City Council approves bike boulevard, TIF project

Tiger Hotel is set to be renovated by Tiger Columns LLC.

By Alicia Stice

Published Oct. 6, 2009

City Council passed a resolution for the construction of a bicycle boulevard and gave final approval for a renovation plan for Tiger Hotel.

The implementation of this project will involve the construction of a median on College Avenue between Ash and Windsor streets, making it impossible for cars to turn left at those intersections and right from College Avenue to Ash Street. The boulevard itself will run along Ash and Windsor streets between 10th and Ann streets.

For Columbia resident John Schultz, the elimination of left turns at those intersections is a deal breaker. Schultz drives his children to a preschool at Stephens College and said the changes the council proposed will complicate his commute.

"The City Council is ignoring parents going to that school," Schultz said. "We can share the roads, we don't need to penalize drivers in the interest of bicyclists."

Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala said complaints about the medians constitute most of the negative feedback he hears from Columbia residents, though this feedback is minimal.

Mayor Darwin Hindman said he was proud of the neighborhood for being receptive to the new idea of the bicycle boulevard and he said though it focuses on cyclist safety, eliminating it would create a safer driving environment.

Several neighborhood associations were in attendance for the vote on the issue and members stood up during the public hearing portion of the meeting in a show of support for the resolution. Supporters of the project said the median would stop dangerous and high volumes of fast moving traffic on their streets.

"The modification to the crossing will add safety to that site and eliminate confusion and blind spots with cars," said Adam Saunders, who lives off Ash Street.

Linda Roots, president of the North Central Columbia Neighborhood Association, said the bicycle boulevard would attract traffic beneficial for businesses in her neighborhood, located in the North Village Arts District. She said only one business felt it would be negatively impacted by the boulevard.

Fifth Ward Councilwoman Laura Nauser and Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Wade were the two dissenting votes on the resolution. Both cited the large number of city projects as the reason for their votes.

"This may be one project too many without letting social change in the community catch up to it," Wade said.

First Ward Councilman Paul Sturtz, who used to live off of Windsor Street, said the resolution is a win-win solution. Sturtz said the boulevard will make the roads safer for bicyclists and for cars no longer making dangerous left turns.

In other business, the council unanimously voted to give Tiger Columns LLC the right to renovate Tiger Hotel. In late July, the council approved a redevelopment plan that uses tax increment financing, but the fine print of the agreement had not been worked out.

According to previous Maneater reports, TIF is a developmental strategy where cities subsidize a project by giving its developers back a percentage of the new tax revenue generated by a project. Tiger Columns can use these TIF bonds to finance up to 20 percent of the project's costs.

TIF bonds usually depend on tax revenue, so if a project fails to meet projected revenues, the city does not lose money on the bonds. According to the plan, Tiger Columns has about 21 months to complete renovations once they secure private financing. All financing has to be obtained by June 30, 2010.