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Ames council selects Alternative A for Stange Road multimodal redesign, schedules 2027 construction
Summary
After outreach to about 100 businesses, council approved Design Alternative A for Stange Road — one lane each direction with a parking loop and a shared use path — and authorized a contract amendment for additional design work; staff anticipates construction in 2027 and will coordinate with CyRide on new stops.
Council voted May 12 to approve Design Alternative A for the Stange Road multimodal improvements project, endorsing a reconfiguration that narrows travel to one lane each way, provides a parking loop for adjacent businesses, and installs a new shared‑use path and mid‑block crossing.
Public Works staff said two rounds of outreach (including direct letters to about 100 businesses) produced consistent feedback favoring Alternative A. Staff recommended a contract amendment to fund additional design work for the shared‑use path, driveway reconfigurations and CyRide stop placement. "As staff we believe Design Alternative A can meet the goals of the project better than Design Alternative B," a staff presenter said during the briefing.
Neighbors who testified urged more options for pedestrian safety and questioned the survey design; resident Kevin Burke said the online feedback lacked a "neither" option and suggested pedestrian-activated flashing crosswalks as an alternative to full four‑way stops. Staff responded that Alternative A provides opportunities to address stormwater concerns and that the project will include intake and drain improvements; they reiterated that 2027 is the anticipated construction year.
Council approved Alternative A and added direction for Public Works to work with Electric to explore providing power to the central Crescent area. The roll-call approval recorded all council members voting in favor.
Staff will continue design coordination with CyRide to locate inbound and outbound stops near the project area, refine stormwater solutions for adjacent businesses, and prepare construction documents and phased plans ahead of the 2027 construction window.
