There will not be a roundabout constructed on Cedar Street and 7th Ave. anytime soon. Mission council has rejected the concept after examining the proposal in more detail.
Staff had previously recommended a proposal to widen Cedar Street at 7th Ave. to allow for two lanes in each direction and a left turn lane. However, Mayor Randy Hawes asked staff to bring back a proposal, rejected by the previous council, for a roundabout in the area.
He said he had never seen the proposal before and thought council should examine every option.
“When you look at the drawings, you see that it can’t work,” said Hawes.
Council is not moving forward with the original proposal yet.
The widening of Cedar Street to four lanes each way would force council to expropriate land, which has caused some serious concerns for property owners in the area.
“Four million dollars to expropriate property from people who don’t want to be expropriated is a pretty tough thing to have to do,” said Hawes.
Instead, a third option is going to be explored.
Hawes suggested a study be performed, at a maximum cost of $20,000, to see if eliminating left turn access onto 7th, from Cedar, in both directions, would solve the congestion problems. He said it would allow for more “straight through flow.” He also suggested eliminating truck traffic from Cedar.
Council will make a final decision after examining the new study.