Mary Hansen
The State Journal-Register
Last April, residents saw six alternatives for resurfacing and improving MacArthur Boulevard between South Grand and Wabash avenues from the city of Springfield and the Illinois Department of Transportation. In 2017, Ward 7 Ald. Joe McMenamin says the city should take that section of road over from the state and make the needed improvements in the road, sidewalks, signs and lighting.
“The decision-making process would be simpler and hopefully the timeline faster,” McMenamin said. As part of the transfer, the city would request funds to maintain the road, McMenamin said.
All the options included resurfacing, and some included bike lanes and new sidewalks. The price tags ranged from $2.5 million to $26.3 million.
Along that same stretch, McMenamin says there’s opportunity for redevelopment. The former Federated Funeral Directors building and the lot where the Esquire Theatre once stood are ripe for projects, he said. A redevelopment effort could take advantage of incentives provided by a tax increment financing district that was established along MacArthur when the grocer Hy-Vee decided to set up shop there in 2012.
McMenamin has served Ward 7 since 2011.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 