PASCAGOULA, Mississippi - City councilmen today reviewed 3 options for a Hospital Street improvement project, and although many of them favored an option with sidewalks, bike lanes and a landscaped median, they deferred a vote while awaiting cost estimates.
Benjamin Smith, an engineer with Brown, Mitchell & Alexander Inc., presented the options for the 1,550-linear-foot stretch of Hospital Street between U.S. 90 and Old Mobile Highway.
As the street stands, "it's overly wide for two lanes, and it's not well defined," Smith told councilmen.
He said "it's not a very safe environment" for its many walking pedestrians, with about 9,000 cars using the road each day.
The first option presented is essentially a 3-lane road with street trees, requiring 50 feet of right of way.
The second option, which the staff recommended, is a much larger project. It includes 2 through lanes, a landscaped median with turn breaks, 2 bike lanes, street trees and 2 sidewalks.
That option would require 62 feet of right of way, Smith said.
The third option is similar to the second, only it drops 1 of the sidewalks and becomes a 57-foot project.
Community Development Director Jen Dearman said the city has $494,000 in Statewide Transportation Improvement Program funds from the Mississippi Department of Transportation for construction, which will require a local match of at least $123,000.
The city has budgeted $140,000 in this fiscal year, she said, to cover the match and pay for the preliminary design and right of way.
Additional funds will likely be needed, she said.
Several councilmen said they supported the second option, but ultimately they asked the engineer to come back to the table with cost estimates.
Operations Manager Steve Mitchell said "it just made sense to make a connecting corridor through here," with the new Hilton Garden Inn project at the north end and redevelopment potential at the Belair Shopping Center on the south end.
Mitchell said option 2 should also help curtail speeding, which is what police Chief Kenny Johnson was concerned about.
"If we make it look like an interstate, they're going to drive on it like an interstate," Johnson told councilmen.
Also on Tuesday afternoon, councilmen discussed an employee pay and classification study that suggested the city is generally competitive but should adjust a handful of employees' salaries and benefits.
Human Resources Director Glenda Beal said the adjustments would cost the city about $21,000 and that most employees wouldn't be affected.
After debating the fairness of the recommendations, Councilman Harold Tillman moved to approve them, but the motion failed due to a lack of a second.