New policy seeks to make Cape streets more pedestrian, bike friendly

A policy passed by the Cape Girardeau City Council last week represents a new push by city officials to make streets more user-friendly for pedestrians and vehicles alike.

The Complete Streets Policy, passed with unanimous council support, requires city staff take additional care moving forward to ensure bike and walking paths are part of all street-building projects.

In an email last week, Alex McElroy, director of development services for the city, said the new policy �is an effort to enhance the support for providing transportation options to travelers within the city.�

The term �complete street� refers to one designed to accommodate safe and efficient travel by car, bicycle or on foot; a standard not all Cape Girardeau streets currently meet. The new policy does not replace any existing street policies, McElroy said, but rather serves to establish an additional level of consideration when building new roads or updating existing ones.

�The city has design standards and specifications for all streets and sidewalks constructed in city limits,� McElroy said. �The city is also required by the Americans with Disabilities Act to accommodate pedestrian infrastructure to certain design specifications, e.g. sidewalks may not have a cross slope greater than 2 percent, truncated domes must be installed on sidewalks leading to intersections, etc.�

But while those existing regulations are focused primarily on safety, the push to prioritize so-called complete streets is about bettering quality of life for city residents.

McElroy said the policy was designed at the suggestion of Mayor Bob Fox, who said the city ought to show more support for alternative transportation methods.

Fox spoke about the importance of emphasizing such quality-of-life considerations during the council�s meeting Thursday night, saying while local businesses continue to create job opportunities, attracting and retaining employees often involves making Cape Girardeau a safe and engaging place to live.

McElroy said the policy would not result in immediate changes to any projects already underway but would apply to any efforts to renovate existing roads.

In a separate but related presentation during the council meeting Thursday, McElroy also outlined several other proposals to alter municipal policy to empower staff to take direct action in certain frequently-seen �common-sense� situations in which committee or council oversight can cause unnecessary delays for residents and business owners.

Of the several examples cited by McElroy, one in particular would also enhance alternative transportation infrastructure by allowing restaurants to obtain permission to install bike racks in their parking lots without undergoing a perfunctory approval process.

But those proposals, McElroy said, were only suggestions at this time, as city attorney Eric Cunningham had not had the opportunity to thoroughly discuss them.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573)388-3627