(Spirit Lake)– A proposal to completely re-build Hill Avenue between 19th and 30th streets was the topic of a public informational meeting Thursday evening in Spirit Lake.
The new street is to include boulevards, plantings, colored crosswalks, decorative lighting, a sidewalk, bike trail, and other amenities similar to Hill Avenue North. Some storm and sanitary sewer and water lines would also be placed, and stop lights with left-turn signals would be installed at 28th Street. The project has a total estimated cost of 2.1 million dollars. City officials say most of that would be paid for through tax increment financing.
Some who spoke at Thursday’s meeting expressed opposition to the boulevards, saying they would make it more inconvenient for those residents living right along Hill Avenue that would have to back out on them. Nancy Supernot of the Howard R. Greene Engineering Firm told the crowd the boulevards would be beneficial not only for aesthetics, but for orderly traffic flow. Supernot says they would also help prevent people from speeding; and would make it safer for pedestrians with more defined crossings.
There was also concern over maintenance costs, but city officials feel that would be negligible.
Asked about how the boulevards affect the cost of the project, Supernot says it would have been about the same if the city would have elected to go with solid concrete pavement down the middle of the street.
The Spirit Lake city council is scheduled to award a bid on the project this coming Tuesday.
What are your feelings on the proposed plans for Hill Avenue south? Go to our home page and click on the “take our poll” icon.
