City staff working to improve access to parking in downtown Cape Girardeau say the first of several lot-sharing agreements with property owners is now finalized, while other plans to reduce the effect of taking away parking on the street during the Broadway corridor project are moving forward.

An agreement between the city and Trinity Lutheran Church will result in construction of a public lot to provide 47 spaces in Broadway's 500 block, according to city engineer Casey Brunke. A condemned building owned by the church was demolished in December. Completion of the $4.5 million Broadway corridor project, which features a new street surface with decorative brick, a 15-foot wide promenade sidewalk, lighting and landscaping, caused about 65 parking spaces to be eliminated completely on the street's north side for sidewalks and some on the street's south side for enhancements. Limited access to parking in the area has since been a chief complaint for some business owners, their customers and residents. Some business owners complained of the lack of a plan to replace the eliminated space, but city staff have since promised to work on the issue.

Brunke previously said when the city is finished working out agreements with property owners and finding other solutions that there should actually be more parking available in the area than before the project. As of Friday, the city had no other lot-sharing agreements in place, Brunke said. The city has, however, identified at least six other areas for potential agreements, according to city manager Scott Meyer.

More parking space closer to the river will also become available sometime next year when the city tears down the currently empty former Convention and Visitors Bureau building on the northwest corner of Broadway and Main Street. Assistant city manager Kelly Green said demolishing the building is part of the city's list of capital improvement projects that will be funded with $2.2 million of the approximately $3 million the city anticipates it will receive in the next year as tax revenue from Isle Casino Cape Girardeau. An estimated $125,000 will be spent to remove the building, and another $750,000 is slated to go toward designing and upgrading parking along Broadway. The amount designated for adding parking is the highest amount for any single area on the city's capital improvement project list, which includes 14 projects in areas like economic development, safety/emergency, improved visibility and quality of life and history that the city has picked to begin in the next year.

The casino and the city also have an agreement in place to provide signage that would help direct people to public parking, attractions, institutions and parks.

Dru Reeves, co-owner of Horizon Screenprinting at 430 Broadway, said the block that contains his business is in a better position with off-street parking than the other blocks on the corridor development, but he also knows people are only willing to park and walk so far in order to patronize a business. Still, he said, as businesses develop downtown, "attitudes will change and folks will eventually adapt in time."

"We have gotten many positive comments from customers concerning the improved appearance, but still hear complaints about the parking situation from time to time," he said.

Reeves said he thinks the agreement between the church and the city and tearing down the old CVB building will also drastically help the parking situation on the 200 through 500 blocks of Broadway.

He also likes what he sees from the city with the commitment to spend on capital improvements to include parking improvements. He said part of a long-term plan should also include some type of parking garage structures in multiple locations.

City officials will celebrate the completion of the corridor project at 9 a.m. Wednesday with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Broadway between Middle and Fountain streets. Brunke called the project "95 percent complete" as of Friday. The city's parks and recreation employees still have to install benches, bicycle racks and trash receptacles in the coming weeks.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

Broadway and North Middle Street, Cape Girardeau, MO

Broadway and North Main Street, Cape Girardeau, MO