At Tuesday night’s Batesville City Council meeting, council members heard from the city engineer concerning the progress being made to the widening of Myers Street and putting a roundabout at the intersection of 20th and Myers — the intersection just south of the Batesville Community Center and Aquatics Park.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation is now more than two years into the planning stages of the project. Late yesterday, Independence County Judge Robert Griffin sent an e-mail to Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaigh asking the city to consider a proposed alternative to the “traffic circle.”
Griffin also noted the county was willing to partner in hauling materials to make the alternative a betterment for all.
The judge said he was presenting his alternative “to represent those many constituents who have concerns about the roundabout.”
The mayor said the city had been working on the Myers Street project for a long period of time, and it was a little late to present an alternative, noting the city was very close to entering the bidding stage.
Elumbaugh also noted the project is much “bigger” than just a roundabout at an intersection — it is about widening roadways to accommodate current and future traffic.
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Also at the Tuesday meeting, the council unanimously voted to approve the second reading of forming an entertainment district in mid-town. The “Yes” vote moved the ordinance to a third and final reading in the city’s next meeting.
Last night’s meeting was attended by over 20 residents, many of them businessmen who came to speak in favor of the district. The council heard five speakers in support, and one opposed before the vote was taken.
The proposed bounds of the entertainment district are north from the bridge crossings at North Central Avenue and North Broad Street, east to North 4th Street, south to Harrison/Boswell Street from Central Avenue and include Las Playitas Mexican Restaurant and Private Club, and west to State Street from the railroad tracks along Poke Bayou to East College Avenue.
A full list of proposed guidelines and hours of district operation can be viewed below.
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