CITY'S STREETS ON TRACK; PLANNER SEES FUTURE GROWTH IN NORTH END

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The city's Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday reviewed the 1990 citywide traffic counts released recently by the state Highway and Transportation Department.

Generally, the counts indicate the city's planning department is on track with its long- and short-range street plans, commissioners said.

H.E. "Bob" Sfreddo and Jerry Masterson, District 10 engineers for the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department, also attended Tuesday's meeting at the A.C. Brase Arena Building here.

City Planner Kent Bratton said the traffic counts reflect recent development in southeastern, western and northern sections of the city. "The numbers indicate the priorities we're developing are pretty well on-line," Bratton said.

The city planner said keys to future development in the city are in the north end where the Lexington arterial project is being built, a northern extension of Sprigg Street to Lexington is planned, and improvements are proposed for Perryville Road.

"Sprigg Street, Lexington and Perryville are all in the five-year capital improvements plan," Bratton said. "Once that's completed, then everyone else can come to it with development."

Bratton said the same holds true for the southern and southeastern portions of Cape Girardeau, where development should correspond with the construction of a new Mississippi River bridge route that's expected to be completed in five to six years.

Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission said proposed extensions of Mount Auburn Road, Silver Springs Road and Siemers Drive to the new bridge route should generate additional commercial development in the southeastern section of the city.

Sfreddo said the traffic counts show that Cape Girardeau is "doing a good job" in promoting itself as a regional retail, education and medical center. "You're doing a good job on that," he said. "There's no two ways about it."

Sfreddo also said he thought the city's master street plan, drafted this year, reflects well the growth and development patterns since the last citywide traffic counts were taken in 1986.

"I think you've got a good five-year plan," he said. "You've got a pretty all-encompassing plan that has major arterial highways serving all parts of your community."

One problem Sfreddo identified is the increased traffic on the city's east side from trucks transporting goods from Illinois to the Procter and Gamble industrial area north of Cape Girardeau. The truck route now takes vehicles west on Spanish Street where trucks must make 90-degree turns onto Broadway, North Main and Highway 177.

Trucks also must negotiate an "S" curve in North Main at the site of the Florsheim shoe factory that was razed last year. City officials have said they plan to straighten the curve now that the site is cleared.

Bratton said the city might consider widening Sprigg Street and extending it north past Lexington to connect with 177. He said another option would be to keep truck traffic on the existing truck route and hope to relieve automobile traffic with the Sprigg Street extension.

"If you make the northern connection (of Sprigg Street to 177), you're probably going to have to look at widening Sprigg to the south," Bratton said. "That's going to be a tough cookie."

But Commissioner Harry Rediger said something needs to be done to help alleviate the traffic problems on the Highway 177 route through the city. He said the problems likely will increase as the industrial area near the Procter and Gamble plant continues to expand.

"With all the expected growth at (Procter and Gamble) and with Lexington coming through, it just seems a natural to deal with some of the traffic up there," Rediger said.

"There's going to be more north-south traffic on the east end of town. You're going to have to spend your money on one of them (177 or Sprigg Street)."

Sfreddo and Masterson also compared 1986 and 1990 average daily traffic counts in areas where street improvements have been made. Traffic counts increased about 20 percent where improvements were made on Kingshighway between Route K to Independence and on Route K, west of Mount Auburn Road to the Interstate 55 interchange.

The heaviest 1990 counts were found on Kingshighway north of Route K; Route K (William Street), between I-55 and Sprigg; Broadway, between Kingshighway and Sprigg; and Independence, between East Rodney and West End Boulevard.