The lowdown on Kingshighway; hats off to mayors

Boy, talk about hitting a nerve.

Everyone -- and I mean everyone -- I've seen this past week has vented about traffic signals and intersections in Cape Girardeau where computerized, automated, camera-dependent lights actually snarl the flow on our streets (some of which are the city's responsibility and some of which are state routes).

If you don't have a favorite among the bungled mechanized traffic controls, it's because you have three, six or a dozen and can't pare the list down to just one.

Last week I opined this was the time to speak up and be heard. Officials are looking at ways to improve traffic flow on and across Kingshighway, the city's main north-south thoroughfare -- the only one that traverses the entire city system.

I'm not the only one who has had a torrent of feedback. I know some elected and hired folks have heard, too. Good. That's the way it should work.

I ran into our esteemed mayor, Harry Rediger, the other day, and he ribbed me a little by saying folks he had talked to about last week's column had concluded I should stick to writing about our fat, spoiled, lovable Missy Kitty. I pointed out he wasn't the first to make that suggestion.

Our mayor, I happen to know, talks to some of the top-drawer folks in our fair river city, and they have good opinions. So when they speak, I tend to listen.

But I need these helpful and opinionated citizens to know my own highly unscientific survey shows that more than nine out of 10 cat lovers think the experts who are in charge of signalized shepherding of automobiles through our streets and byways have really mucked it up. That's not criticism. It's fact.

I still have high hopes, with motorist participation, officials can develop traffic plans that work, or at least work better then what we live with now.

What are you going to do? Gripe over that endless caffeinated cup at your favorite coffee-drinking establishment? Or channel your suggestions and ideas to those who have some authority to take action?

Your choice. Just don't wait till all the decisions have been made. You know better than that.

The legacy of mayors

When my wife and I moved here nearly 25 years ago, Al Spradling III was just learning the ropes as Cape Girardeau's new mayor, a post he held -- and upheld -- at the highest level of both leadership and integrity.

Following Spradling was no easy act for anyone, but Jay Knudtson, guided the city through some mighty tricky territory -- in particular, smoothing the pathway to our university's outstanding River Campus.

After Knudtson came our current mayor, Harry Rediger, whose even-handed leadership has propelled the city upward several notches during his tenure.

You can see a pattern here. Each of the last three mayors has served two four-year terms before being term-limited out of the city's top elected position. There is, of course, a high expectation our soon-to-be-elected-because-he's unopposed new mayor, Bob Fox, will make his mark on city affairs in much the same positive and productive ways.

If we have gripes about city government in Cape Girardeau, they pale in comparison to so many other municipalities the same size, bigger and smaller.

Sometimes it's good to take a step back and reflect on our fair city and the many positive, forward-thinking endeavors undertaken here.

This is due to firm and fair elected leadership in our mayor and city council, the professionalism of the city's expert staff and the willingness of citizens of every stripe to give back by serving on the many city boards and commissions.

Mayor Rediger, thanks.

And thanks to everyone else who has contributed in ways large and small to making Cape Girardeau a city of progress and innovation

All of which means this: There is a solution to the Kingshighway mess. We just have to drill a little deeper than your average city.

Cape Girardeau isn't average, folks. Remember that.

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.