A city concerned with progress must address two distinct avenues to encourage proper development. Leaders must plan and build streets which match city development, and then ensure those thoroughfares are properly maintained.

To its credit, the city of Cape Girardeau is making headway on both of these fundamental matters.

The Cape Girardeau Planning and Zoning Commission recently revised its list of priorities for five-year major street projects. Lexington Ave. and a Sprigg Street extension to the arterial remained at the top of the list. The commission also added construction of a new Hopper Road from Mt. Auburn to Kage Road and improvements to Perryville Road. Their recommendation will now be forwarded to the City Council, for discussion in January.

Good planning allows the city to achieve its goal for street projects. The Lexington project is a good example. The Lexington addition, which is funded, has already allowed greater traffic flow in the growing north area of town. The third major section of the project which will connect Lexington from Perryville to existing Lexington will begin next year.

On an equally important front, the city is proceeding with a comprehensive plan to properly maintain streets. Down the road, this plan should save taxpayers dollars and ensure an orderly repair process. It will allow the city to get the best return on its dollars, while helping avoid that all too common "worst-first scenario."

City workers now are evaluating the condition of every block of city street. This "Pavement Management System" will allow the city to set priorities for street repairs and maintenance based on hard facts. The program is the brainchild of Assistant Public Works Director Kevin McMeel, who deserves praise for this local innovation.

Too often, the city must merely react to crises on badly deteriorated streets without fully knowing the reason for the streets' disrepair. By treating the effect and not the cause, repairs might not last down the road. This new plan has allowed other cities to really stretch their street budgets.

The program startup is slow-going, since each street must be inspected first-hand, and then entered into a computer. Since the program began in July, more than 400 city blocks have been inspected with 219 placed into the computer. That represents about one-fourth of the entire city. Officials estimate it will take another two years to get the job completed.

This program offers an objective way to rate all streets for repairs - regardless of their location in the city. It will help ensure that the worst streets move up the priority list. Once in place, the city plans to reinspect streets on a regular basis, so no street will go more than three years without examination.

Streets are something most citizens take for granted that is until thoroughfares become too congested or surfaces deteriorate. Through proper planning, the city of Cape Girardeau should keep the city growing and on the move.