Blogs, City Room
City seeks money to connect Ellis to Sixth Street SW and to build two roundabouts
Posted on Oct 15, 2009 by Rick Smith.
The city of Cedar Rapids is seeking funding from a special state highway grant program for two roundabouts and a project to extend Ellis Boulevard NW a few blocks and over railroad tracks to connect to Sixth Street SW.
On Thursday, the local regional planning group, the Corridor Metropolitan Planning Organization, agreed to send a letter of support for Cedar Rapids’ attempt to secure funds from the Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program for the road projects.
The idea of extending Ellis Boulevard NW to Sixth Street SW was endorsed by the city’s four-month-long Neighborhood Planning Process earlier this year and is seen as a way to improve accessibility to and from the city’s northwest quadrant and the Ellis Park area.
Bill Bogert, a member of the metropolitan planning organization, noted on Thursday that the plan is to maintain Ellis Boulevard’s residential feel once it connects to the busier, more-commercial Sixth Street SW.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $4.4 million.
The proposals for traffic roundabouts call for one at Cottage Grove Avenue SE and Forest Drive SE near Washington High School and the other for Kirkwood Boulevard SW and 76th Avenue SW, Adam Lindenlaub, the city’s long-range planning coordinator, noted.
The estimated cost of the first project is $642,000, the second, $3 million.
Lu Barron, Linn County supervisor and a planning organization representative, wondered if the city had taken any public input to date on the Cottage Grove Avenue SE roundabout proposal. Lindenlaub said he would check.
The city also is seeking Clean Air funding for a fourth project which would upgrade traffic signalization on A Avenue NE between Seventh and 10th streets NE. The estimated cost, $93,570.
I believe roundabouts were the legacy left behind at Prosser's previous positions.
Roundabouts are a perfect metaphor – Let's build nine of them at least; name each one of them after the Council so we all remember for a long, long time. For instance the one along Ellis, try Wienieke Circle, because that is exactly where the city has gone – round and round in circles with no real progress – a lot of extra money spent going in circles when the most direct route, for instance a straight line, was ignored, because it was not "The Vision".
Roundabouts have a flat level piece of ground in the middle perfect for a statute; perhaps we could cast them out of the scrap metal they stole from the flood victims when this council said it was "Hazardous Waste" and persons were prohibiited from selling it, but then they forced city employees to work overtime and sit in long lines in the summer heat in trucks selling that very same scrap metal from flood damaged properties and they pocketed the money themselves.
Wasn't there a song back in the early 70's called Roundabout? Exactly where they should leave this stupid idea , in the past!!!
Why does Lu Barron have a say?
How can the city get away with that scrap metal selling scheme? They need to report the money coming in? Or did it go in???? Perhaps in some city directors pocket? Let's see the invoices for payment? Let's follow the money People! Where is it? Where are the funds that have already come in? Who is sitting on the money and NOT getting it to the flood victims? Where the heck are the reporters? The scrapyard HAS to have records????
RIGHT ON!! Let's form our opinions and smear public employees on the basis of a semi-literate anonymous post!!
You are correct sir; I believe we should wait until after the many fine public employees at various state and federal regulatory and law enforcement agencies have had the opportunity to complete their investigations and reviews. Then let us hope the resulting subpoenas, depositions, audits, and other eventual outcomes; along with the resulting news stories are literate enough for you.