From sidewalks to buses and streets, improving transportation was the focus of three bills passed at Monday's Jefferson City Council meeting.
Broadway sidewalk
City Council passed a $130,365 contract with Concrete Solution LLC to create a sidewalk on the east side of the 900 block of Broadway Street. According to the bill, it's the only section of the street that does not have a sidewalk.
This area is a block from South Elementary School and is "treacherous for pedestrians" because of a sharply crested hill that causes limited visibility over its peak, city officials said. Currently, pedestrians have to cross the street to walk on a sidewalk.
The public improvements section in the Community Development Block Grant program will cover the cost of the project. Remaining funds in the CDBG accounts will be used to cover any potential project overruns.
Improvements to JeffTran
Also during Monday's meeting, the council authorized the city to enter into a Capitol Assistance Grant Agreement for up to $256,000 with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. The grant is from the Federal Transit Administration's buses and bus facilities grant program funds.
The grant will go toward an automatic vehicle locator (AVL), automatic voice annunciator (AVA) and automatic passenger counter (APC) equipment to the JeffTran.
The AVL will allow JeffTran riders to track the buses' locations. AVA equipment will allow riders with visibility impairments to hear announcements about upcoming stops, while signs will help riders with hearing impairments read the announcements. With the APC, JeffTran administrators can monitor how many riders are boarding and leaving the buses at each locations.
A motion was passed to wait until the July 3 council meeting to hear about the contact with DoubleMap Inc., a company that creates software to improve transportation, which will install and maintain AVL, AVA and APC equipment for the JeffTran buses for five years for $318,246.
Part of the grant's requirements is for the city to match 20 percent of the total cost - about $64,000 - which would come from the Capital Improvement Sales Tax.
Clark Avenue corridor and U.S. 50/63 interchange study
The city passed a STP-Urban Program Agreement with MoDOT on Monday so it can accept Surface Transportation Program funds for $93,658.26 for a traffic study and improvement suggestions to Clark Avenue corridor and the U.S. 50/63 interchange.
The funds require a 20 percent local match - $18,731.66 - and the city anticipates the county will pay for half of the requirement match. The match will be taken from the Cooperative City/County projects portion of the Sales Tax G.
Clark Avenue improvements are listed on the current Capital Improvement Sales tax as one of the projects that need to be undertaken.
The study will be completed by May 2018.