WEST SIDE TRAFFIC INCREASES

~Correction: The graphic that appeared on the front page of Thursday's Southeast Missourian listed traffic counts for the entire length of the streets. The story referred to traffic counts along specific street blocks.

The percent of change on the Kingshighway traffic count was incorrect in the graphic. The traffic had increased from 18,340 in 1986 to 25,550 in 1990, reflecting a 39 percent increase. (CLARIFICATION RAN 3-29-91, PAGE 4A)

CAPE GIRARDEAU Comparisons between just-released 1990 citywide traffic counts and counts tallied in 1986 show the most dramatic traffic increases occurred on the city's west and southwest sides.

City Planner Kent Bratton said Wednesday that commercial development in those areas of the city is likely one reason for increased traffic. He said that in the past few years, the city has worked to anticipate and respond to changing traffic patterns by rearranging priorities regarding street projects.

"The bulk of the internal street improvements over the past few years have been made in the southwest and west end of the city," Bratton said.

The Missouri Highway and Transportation Department compiled the latest traffic counts last December. City officials will use the counts to help draft long- and short-range street plans.

Bratton said one street that showed a huge increase in average daily traffic was Bloomfield Road, between Kingshighway and Interstate 55. The street saw average daily traffic increase 42.7 percent, from 3,890 in 1986 to 6,790 in 1990.

Similar increases were recorded on Silver Springs Road between Route K and Bloomfield (38.6 percent); Independence between Kingshighway and Gordonville Road (31.2 percent); Mount Auburn between Route K and Bloomfield Road (28.8 percent), and Mount Auburn between Independence and Hopper (25.5 percent).

The Bloomfield and Silver Springs areas are in southwestern Cape Girardeau, and the Independence and Mount Auburn areas are on the west side of the city.

Traffic counts on other sections of Bloomfield, east of Kingshighway, also increased 19-30 percent since 1986.

Bratton said Bloomfield is not able to adequately handle large volumes of traffic. He said if counts continue to increase, the city will be forced to make costly improvements on the street.

The city's five-year capital improvements plan was altered to include an engineering study of Bloomfield improvements west of Kingshighway, Bratton said.

"Everyone was generally aware that it was happening," Bratton said of the increased traffic counts. "We'd seen a shift there, so we moved up that improvement project as a priority and we will be doing the engineering for that this year.

"The whole area to the southwest in the Broadview and Bloomfield area, I think there's a lot of increased business traffic with the new development there," he added.

"But that's one street we don't like to see increased traffic on."

Bratton said increased counts on Independence Street near Kingshighway might be attributable to construction projects that disrupted traffic at the intersections of Route K and Kingshighway and Broadway and Kingshighway.

Traffic counts on Independence west of West End Boulevard increased 20-30 percent since 1986, while they decreased on Broadway 19-25 percent. Average daily traffic on Route K remained relatively constant.

Bratton said drivers likely became accustomed to new, alternate routes during the construction and the traffic patterns hadn't shifted back by the time the counts were taken late last year.

"That's more or less the normal fluctuation," he said. "Driving habits can be a big factor, and with all the construction we had out there in the last year, a lot of people changed their route and haven't gone back.

"But, unless it's a case of `you have to go a particular way,' it sort of regulates itself."

Bratton said that despite the temporary delays caused by the construction projects, the intersection improvements will "have a tremendous impact on traffic flow."

Average daily traffic counts in the downtown area from Main to Lorimier generally were lower than the 1986 counts.

"That might indicate fewer vehicles in the downtown area," said Bratton. "But you have to watch these traffic counts.

"That's the average daily traffic count and there's peak hours and peak days of the week.

"On the average, there's fewer vehicles, but you don't know the type of traffic and you don't know whether those peak times are higher or lower."

Bratton said one aspect of the 1990 traffic counts that he's puzzled about is a decline in traffic counts on one section of Kingshighway.

From Broadway to Mount Auburn Road, traffic counts on Kingshighway increased 24.3 percent, from 19,050 in 1986 to 25,180 in 1990. But northwest of the Mount Auburn intersection, counts decreased 5.8 percent, from 18,040 in 1986 to 16,990 in 1990.

Bratton said he couldn't explain why the traffic decreased so dramatically north of Mount Auburn Road.

Another area of the city that experienced increased average daily traffic was Highway 74 in the south end. Traffic on major streets connecting with Route 74 also increased.

Average daily traffic counts on South Sprigg, between Morgan Oak and Highway 74, increased 17.7 percent, from 4,990 in 1986 to 6,060 in 1990.

Bratton said construction of the city's transfer station south of Highway 74 likely is responsible for some of the increased Sprigg Street traffic. He also said that recent developments in the industrial park along Route 74 probably have added to the counts.

Bratton said the traffic counts should be a good tool for gauging the effectiveness of the city's street planning. He said the latest counts indicate the city's on track with current street plans.

"I haven't seen anything to date that would indicate a change in priorities, at least in the five-year plan," Bratton said.