Paul Wojciechowski, Project Manager at CH2M HILL, giving a speech about the Natural Bridge Road Great Streets project on March 4th in J.C. Penney. (Photo Ahmad Aljuryyed for The Current)
When traveling on Natural Bridge Rd. from 170 to Lucas and Hunt Rd. it is easy to notice the lack of economic development and the unfriendly pedestrian atmosphere. Residents and community leaders have decided the worsening situation has to be fixed.
The East-West Gateway Council of Governments along with the Missouri Department of Transportation have teamed up to rejuvenate to Natural Bridge Road. The design phase got underway last Thursday, March 6, as part of a project titled the ‘Great Streets Initiative.’
“The main goal of this meeting is to get feedback from the public as to the vision, the goals, and the objectives for the corridor that is Natural Bridge from 170 to Lucas and Hunt Road,” Paul Wojciechowski, Project Manager to the Natural Bridge Great Streets project, said.
Wojciechowski was the main speaker at the meeting held in the JC Penny building auditorium.
The meeting was attended by many local residents and stakeholders in the project. Also available were informational display boards each with its own topic related to the projects various plans.
“One of the principal goals of the project is to bring economic development to make it a more viable and active place,” Wojciechowski said.
There are also plans to make Natural Bridge a multi roadway that could better accommodate pedestrians by installing jogging paths, bike lanes and making it easier for those who use transit or drive. Another aspect includes making the area more environmentally sustainable by greening up the corridor, planting trees and reducing litter, all with the vision of making the area more environment sensitive.
“The Natural Bridge Great Streets project will really be an asset for all communities along Natural bridge and Lucas and Hunt to 170,” said Wojciechowski.
“The University of Missouri St. Louis is a primary institution on the corridor and it will really open a lot of opportunities for students traveling either by foot, by bike, or by car on Natural Bridge,” Mary Grace Lewandowski, transportation planner for East-West Gateway, said.
Also present at the meeting were leaders of UM-St. Louis including the chancellor and assistant to the provost. A couple of years ago UM-St. Louis submitted a grant to the East-West Gateway Council of Government who held a competition in which 40 communities participated each hoping to have their own selected for funding, only four streets were then chosen, Natural Bridge was one.
“The idea is to develop a campus town sort of like the ‘loop’, so it would be the beginning of activity that would appeal to our students and our community, and we think that will give the campus a more vibrant student life and a better economic base,” Betty Van Uum, assistant to provost and public affairs and economic development said.
The total project cost is estimated to be $12-$16 million but none of the money will come from university funding says Van Uum. The funding instead will be drawn from transportation.
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