College Avenue, a four-lane highway on the east boundary of the MU campus, may be getting a new look in the near future.
The College Avenue Safety Enhancement Project (CASE) has been raising funds from the University, the Missouri Department of Transportation and the City of Columbia since a 2009 study showed the road was dangerous for drivers and pedestrians.
“Pedestrian action--we are talking about 7,000 [crossings] during daytime hours,” said Steven Sapp, a spokesperson for the Columbia Public Works Department.
A meeting on Tuesday at City Hall was for interested parties. The government wanted public input on the situation.
At the meeting, there was an explanation of a proposed barrier that would keep pedestrians and vehicles from crossing the median of College Avenue. The barrier would run from north of University Avenue, south to Rollins Street.
The meeting was an information gathering meeting, and city officials wanted to clarify that no proposal has been accepted. The CASE project design team will consider the input from the meeting before they will develop three different designs.
“We should have a second meeting to move forward with some alternate design plans in March or April 2014,” Sapp said.
At this point there is no timeline for the project, and it is in the early discussion stages. The project team has created a five-step process. Currently they are in step two of the process. For more information, visit www.makethecaseproject.com
