LOWELL -- The City Council approved street expansion and improvement plans during its meeting Tuesday.
The 2016 Street Plan was unanimously approved after the council reviewed about 12 changes to the map.
Other Business
Lowell’s Council approved rezoning 675 North Dixieland Street to commercial. It also approved rezoning 523 Bellview Road to residential.
There was little discussion on the changes presented to the Planning Commission and council on multiple occasions in recent months. These meetings included public hearings.
Mayor Eldon Long noted a revision allowing for 80 to 100 feet of utility right of way on arterial streets. City code required 100 feet for right of way.
Rogers allows for 80 to 100 feet for right of way on similar streets, Kris Sullivan, Lowell planning director, said. She said meeting Rogers' standards will make it easier for improvements on roads connecting at the cities' borders.
Improvements for Zion Church Road also were changed in the plan, Sullivan said. She said the city planned to expand the road with the addition of a turning lane. It will now remain a two-lane road, she said.
The road will run through the proposed Kathleen Johnson Memorial Park, Sullivan said.
The city is in the early stages of planning the park. The 100 acres on the city's west side could hold a splash pad, small amphitheater, disc golf course and community garden.
Sullivan said plans include the road being lined with trails. A two-lane road will be more pedestrian friendly for trail and park users, she said.
An extension for Commerce Parkway also will connect traffic easier to the park, Sullivan said. The street will be extended to connect to Zion Church Road from Ladelle Avenue.
The plan also includes extending Dixieland Street.
The City Council approved extending the road in October. The road will travel east of J.B. Hunt's corporate campus and west of Brookhaven neighborhood.
The city was awarded $450,000 for the project's engineering through the federal Surface Transportation Program.
NW News on 04/20/2016