P&Z committee reviews plan to make Main two-way street

Cape Girardeau's Main Street should be changed to allow two-way traffic, a city planning committee urged Wednesday night.

The group, headed by planning and zoning commission chairman Skip Smallwood, includes three members of the commission and three downtown business owners.

Smallwood said the group plans to make a final recommendation as to Main Street traffic flow when it meets May 4. The recommendation then will be presented to the full planning and zoning commission on May 11.

Final approval rests with the city council.

Committee member and downtown jeweler Kent Zickfield said changing Main Street to two ways from Broadway to William Street still would allow customers to enter the downtown from Broadway. It also would allow traffic from the new Mississippi River bridge to enter the downtown from the south end, he said.

"The only thing I care about is what is convenient for customers," he said.

The committee said that the city needs to designate parking zones for delivery trucks and make improvements to the downtown parking lot south of Independence Street if Main Street is to be made two ways.

The committee said it makes sense to make Main Street two ways now that Water Street is going to become a one-way street.

Current plans call for making Water Street one way southbound from Broadway to Independence Street.

City officials said construction will begin soon on improvements to Water Street, including a wider sidewalk with paving stones, angled parking and a reading rail and information signs about the events depicted on the adjacent floodwall mural.

The Water Street improvements are scheduled to be completed by the July 4 holiday, officials said.