Progress for Red Star neighborhood

Cape Girardeau's Red Star neighborhood is set to receive free urban planning thanks to Benchmark Planning, a North Carolina-based organization that has an office in St. Louis after taking part in an application process.

As efforts to improve the area began a year and a half ago, this is good news and gives community leaders something to look forward to. Cape Girardeau Mayor Harry Rediger has pushed for this and is anticipating the benefits of the planning, as are Ryan Shrimplin, Cape Girardeau's city planner, and Jane O'Connell, secretary/treasurer, of the Red Star Neighborhood Revival organization.

Community members may take some convincing, however. "The biggest hurdle is getting people to believe this is for real. There is mistrust of government on a general level," Shrimplin said. But as the project progresses, that should be taken care of. "We are building trust," O'Connell told the Southeast Missourian's Mark Bliss.

Measures are taking place that will help build that trust. A door-to-door membership drive will show people that their voice matters, and the cleanup, which has already begun, should also show people that this is more than talk. "We definitely are moving forward," Shrimplin said.

Additionally, the city staff and neighborhood group members will meet with representatives of Benchmark on Oct. 10 for a tour. That tour will reveal vacant lots from past flood buyouts, which the city owns. Though there are restrictions on how these locations may be used, a park is a possibility. O'Connell, who describes herself as a lover of the outdoors, hopes the plans will involve improvements to an already-existent park, Cape Rock Park, including running electricity.

As Bliss reported, the organization's "charitable efforts focus on 'small-area planning, urban design, downtown development and economic-development projects.'" This means exciting possibilities are ahead for the Red Star neighborhood.