Our Opinion: Cape street projects proposal thoughtful, practical

At a time when many Americans say they are keenly budget-conscious, the City of Cape Girardeau’s proposed next iteration of its street-funding plan focuses on refurbishing the existing grid rather than adding to it.

City Council members listened to a presentation Monday, Dec. 2, explaining the project list for Transportation Trust Fund 7. Once council members finalize the list, they will place the matter before voters in April.

Begun in 1995, “TTF”, as officials refer to the program, consists of a voter-approved half-cent sales tax that constructs and maintains streets, sidewalks and streetscapes. Six times voters have supported the important funding mechanism.

The program’s early focus was expanding the street grid and eliminating gravel roads in the city limits. Lighting and sidewalks became a focus of later five-year plans. Most recently, TTF funds have gone toward maintenance and reconstruction.

All of the proposed projects in TTF 7 are reconstruction/rehabilitation projects, with no new construction included.

Included in the five-year plan are asphalt maintenance and overlay ($3 million), concrete repair ($7.25 million) and streetscape/sidewalk ($1.25 million).

Specific street projects are Mount Auburn Road from Hopper Road to Independence Street ($5.5 million), Perryville Road from Cape Rock Drive to Perry Avenue ($3.5 million) and South Sprigg Street from William Street to Highway 74 ($4.5 million). Alternate street projects are Mount Auburn Road from North Kingshighway to Hopper Road ($3.5 million) and William Street from Sheridan Drive to South West End Boulevard ($4 million).

The plan, as is customary, reserves $2 million for safety improvements and unexpected costs.

While there are areas of the city that would benefit from new roadways, it’s difficult to lobby for such construction when many existing streets need repairs/reconstruction.

We applaud the TTF 7 committee — chaired by local businessman Jeff Maurer and consisting of a dozen community members from a wide array of perspectives — for their work in soliciting public input and developing the plan. The full committee: Jeff Maurer, Trae Bertrand, Scott Blank, Tamara Zellars-Buck, Shad Burner, Brock Freeman, Gerry Jones, Nick Martin, Sommer McCauley-Perdue, Mike Peters, the late Harry Rediger and Joe Uzoaru.

We encourage voters to study the proposal ahead of the April vote. The Transportation Trust Fund is a vital mechanism for improving, developing and maintaining our local streets.