STARKVILLE — The city of Starkville has approved moving forward with the redesign and redevelopment of Main Street.
After approving a proposal from Kimley Horn in November to lay out next steps for the city’s Main Street transformation, aldermen approved a nine-step plan to adequately find the proper design for Starkville’s downtown area. Kimley Horn Landscape Architect Henry Minor presented a conceptual design to the board at its Oct. 15 work session, which would prioritize the pedestrian experience on Main Street by eliminating turning lanes from City Hall to Jackson Street and creating larger sidewalks.
Kimley Horn will conduct a traffic study and survey, identify case studies and compare other designs similar to what the board is looking for, go through the design process and help the board with construction consultation.
“We want to take the analysis from the traffic study, present it to everyone and say, ‘Here are the implications of what that would do, not only to what the city looks like today but to future growth and future development,’” Minor said.
Through the traffic study, Kimley Horn will conduct an in-depth analysis of Main Street’s everyday vehicular traffic patterns. Minor said the company will analyze the intersections at Washington, Lafayette and Jackson streets and the turning movements during the busiest times of the day for traffic.
“We are going to collect traffic data for 24 hours for a seven-day period so that we will be able to see the full extent of when traffic is busiest,” Minor said. “When we model it, we’re going to be sure we pick the two peak busiest times.”
Minor said Kimley Horn will intentionally pick the best week to conduct this analysis to ensure it is a time that best represents the city. Minor said his company will also strategically choose case studies to research, looking at other college cities that are similar to Starkville, one of which will be a one-way road plan.
Through this redesign, Minor said there will be some trade-offs in order to create the downtown area Starkville is wanting, including several parking spots along Main Street will be eliminated to provide space for the pedestrian-friendly area. While some of these elements may be a drawback at first glance, he said he believes this will be a “one-of-a-kind streetscape experience” in the Southeast.
“The idea is to enhance Main Street and provide more outdoor areas where businesses can have a seating area and still allow for the efficient movement of pedestrian traffic as well,” Minor said.
Mayor Lynn Spruill, who has been a continuous advocate for this project, said property owners along Main Street have expressed approval of the redesign, expressing support of the long-term benefits to the enhancement of the value of properties.
“I have walked many times from City Hall to Humble Taco to have lunch,” Spruill said. “It’s an easy walk, and if you have things along the way … you have an environment where people want to invest.”
Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk said she believes the board should look at this project from short- and long-term perspectives. She said having a vibrant downtown will be a legacy project.
“I was out this weekend … and everywhere that people could gather, there were people out,” Sistrunk said. “I think that the idea of making downtown a space that’s not just more pedestrian friendly, but people friendly really contributes to the long-term viability of the downtown area.”
Ward 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty expressed concern for the removal of turning lanes, saying Starkville’s downtown is different from that of Athens, Georgia, or Auburn, Alabama, where downtown is steps away from their respective universities, rather than a mile away as downtown is to Mississippi State University. Beatty ultimately voted in support of the redesign.
“If our downtown sat by the bridge on university, students would spill off from campus to downtown, but we’ve got a distance,” Beatty said.
Ward 1 Alderman Ben Carver, the only opposing vote, said he does not know if this is a project the city should make a priority at this time and invest money into. He said he believes the sidewalks are already big enough, and he wants business owners to have a fighting chance to survive.
“I like Main Street just the way it is,” Carver said. “I think it flows well. I think it looks good. I think it needs to be resurfaced yesterday, but in my opinion, we have an iconic look.”
ARPA
The board of aldermen approved potential projects funded by the American Rescue Act Plan.
After initially allocating the majority of the city’s $6.3 million in ARPA to park improvements, the board voted in January to reconsider its spending after Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and the state legislature decided to match ARPA projects involving water, sewer, infrastructure and broadband.
The board outlined several projects the funds can be spent on, and Mayor Lynn Spruill said she plans to present the potential projects to Sen. Bart Williams, (R-Starkville ) today. The $13,015,000 worth of projects include $3.965 million in stormwater management for Highway 182, Lynn Lane, Colonial Hills, Northside Drive and Main Street; $4.8 million in water infrastructure improvements throughout the city; and $4.25 million in sewer infrastructure improvements for Highway 182, Main Street and the city’s wastewater plant.
“This is just to give that matching opportunity for us the best shot because Lt. Gov. Hosemann said (the legislature) will only support water, infrastructure, broadband and sewer.”
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