I write to you today as a Starkville resident and as the owner of a business located on South Lafayette Street. Downtown Starkville has grown in a remarkable way over the last decade. The number and types of successful businesses on Main Street have only increased, with many other businesses looking to join this crowd. The physical improvements to Main Street, such as light poles, signage, sidewalks, ADA compliance, and planters, have also been remarkable.
However, these physical improvements have not continued to the rest of the downtown area. In fact, if you were to stand on Main Street, looking south down Lafayette, you might confuse it for a back alley in a major city. The street rarely gets cleaned, so paper and broken glass are always present. The sidewalks are abhorrent, with needed steps and handrails missing or damaged. There is a construction dumpster sitting in the road, taking up needed parking spaces. The traffic light at the corner of Lampkin was recently replaced with an ill-conceived and hastily installed stop sign, a sign that has been hit at least once and blocks the view of traffic from the west.
There are forty parking spots on this block, but only one is marked for handicapped access. This one spot is temporarily separated from the rest of the street by a City of Starkville barricade, making all businesses on the east side of the street completely inaccessible by wheelchair. I encourage you all to survey the devastation only one block away from City Hall.
Lafayette Street property and business owners are making investments, with at least three businesses having recently finished noticeable property improvements on the block, and another three properties being completely renovated.
At this point, it is up to you. The city must step in to improve the street and sidewalk, improving the appearance and accessibility of an increasingly popular portion of Downtown Starkville. I applaud your efforts on Main Street. I applaud the improving sidewalks across the city. I applaud your future work on Lynn Lane. I now implore you to return your efforts to Downtown. Please approve an overall improvement plan for South Lafayette that doesn’t just increase the property value for one owner, but improves the quality of life, and business, for the City of Starkville.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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