Council considers $1M in streetscape projects

At Monday night’s meeting, Springfield City Council considered reallocating approximately $1.06 million in Missouri Department of Transportation grant money to update center city streets.

Members heard five bills – one of which was up for an emergency vote last night – that would allow the city to enter an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission in order to redirect grant money originally intended for the Jordan Valley Car Park to several streetscape projects in downtown Springfield.

In September 2008, the city sold the car park and adjacent property to Springfield developer John Q. Hammons for $7 million. Because the completed project is now owned privately, the $1.06 million in grant money has to be earmarked for a public transportation project, said Martin Gugel, co-interim traffic engineer for the city.  

“Basically, we were able to take those dollars that had already been spent downtown and put them somewhere else downtown,” Gugel said.

If the bills are approved, the MoDOT grant would be used to replace old sidewalks, add lighting, bring sidewalks and crosswalks up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards, and address storm-water and utility issues within center city.

Council will vote on bills addressing four projects – Campbell Avenue South, Boonville Phase 4, College Station Phase 4 and Walnut Street Phase 3 – at its May 17 meeting. A bill related to another streetscape project – Park Central East and West – was declared an emergency and approved during Monday night’s meeting. That allows the project to be placed on the state commission's June meeting agenda.

“We want to let this project at the same time as the inner square renovations,” Gugel said, adding that the city intends to hire one general contractor for the streetscape and square improvements. “Having one general contractor will just help things go smoother.”