Two years from now, High Ridge Boulevard will have a new look.
The Jefferson County Council voted unanimously July 8 to accept a .27-acre piece of property from the Missouri Department of Transportation that is the final piece of a puzzle that includes new curbs and gutters, decorative street lights and a walking trail along the length of the commercial avenue that runs between Hwy. 30 and Hwy. PP.
Public Works Director Jason Jonas said MoDOT officials agreed to turn over a gravel parking lot near the Northwest Branch of the Jefferson County Library and the La Casona restaurant, both in the 5600 block of Hwy. PP.
“The lot is about 160 feet long by 75 or 80 feet wide,” Jonas said. “MoDOT is going to deed it over to us for free, but we’ll have to pay an application fee and for a survey, which may cost $500 or less.”
The lot was used by the state to park construction equipment, but is no longer needed, said Councilman Brian Haskins (District 1, High Ridge).
Jonas said the lot will serve as the end point of a walking trail that will run along the south side of High Ridge Boulevard.
“It will be a place for people to park and get out of their vehicles and walk,” he said.
Jonas said the lot will remain gravel for the foreseeable future.
“We’ll put some parking stops to indicate parking spaces, but there won’t be a lot of work involved in taking over the lot,” he said.
The real work will be done in the late summer or early fall of 2021, when a solid path will be installed down the south side of the street.
“We’ll be putting in curbs and guttering because High Ridge Boulevard has some ponding and pooling problems when it rains, and that needs to be addressed,” Jonas said. “The sidewalks there are mostly 4 feet wide, with some 6 feet, and we’ll be replacing them with 3 feet of stamped concrete with the rest of the 10 feet either concrete or asphalt. We’ve yet to determine that. Streetlights will be installed in the first 18 inches (from the curb.)”
The project will cost an estimated $1.7 million to $1.8 million and will be funded with part of the county’s share of the countywide 1/2-cent sales tax for road and bridge improvements.
MoDOT officials have agreed to allow the county to install that path on its right-of-way on the north side of Hwy. PP leading to the lot as well.
“We won’t be installing curbs and gutters along that portion,” Jonas said. “We’ll also be lining a crosswalk across Hwy. PP to the parking lot.”
Jonas said eventually, the Parks Department may opt to put playground equipment on the lot.
“It also could be used for a small farmers market,” he said.
Another crosswalk at Community Lane will lead walkers across High Ridge Boulevard to a new sidewalk leading to the High Ridge Community Center, Jonas said.
A gravel path around the Civic Center grounds is planned, Haskins said.
Also, he said, the Northwest R-1 School District is considering a path around High Ridge Elementary School, 2901 High Ridge Blvd.
“This is going to be a really neat path,” Jonas said. “It will link together seven restaurants, the school, the Civic Center, the library, the Health Department office (near the library), the Post Office, salons, the (High Ridge Fire Protection District) and three churches.”
Jonas said design work on the project is ongoing, adding that those who live, work and shop in the area will have some input.
Town hall meeting July 23
Jonas will be one of the speakers at a town hall meeting hosted by Haskins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 23, at the High Ridge Fire Protection District, 2842 High Ridge Blvd.
“I’ll talk for maybe five minutes on public works projects around District 1, and then discuss the plans for High Ridge Boulevard,” Jonas said.
Additional speakers include Northwest R-1 Superintendent Desi Kirchhofer, with a district update, and David Courtway, the county’s director of administration, who will talk about county government functions.
“After the speakers, we’ll break up into roundtables, with the speakers and others at a table, and people can engage any of them in a smaller setting,” Haskins said.
Jonas said he will pass out surveys with six options of street lights, with attendees voting on one.
“That’s been done when they’ve done similar projects in some of the cities,” Jonas said.
“We want people who use the street and shop there to decide,” Haskins said.
Other roundtable speakers include: Lt. Col. Tim Whitney, undersheriff of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office; Eric Larson, the county’s director of county services; Tim Pigg, the county’s parks and recreation director; Jamie Guinn of the North Jefferson County Ambulance District; and Cindy Hayes of the Northwest Branch of the Jefferson County Library.
Haskins said questions to the three speakers should be submitted to him at bhaskins@jeffcomo.org or at P.O. Box 100, Hillsboro, 63050.
“I’m planning for a big turnout,” he said.