Open house seeks public input for Sunshine Street corridor study

The city of Springfield is hosting an open house 6-8 p.m. Tuesday regarding the Sunshine Street corridor. The meeting will be at the Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church, 316 E. Sunshine St. A presentation on the study is slated for 6:30 p.m.

City officials say the study’s goal is to make the street safer, more attractive and better suited to the needs of its users, including drivers, walkers, bikers, businesses and residents. The project is being undertaken in coordination with the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive plan, which stresses streets’ value as shared public spaces.

The open house will gather feedback to guide possible future improvements with usability and safety in mind, according to a city news release. The study covers 3.1 miles of the corridor, from Glenstone Avenue to Kansas Expressway.

The cost of the study is $702,000, and it is partly funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and the city’s quarter-cent sales tax for capital improvements. Springfield-based Crawford, Murphy & Tilly Inc. was hired to conduct the study.

The study is being guided by a technical advisory team, composed of engineers and transportation experts, and a community advisory team, made up of residents, business owners and service organizations, according to the release.

Brett Foster, Springfield’s assistant director of public works, called Sunshine one of Springfield’s busiest and most complicated streets in the release.

“It’s a key route connecting economic centers and commuters, and it also supports our neighborhoods and schools,” Foster said. “This study will help us understand how to make Sunshine function better and safer for years to come.”

The results of the study are anticipated in early 2026.

One of the city’s most talked-about development efforts is a proposed commercial center at the northwest corner of Sunshine Street and National Avenue –  a site that is still undeveloped as a case regarding its use is being appealed.

Another debated development was at the corner of Sunshine Street and Jefferson Avenue, where a 7Brew Coffee has since been developed.

In January 2023, Springfield City Council voted down an ordinance that would have put a 210-day pause on development along the route pending a study.

On the east side of Glenstone Avenue, businesses along Sunshine Street east of Glenstone Avenue to U.S. Highway 65 weighed in on safety improvements proposed by the Missouri Department of Transportation in 2023. Many objected to medians that would restrict access to some businesses. A plan that eliminates some of the originally proposed medians was released in December of that year by MoDOT, according to past SBJ reporting, which notes that many of the proposed medians remain.

A spokesperson for MoDOT in Greene County told SBJ today the project has been pushed back and does not have a target date.