BUSINESS OWNERS HOPE WALNUT CAN BE PAVED

No one knows much about the origins of the street, but one thing city officials do know is that Walnut Street is falling apart.

Situated between Commercial street and South Kingshighway, a 300-foot stretch of road is causing major problems for two businesses.

Cape Girardeau City Councilman Frank Stoffregen called it "the sorriest road in this town by far."

The road itself is practically a dirt road. Only two businesses operate on the street: Motorsports Unlimited and Gary's Car and Truck Sales.

Both businesses sell cars that get covered with dust from the road every day and frequently need to be cleaned to entice sales.

"On a good, dry day, it's like they're out there with a mosquito fogger," said Al Bisher, co-owner of Motorsports Unlimited. "It's that bad."

Both Gary Garner, owner of Gary's Car and Truck Sales, and Bisher have agreed to pay to pave the road. But no one seems to know who built the road, and because its origin is unknown, no one knows who is responsible for maintaining it.

"I don't even know how it got the name Walnut," said Cape Girardeau city engineer Mark Lester.

Lester said the street showed up on a map in 1959, but there are no records of who built the road and why.

Right now there are no residents along the street, which means it is considered a commercial street and the businesses must share the cost of paving.

Under normal circumstances, this would not be a problem because there usually are multiple businesses that can share the cost.

"Most people only own about 80 feet," Garner said. "But he (Bisher) and I own the whole 300 feet."

This means the cost must be split two ways rather than shared among several businesses.

To pave the street with concrete would cost about $55,000, which Garner and Bisher said they can't afford. They are willing to pay for asphalt, which would cost about $14,000 for a six-inch pavement.

If the city were to eliminate truck traffic, the street could be fixed with four inches of asphalt, which would cost about $10,000.

Under city ordinances, a commercial street must be 40 feet wide. This allows for two lanes of traffic and parking on each side.

Lester said he is not so much concerned about the width of the street as he is about the thickness of the street.

"If we are going to build a street, let's do it right," Lester said.

He said once the street is paved, it is the responsibility of the city to maintain it, and the cost would go up if the road was not built well. Lester said a seven-inch street would handle truck traffic.

Ryder Student Transportation is on Commercial Street, and bus drivers use Walnut as a way to get onto Kingshighway.

Vince Bowman, safety coordinator for Ryder Student Transportation, said safety is an issue because Commercial Street is so narrow that it is dangerous if two buses cross paths.

Bowman said he wants to keep the street open for truck traffic. A four-inch street would wear out faster with the bus traffic.

Both Garner and Bisher are meeting with Lester today to get some resolution to the issue. All three agree that the street does not need to be as wide as the city requires but the thickness of the asphalt is still a point of negotiation.

Before the width can be changed, there has to be some action by the City Council.

"I've got certain things I have to follow --- basically the city ordinances," Lester said. "If I do anything less than that, the City Council has to act on that."