The University of Arkansas at Little Rock wants the support of the city's Board of Directors on its plan to redesign a portion of South University Avenue -- a project that would ultimately have to be authorized by the city and paid for with a mix of funds.
UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson has spearheaded the past three years of planning to redesign the street in front of the university. He says its current configuration is not conducive to students, faculty and staff members walking back and forth between the campus on the east side and businesses on the west side.
"What we've got is a speedway that was built in 1957 and has had relatively little done to it since then. In some respects, it's in a state of disrepair. University Avenue is unsafe. It's an eyesore, and it depresses economic activity in the area," Anderson said.
As an alternative to that, he and planners envision a more walkable, landscaped road with added sidewalks, bike lanes and possibly a pedestrian bridge. The proposal is to redesign the roadway from 28th Street to Asher Avenue, with some work extending past each of those intersections.
Early versions of the plan included putting roundabouts at all four intersections along that stretch. Since then, however, studioMAIN -- a local group of architects and engineers -- has volunteered staff time to come up with other options.
The latest design shows just one roundabout, at the 28th Street intersection, but even that "could well be iffy," Anderson said, adding that the goal is to slow traffic and make intersections safer.
The Little Rock Board of Directors is to vote on a resolution Tuesday that would signal the city's support for the university's application to a federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant to help pay for the project, which is estimated to cost $14 million when complete.
"The first domino that needs to fall is the city commitment," Anderson said. "Whatever funding the city commits will certainly enable us to take the first step. We will be going beyond that in the very near future. We will be making some very formal pitches to the state Highway and Transportation [Department] people," he said, referring to proposed changes at Asher Avenue, which is a state highway.
Anderson said it will take private and public partnerships as well as city, state and federal funds to complete the project. The university is willing to donate property on the east side of the road for the changes. Business owners on the west side of the street would not have to give up any property.
It is going to take a city funding commitment to make the grant application credible, Anderson said.
The grant requires a 20 percent match from the applicant, which in this case could be a combination of the partners that sign on in support, such as the city. The match can include commitments of cash, as well as in-kind donations such as the university's land, City Manager Bruce Moore said.
"It will be our intent to work with the partners to detail how the 20 percent would be reached," he said. "The city does have a strong interest in the redevelopment of University Avenue, and I would be recommending a few options that might include the citywide portion of the sales tax [revenue] or other potential funding sources."
When city directors were informed last summer of the initial plan, Ward 6 Director Doris Wright said she'd be willing to dedicate a portion of her ward's tax revenue allocation to the project.
The portion of the road included in the proposal involves Wards 2 and 6.
At an agenda-setting meeting last week, other members of the Board of Directors indicated that they had been told about the updated street redesign plan and were supportive.
Ward 2 Director Ken Richardson noted that the plan had changed dramatically since Anderson briefed city directors last summer.
"It has been a work in progress," he said. "I think it will be much different [than last year] when [Anderson] makes his presentation."
Anderson will be out of town when Tuesday's 6 p.m. board meeting at City Hall takes place, so his representative is to be present to answer directors' questions about the grant. Anderson is to make a full presentation to the board about the street redesign and expanding economic development in the area on May 26 at the board's 4 p.m. meeting.
At-large Director Dean Kumpuris said last week that the new street plans are "dramatically better" than the one that included four roundabouts.
"It will be an issue of enhancing UALR for the city and the way it looks, but it will also make it a much better area for all residents in that area," Kumpuris said.
The ultimate goal is to transform South University into a southern gateway into Little Rock, Anderson said. The main thing to be achieved is redesigned intersections, he added.
The conceptual drawing from studioMAIN shows landscaped medians and trees on either side of the roadway. The aesthetic makeover on the east side of the street will come quicker, because the university owns that property. But Anderson said he's hopeful that businesses on the west side will eventually add trees and shrubbery to keep up the look of the area and promote more economic activity for their own stores.
"This project would spark the revitalization of this area. It is something that needs to happen for the sake of the businesses," Anderson said. "I'm very pleased with the progress we've been making. I think we are to a point where we've got something that's very presentable and convincing. It will certainly take awhile, but it's a project that we can see become a reality."
Metro on 05/18/2015