DECATUR -- The city is aiming to alleviate concerns about road dangers, particularly for pedestrians, along Stadium Avenue in Decatur by adding a sidewalk along the road.
Motorists turning from Ninth Street onto Stadium Avenue in Decatur face a narrow roadway, deep rolling hills, a large apartment complex on the right and a high school on the left.
Between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. and again from 3 p.m. until 4 p.m., there is a group of kids from both Decatur middle and high schools that walk along Stadium Avenue, as do tenants from the Garden Walk Apartment complex. Children walking along this road do not always walk in a single file or close to the shoulder. Some even fan out across the road from shoulder to shoulder.
There is a series of four hills with three deep valleys along Stadium Avenue. These deep recessions can hide pedestrians when a motorist is in the next valley. When cars top the hills, they can suddenly come upon pedestrians.
About three years ago, a few area residents went to Decatur mayor Bob Tharp with the idea of building a sidewalk along Stadium Avenue. Tharp was very receptive to the idea and took it to the City Council.
The mayor and council approached the Arkansas Department of Transportation to apply for a matching grant to fund the project.
During the council meeting Nov.14 at Decatur City Hall, Tharp announced that the city was awarded $200,000 in federal grant money -- about what the city requested -- for the project.
"Our goal for this sidewalk project is to connect at Rooster and Highway 102 to Stadium, then west to Hill Street. When completed, it will give a safe walkway for students going to school," Tharp said. "The state pays 80% while the city pays 20%. Even with the Hill-Stadium Sidewalk project, the city will match $40,000, and the state will contribute $200,000."
No timeline on when the project will start is currently available.
"During the last eight years, as I have had the privilege to be mayor of Decatur, the City Council has been completely supportive of adding sidewalks in strategic locations," Tharp said. "Sidewalk projects for the past 20 years, dating back to Mayor Bill Montgomery and Mayor Charles Linam, have been strategic in nature. We have been able in all of these to get [Arkansas Department of Transportation] support with matching funds for their construction."
During that time, Tharp and the City Council were able to complete a network of sidewalks that began at Bredehoeft Road to the east and continued through downtown Decatur and west to Veterans Park.
Mike Eckels can be reached by email at [email protected].