Future traffic projects outlined

City Traffic Engineering Manager Mike Lane outlined a preliminary list of anticipated street and sidewalk projects for fiscal year 2016 at Monday night’s Planning Commission meeting.

He said the list will be honed and finalized before it is presented at next month’s Planning Commission meeting for approval.

Lane reminded commissioners that the street tax vote is Feb. 9. The tax has been approved every year since 1987 and generates a little over $2 million a year, he said. Tuesday’s vote would make the tax permanent so an election does not have to be called every year.

"We started this year with about $9 million in projects. This list is pared down to $2.5 million," he said.

The projects on Lane’s list include a multi-phase project from Elm and Otoe to Ponca.

"We want to do the same that we did on Oak Street last year," Lane said. "We will remove the brick, take out the curb and gutter and replace it. It will include new sidewalks, new driveways and new pavement between the new curbs and gutters."

Also on the preliminary list:

Fifth Street by the high school.

Fourteenth and Prospect median revisions to improve sight distance for left turns.

Fourth Street from Central to Grand will have a mill and overlay project.

Highland from Ash to Sunset for concrete reconstruction (engineering only.)

Highland from Olympia to Waverly, to widen (engineering only.) "We want to get at least two lanes eastbound," Lane said. "The power poles may give us some problems, but we at least want turning lanes."

Lincoln, Central to Oklahoma, concrete reconstruction. The street currently is a chip and seal surface. South of there is a curbed concrete street.

Pioneer, from Fourteenth to Monument mill and overlay (chip and seal). This road was rebuilt several years ago.

Red Bud walking trail concrete reconstruction

South Avenue from Fourteenth Street to Twelfth Street . "This road is in rough shape," Lane said. "Water from the spring at Thirteenth causes problems. This project will include some work to capture that water and direct it to a storm sewer."

Third, from Highland to Liberty, will be a mill and overlay. Lane said there is cracking and sealing has not been satisfactory.

He said the budget includes sidewalk work for $100,000 to $200,000 a year.

Those projects include:

Third Street from Cleveland to Grand, to replace cracked sidewalk.

The budget also includes striping 150,000 linear feet of lanes and paying for supplies for chip and seal projects handled by the Street Department.