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Dardenne Prairie to pursue $1.29 million Bates Road resurfacing grant; bike lanes draw resident concern
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Summary
City staff said Bates Road’s resurfacing and safety upgrades are largely grant-funded — total cost about $1.29 million with the city responsible for roughly $90,000 — and that adding buffered bike lanes made the project eligible for East West Gateway and County Road Board funds. Several residents said losing the center turn lane could impede local turning and asked for targeted design changes.
Dardenne Prairie officials told the Board of Aldermen in a work session that the Bates Road base-road Phase 1 project has secured significant regional funding but prompted questions from residents about the proposed removal of a center turn lane.
City engineer Matt, the project presenter, said the total project cost is about $1,290,000, with $836,000 from East West Gateway and $359,000 from the County Road Board, leaving the city responsible for roughly $90,000 (about 7 percent). He said the design uses a mill-and-overlay approach and removes the center turn lane to add buffered five-foot bike lanes in each direction, plus ADA curb ramps, high-visibility crosswalks and rapid flashing beacons to improve pedestrian safety.
"The total project cost is about $1,290,000," Matt said. "By combining resurfacing with bike lanes and safety improvements, we were able to score well and receive funding." He added that the buffered bike lanes increase the project’s competitiveness while adding only about $53,000 to the scope.
Multiple aldermen and residents objected to removing the center turn lane in places where drivers rely on it for safe left turns. One attendee said the city has since received numerous calls opposing the change and asked whether the city could retain turn lanes at specific locations by acquiring additional right-of-way or redesigning localized segments.
Matt responded that existing county traffic counts used for the grant application showed a center turn lane was not warranted and recommended a new, up-to-date traffic study in the planning phase if local conditions suggest otherwise. He also said construction is not slated immediately; the presenter estimated a relatively short paving window once bidding and contracting are complete.
City Administrator Kathy said staff would plan to budget at least $89,000–$90,000 in capital planning and would include cost escalation factors; she noted that without grant funding the overlay cost to the city would be substantially higher. "We would look to budget at least $89,000 or $90,000 in our capital budget planning for this," Kathy said.
Officials emphasized the trade-off that made the project fundable: turning a routine pavement maintenance job into a multimodal complete-street project that met regional scoring criteria. Board members asked staff to explore whether targeted turn lanes could be preserved at specific problem locations and to include a new traffic study in the planning phase if warranted.
Next steps: staff will proceed with planning and the grant agreement process; construction timelines will depend on final design, bidding and funding schedules. The board did not take a formal vote on the project at the work session.
