the Lexington intersection, the sidewalk will run along the east side of Perryville Road ending at Cape Rock Drive. On Sprigg Street, the sidewalk will be built along the west side of the road from Lexington to just south of Bertling, where it will connect with an existing sidewalk. The sidewalk also will extend a short distance west on the south side of Bertling by the Southeast Missouri State University recreation fields.

Federal funding through the Missouri Department of Transportation will pay 80 percent of the cost. The city will pay the other 20 percent.

When the trail is completed, pedestrians could walk all the way from Shawnee Park to Kiwanis Park and on Sprigg Street to Cape Girardeau's downtown, city officials said.

Mayor Jay Knudtson said Lexington Trace is another step in the city's efforts to extend sidewalks throughout the community.

"We are trying to connect the dots, if you will," he said.

Some bicyclists have told him they feel uneasy trying to share the roadway with cars and trucks on some of the city's major thoroughfares.

Children who live in residential neighborhoods along Lexington Street currently can't ride their bicycles or walk to Kiwanis Park without getting in the roadway.

Knudtson said the project should help improve safety more than serve as a recreational trail.

Cape Girardeau residents Mary Green and Barbara Miller walk on the recreational trail three mornings a week.

Green and Miller said they'll stick to the existing trail. But the new sidewalks should make it safer for residents who live in the northside neighborhoods to get out and exercise, they said.

"I think runners will use it," said Miller.

Green said the sidewalk will provide a way for nearby residents to reach the walking trail easily by foot or on bicycle, something that heavy traffic on Lexington Avenue now makes difficult.

Gordonville-area resident Larry Cleair, president of the Velo Cape Girardeau bicycle club, said Lexington Trace will provide a safer path for children who are just learning to ride.

"The big advantage is for young riders," he said. "Parents don't want them in that kind of traffic."

"For anyone who does any real bicycling, they are not going to use it," said Cleair, who has bicycled on Lexington Avenue many times.

The sidewalk also will extend along Sprigg Street, providing pedestrian access to Blanchard Elementary School. It won't be heavily used at first.

"We don't have a lot of walkers. Most of our students ride buses," said school principal Dr. Barbara Kohlfeld.

But she worries about those children who do walk along busy Sprigg Street. With new homes being built in the area, Kohlfeld said more children may be walking to the elementary school in the future.

"The neighborhood is still developing," she said.

Besides safety, sidewalks also encourage recreational walking, Kohlfeld said.

Aesthetically, it also makes for a more inviting area, she said. "I think sidewalks always give a neighborhood a homier and more welcoming look."

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123