Research Boulevard is a shaded four-lane asphalt loop which circles the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park in Starkville.
The boulevard is used daily by approximately 1,500 employees who work in the park, but also serves as a training ground for dozens of walkers, joggers and cyclists who use the roughly mile-long loop.
While the loop is convenient for exercise enthusiasts, it also can be dangerous, said Dr. Ronald Cossman, an advocate for new walking and cycling paths in the Starkville area. Research Boulevard has no shoulder and people who use it for recreational purposes frequently force vehicles to change lanes.
“I have to dodge people all the time when I”m in the park,” Cossman said Monday. “If you come around a corner at 35 miles per hour, it”s tough to see people in time.”
Cossman now is trying to make the park safer. He has organized a public meeting in the park this afternoon to discuss the possibility of reserving one or two lanes on Research Boulevard for cyclists and/or pedestrians. There will be no formal presentation, but interested persons can attend the meeting and look at four scenarios proposed by Cossman, as well as the pros and cons of each plan, possible costs and other information.
One option would reserve the two center lanes, closest to the median, for pedestrians and cyclists. To re-stripe and stencil the roadway would cost approximately $30,000, Cossman said.
Another option would reserve one lane closest to the median on the boulevard”s outer loop for pedestrians only. The restriping and stenciling would cost about $15,000, Cossman said.
A third option would convert an inner-loop boulevard lane closest to the median for pedestrians at a cost of approximately $15,800.
The fourth option, which Cossman prefers, would reserve the two inner-loop lanes on the boulevard for pedestrians and cyclists, while the two outer-loop lanes would be available for automobiles. That option would cost about $27,000, Cossman said.
Those who attend the meeting today will have an opportunity to fill out a survey regarding the proposals.
“You will have the chance to look at these different scenarios and voice your opinions on the different options,” he said.
The meeting is set to take place in the upper-level conference room of the Mississippi Technology Center, located in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Cossman is encouraging interested individuals to come and go as they please.
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