Victor Hugo once wrote, “All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come.”
Fifteen years ago, Missouri State University was boxed in by historic Walnut Street to the north, Rountree neighborhood to the east, and Phelps Grove to the south. Rather than dwelling on where it couldn’t expand, university officials focused on opportunities created by the Missouri historic tax credits, a burgeoning arts scene, widespread community support in Vision 20/20, and a visionary group of developers and civic leaders. The institutional investment fueled hundreds of millions of dollars in downtown revitalization.
City Utilities has been just as persistent for the location of its new bus transfer station, even after six years of doors shutting abruptly on the north, east and south quadrants of downtown.
The final stop, in my opinion, is the west-side intersection of College Street and Main Avenue. The university created a bold vision for its western expansion, and CU should follow that example.
Despite some noteworthy projects, the two-block area on West College is still relatively stagnant with large vacant lots, a storefront that has been on the market for several years, and underutilized properties on the south side of the street.
A grid system would be so much more convenient than a transfer station. Light rail service such as the Metro that runs in Washington, D.C., sure would be nice. Our downtown should have a free shuttle service similar to the 16th Street Mall in Denver.
Sorry, those are my pipe dreams. The simple truth is Springfield doesn’t have the concentration of employment and housing to justify any of these multimillion-dollar investments. A population of 160,000 (about 2,100 people per square mile) combined with a Midwestern love affair with cars, manageable average commutes of 22 minutes, and an aversion to walking more than a block has produced a culture of vehicular dependence.
But the need is here.
Gas prices are approaching $4 a gallon, and they show no signs of easing. Fuel costs are driving users to consider alternative transportation on the heels of strained pocketbooks from the Great Recession. Is the gas pump really where people want to spend their hard-earned wages?
The Federal Transit Administration has been surprisingly patient with its $3.1 million in grants – the first of which was awarded six years ago – earmarked for Springfield’s new bus transfer station. In an era of deficit reduction, these funds won’t be available indefinitely. Springfield needs to use these funds or release them to another community.
The Springfield metropolitan statistical area continues to grow at a 2 percent clip. Higher gas prices, young professionals who have grown up frequenting center city, and ongoing community investments in urban amenities such as The Link and West Meadows will increase the area’s population density over time.
The neighborhood of the proposed College and Main bus transfer station offers the most compelling demographics to date – a population density of 4,100 people per square mile, 30 percent of workers who use alternative transportation (compared to 20 percent for the entire city), and a West Central neighborhood that is eager for new investment.
Objections to previous sites have centered on the transfer station’s potential to deter nearby development. However, recent visits to comparable projects in Little Rock, Ark., Tulsa, Okla., and Grand Rapids, Mich., showed city leaders that good designs allow transfer stations to serve as positives to their downtowns.
The new Springfield station should not only be a transportation hub but also a catalyst with new storefronts on the north side of College; work force and multifamily housing across the street; and a well-defined linkage with the West Meadows greenway.
The project is an investment for the entire community and should have many public and private partners to help and challenge City Utilities to bring Springfield’s public transportation facilities into the 21st century.
The time has come to capitalize on today’s opportunities to bring more enjoyable density and inspirational design to downtown’s west end at College and Main.
Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.
