Starkville is preparing to move ahead with a project that could add more than 4,100 feet of new sidewalk along Highway 12.
City Engineer Edward Kemp and Wayne Black, a project manager with Jackson-based Garver Engineering, presented plans for new sidewalk improvements along Highway 12 at a board of aldermen work session Friday. While the total project includes more than 8,200 feet of sidewalks that would stretch from west Starkville to Mississippi State University’s campus, aldermen will likely decide only on what to include in the project’s first phase at Tuesday’s meeting.
Kemp said the recommended initial phase of projects, which includes eight new stretches of sidewalks and has an estimated cost of $390,904, is based on a combination of how much pedestrian traffic the areas already see and enhancing connectivity.
“Our objective on that was to get the most bang for our buck,” Kemp said. “So those areas where you know people are already using it and it’s somewhat cost effective to do it — those were moved up higher. But you also want to create long segments that are continuous. So we try to keep that in mind.”
The city is using $260,000 in leftover Highway 12 improvement money, and Kemp said another $25,000 for sidewalks and Americans with Disabilities Act improvement money is available in the city’s budget.
The first phase includes sidewalks and crosswalks at the Spring Street, South Montgomery Street and Jackson Street intersections; a 781-foot sidewalk from Deweese Gun-Pawn-Trophy Shop to Vowell’s Marketplace; a 660-foot sidewalk from South Montgomery Street to Hancock Street; a 1,669-foot sidewalk from Taylor Street to the Chevron Station at the Avenue of Patriots-Highway 12 intersection; a 362-foot sidewalk from Vowell’s Marketplace to Ruby Tuesday; and a 27-foot sidewalk to complete a sidewalk that runs in front of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
Kemp said the project placed an emphasis on creating more crossings along Highway 12. Such crossings are rare at the moment, with existing crosswalks only at the Louisville Street and Spring Street intersections. The lack of safe crossings, Kemp said, acts as a barrier for pedestrians crossing from the south to north side of town and vice versa.
“I think you get a lot of low hanging fruit from these three intersections and making them safer,” he said.
The Spring Street intersection improvements will also tie into an upcoming Transportation Alternatives Program project that will see new sidewalks built from the Hampton Inn at that intersection to the amphitheater on Mississippi State University’s campus.
Kemp said the segment connecting the pawn shop to Vowell’s is a particularly high priority because it passes in front of Pecan Acres, which generates a lot of foot traffic.
During Friday’s discussion, aldermen suggested moving the connection from Vowell’s to Ruby Tuesday, which wasn’t originally prioritized, into the first phase grouping. That project, which is estimated to cost $49,000 pushed the estimated to about $100,000 more than the city has in available funding — though Kemp noted estimated costs include contingencies that might not be needed.
However, Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk said the city may be able to find additional funding for the project.
“I would say that Vowell’s both ways is something of a priority,” Sistrunk said, “but I’m not prepared to say today which ones I would choose. I would be more inclined to find some additional funding to go with the $280,000 that we know we have in our hands.”
Should aldermen approve the project list on Tuesday, the city will advertise for bids for the project, and work is expected to start later in the spring or summer.
Later phases
While the city could add more sidewalks — the projects not listed in the first phase prioritized group add about another 4,100 feet of sidewalks, primarily on the west end of Highway 12 — Kemp acknowledged there’s likely not funding available for that. The second grouping of projects costs an estimated $358,000.
Should more funding become available, Kemp said, a couple of projects on the east side of Highway 12, such as 518 feet of sidewalk at the Avenue of Patriots intersection and 279 feet in front of Giggleswick, are listed as first priorities before going west.
“Then you start moving in a western direction after that because all the gaps on the east side of 12 have been filled or, we feel like, will be filled in a relatively short order by development,” Kemp said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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