Jefferson City is moving forward with plans for new signage throughout the city, though it may be more than a year before any signs are put in place.
The Missouri Department of Transportation announced Friday that Jefferson City has been awarded $214,000 in grant funds from the Transportation Alternatives Program to implement a wayfinding plan, "including fabrication and installation of wayfinding signage for downtown Jefferson City and from the Katy Trail leading into Jefferson City."
The wayfinding project seeks to help visitors and residents locate districts, landmarks and other venues in town through signs and informational kiosks. City Engineer David Bange said it was a project already being looked at by the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization when the grant funds became available and the city decided to try and take advantage of the opportunity.
"It was just very fortuitous," Bange said.
Bange said the next step is further defining which areas and locations should be included in the plan. This past fall, informational meetings were held with the public and those deemed as stakeholders to try to determine which areas or locations should be highlighted in the wayfinding plan, and Bange said discussion likely will continue throughout the next year.
"Our focus is going to be in the downtown area and stretch out toward Lincoln (University) and the Capitol Complex," Bange said.
Some locations are obvious, such as the city's downtown and the Capitol, but others are harder to define, he said. As much as $25,000 of the grant funds are able to be used to help narrow definitions, Bange said, through the use of consultants.
"What are destinations in Jefferson City and what are regions that have identity that we should try to direct people to," Bange said. "That's something that's still a little bit in flux."
After those decisions are made, Bange said it likely wouldn't be until the following year that any signs would be placed.
"It's a process," Bange said.
But once it starts, it will continually grow, he said, with new locations or districts being added as funds are available.
"It kind of grows out from the city core," Bange said.
The overall goal of the project is to attract travelers off the highway or other mass transit options to come into the city and spend time and money at local businesses and attractions.
The total cost of the project is $267,500, and the grant funds cover 80 percent of that. The majority of the 20 percent local match has already been provided by several groups, including the Capital Region Medical Center, the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Discover Jefferson City Foundation, Downtown Jefferson City, the East Side Business Association, the Historic City of Jefferson and the parking division of the city.
Other grant awards
Holts Summit also received some MoDOT grant funding to install 1,700 feet of new sidewalks on North Summit Drive, from Simon Boulevard to Venus Street. According to the release, MoDOT grant funds will provide roughly $319,000 of the nearly $400,000 cost, with Holts Summit paying for the remainder of the project, which connects North Elementary School to an area of more than 400 mobile homes and duplexes. (View the plan's PDF documentation via this link.)
And St. Martins received $8,000 in MoDOT grant funds to pay for a study of Business 50 West, from Rainbow Drive to Henwick Lane, "for automobile and alternative transportation improvements, enhanced school zone safety" and an overall smooth traffic flow. The total project is estimated to cost roughly $10,000 with St. Martins contributing about $2,000.