FAYETTEVILLE — A divided City Council laid groundwork Tuesday for widening a six-mile stretch of Rupple Road and Howard Nickell Road west of Interstate 540, despite hearing pleas to the contrary from homeowners.
Council members voted, 5-3, to continue designating Rupple and Howard Nickell roads, from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to where Arkansas 112 turns north toward Tontitown, as four-lane “principal arterials” under the city’s master street plan.
By doing so, aldermen prioritized setting a goal for improving connectivity in west Fayetteville over residents’ traffic concerns in a mainly residential area. Residents also argued a grid of two-lane roads would be sufficient for handling population growth.
Jeremy Pate, development services director, outlined the plans Tuesday.
“The decision tonight is not about widening Rupple Road today but keeping the corridor in tact to allow future widening to occur if it’s necessary,” Pate said.
Pate said a 2003 traffic study concluded a four-lane arterial road would not be needed to accommodate increased traffic until 2023.
He added extending Rupple Road south past Weir Road to neighborhoods north of Clabber Creek Park, and past Persimmon Street to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, would connect multiple thoroughfares on the city’s west side.
Mayor Lioneld Jordan and business leaders, including Steve Clark, Chamber of Commerce president, and Jeff Bishop, Northwest Arkansas Mall general manager, have emphasized the improvement would help direct traffic from inside and outside the city to retail outlets in north Fayetteville.
Many members of the public who spoke Tuesday said they supported improved routes to businesses but questioned whether those routes are best suited to run through residential areas.
“I can understand what you want to do to increase business and commerce in your town,” said Michael Mauldin, president of the Estates at Salem Hills Homeowners’ Association. “If there were more commercial spaces in the area, I could kind of see that. (But) it’s residential. There’s no point of running traffic through that side of town like you’re wanting to do.”
Other residents questioned how safe a four-lane road would be for the more than 20 families who live in the Salem Hills subdivision just outside of the city.
Diane Serenson Ungar, who lives on Howard Nickell Road, asked how designating Rupple and Howard Nickell fit into the city’s other long-range goals of promoting infill, discouraging suburban sprawl and growing a livable transportation network.
“I don’t understand how a four-lane fast highway in the outskirts of Fayetteville for a small quiet neighborhood jibes with preventing urban sprawl,” Serenson Ungar said.
By classifying Rupple and Howard Nickell as principal arterials, the council followed city staff’s recommendation but did not follow a recommendation to downgrade the road to a two-lane collector street as recommended by the Planning Commission in May.
Ward 4 Alderwoman Rhonda Adams, whose ward includes most land west of I-540, said she sympathized with the residents who spoke Tuesday.
“But I have to keep reminding myself that this vote is not about this neighborhood or the people that care about this neighborhood,” Adams said. “It’s about a master street plan for planning for the city of Fayetteville.”
Adams, fellow Ward 4 Alderwoman Sarah Lewis, Matthew Petty, Bobby Ferrell and Adella Gray supported keeping Rupple and Howard Nickell roads designated as principal arterials. Aldermen Mark Kinion, Brenda Boudreaux and Justin Tennant opposed the action.