New plans suggest three lanes for 12th Street project

  Consultants on the 12th Street improvement project came back to the Yuma City Council with revised plans that hopefully will sit better with residents of the affected area.

  The alternate design is for a three-lane street between Avenues A and B, including a new bridge across the East Main Canal, Jan Zander, executive vice president of Ayres and Associates, told council members during their roundtable Tuesday afternoon.

  He also stressed that the plan as presented to the council "is by no means a final design."

  The original roadway plan called for widening the street to five lanes, which would have required significant acquisition of rights of way, along with the bridge construction.

  That plan met with fierce opposition from area residents at an open house in July. Some said they didn't understand why the road needed to be improved at all, and others thought three lanes would be acceptable.

  The revised plan would require significantly less right-of-way acquisition, Zander said. He also proposed adding limited new access to Magnolia Village for emergency vehicles only and a roundabout at 14th Avenue and 12th Street where a number of children cross the street on their way to school at O.C. Johnson.

  To the question of how safe that would be for pedestrian traffic, he responded that it would slow traffic and there would be a median island to help cross the street safely. He also recommended a crossing guard.

  The school didn't want a pedestrian tunnel, which can be sites for criminal activity. And a pedestrian overpass would add significantly to the cost and scope of the project.

  In the end, it was decided to stick with a regular signalized intersection.

  With the revisions, the plan now has an estimated $11.5 million price tag for right-of-way acquisition and construction, said Jay Simonton, project manager for the city. The original plan would have cost close to $20 million, much of it to purchase property to widen the road.

  The number of homes impacted by the alternate plan will depend on the final design of the road, said City Administrator Mark Watson. "But there will be much less impact this way."

  He also suggested that another public meeting be held before the final design is adopted to gather input from residents. At the moment, the project is not a top priority.