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Isn't there some construction going on just west of the Fay Athletic Club? That could be Lakewood (it is near a lake after all)

I think that's a pretty cool idea. Any restaruant that occupied it over the years seemed to have struggled for whatever reason. (What's in there now? I haven't been in it in a few years... last I remember, didn't it have a cafe or coffee shop of sorts?)

Thanks for the info. I once lived in those Eagle Nest apartments for a summer near there. I didn't realize there was any flat area on that side of Otter Creek.

Can anyone elaborate on this Siena Lake development? I checked the other thread, only saw mention of it. Did the newspaper say or show exactly where it is going in?

Someone told me once who got the ear-mark, but I forgot who it was. Ear-marks are not competitive funds, though they may have recieved some for River Rail. Competitive funds are completely different.

"Pork barrel spending" is federal ear-marks. Congressmen get federal earmarks for projects they want. They don't spawn out of nowhere. Congressmen put them in approps bills.

Without dedicated lanes it truely wouldn't be a BRT, but just an express route. I think this would mostly appeal to lower-class and/or people without other reliable transportation (i.e., car). Because, you're right, if there were congestion on I-540, the bus is still stuck in traffic like everyone else, so it wouldn't save you any time and not much in gas.

Yeah, I don't know all the goings on right now trying to get state legislators to revise the law on it, but I think that it could be a really good thing for NWA. Many people in NWA say they aren't getting enough compared to what they put in (in taxes) when it comes to transportation improvements. Partly, that's due to the limitations of how state DOTs are set up like AHTD. So an RMA is a potential way around that (it could be thought of as an innovative financing technique). That would be very interesting if NWA got the first RMA along with the first toll road in Arkansas-- shows initiative.

If anyone hasn't read it yet, there was a decent article in the paper regarding the Regional Mobility Authority (RMA) Act, and how the NWA Council is trying to use its influence to get state legislators to see things their way. RMA's are new to Arkansas, and one hasn't been set up (yet). They are gaining popularity in other bigger states. The main reason being, as I have stated before on UP here, is that transportation budgets at the federal and state levels are hardly growing, yet congestion and construction prices are growing immensely (and in NWA, land prices as well). RMA's can allow a metro region to raise funds and spend them on transportation projects in a way the state can't. As I have stated before, raising gas tax is unpopular, and AHTD can't get their hands on Arkansas' massive projected budget surplus, dumb as that might sound. Therefore, I think RMA's are a way for NWA to use it's own money to help pay for projects of high priority by, for example, levying a sales tax. It won't raise enough funds to pay for something like a bypass, but it could be used for widening roads, intersections, bridges, etc. RMA could be well suited for NWA. The only catch might be the fact that since it's primarily a two-county metro area, voters in both counties would have to pass this I think, and their might be issues as far as how the money is split between the two.

right-- west of Pike Ave, north of River Rd (across from Riverdale) The only reason I know is because I heard that the developers and NLR want to put a roundabout on Pike Ave and Broadway where an entrance to the proposed development would be to the west.

I would say you are correct. Though I don't know the details.

Wow... a record?

Somewhere in-between probably, but so much depends on what Fayetteville and their consultants comes up with.

Because it's already programmed through I think just state and federal money-- not part of this cost-sharing program. Unless I'm seeing things, the article correctly states Garland/Hwy 112 from North St to Melmar St (just south of UA Farm), third bullet of the last bulleted list. So partly yes, it is in there, but not quite to I-540.

The statement about the North Fay Expressway Economica Corridor is incorrect, or taken out of context. I'm sure Petrie knows that that is a way off before anything can happen, though having secured federal funds will expedite the process. They first have to study it and coordinate with AHTD and probably FHWA, which itself will take a while. As a former resident of Fayetteville, I look forward to many of these projects which I've been waiting to see since... well in some cases since I was a kid, no joke.

It's technically marked Hwy 71B, so it does. But it was designed as a high-speed freeway bypass-- putting at-grade intersections on it would be irresponsible and dangerous (like putting a traffic signal on a freeway). So if it is to be done like Fay thinks they invision it, it would need some design overhaul.

Well, they can't for that pot of money Coody was referring to-- that is federal ear-marked funds, sometimes affectionally referred to as pork-barrel money by the media. That is, it can only be spent on what the politicians say it can be spent on as stated in the federal transportation bill, and nothing else ("use-it-or-lose-it"). To my understanding, the Fay admin is not currently seeking that as a workable solution. They don't want it. Not sure-- the consultants Fay has hired I think have just started their study.

I think the boulevard concept is understood between AHTD and the City, since the City is paying 50%. But it's not finalized yet. However, if voters don't pass the transportation improvements, then my guess is that Hwy 265 will drop in priority, and/or not be made a boulevard (since it, as invisioned by Fay, costs more). I've been away from my pc for quite some time, sorry I would've responded sooner That's the North Fay Economic Dev Corridor money Coody is referring to-- it's the same thing that was referred to in a NWATimes article about a month ago (where it mentioned Fay hired a consulting firm to study the area to see what should be done to solve the traffic problems).

And that is one crux of the matter-- with such limited funds, does one spend it on a western bypass, or improving I-540? If you can't have both, what to do? Do you try to spend money finishing the rest of I-49-- but by doing so, there is no way to finish it at once so it could only go a short, limited distance-- is that money better spent than trying to address current congestion problems? And you're right, interchanges are the primary problem on I-540 than widening is... however, when you get to the technical details, unfortunately it's not so simple. For some interchanges, the only thing that can be a major improvement is adding an additional ramp lane for example... which means you have to add a freeway lane... which means that lane has to go somewhere (in other words, unclogging one bottleneck will just move the congestion further down somewhere unless there are more lanes). Making piece-meal improvements can only do so much, obviously, and won't solve the major problems without a more systematic overhaul. Boo funding shortfalls... hooray car-pooling

The article touches on what I have been saying earlier-- impact fees aren't the primary reason for lack of affordable housing in Fayetteville... however, the article failed to emphasize I think one of the main reasons-- that '...the Planning Commission and Planning Department are not fond of approving smaller lots and smaller houses that make affordability more possible. ' They probably could use more spine; or, more nicely put, could use more teeth with which to justify some of their decisions to allow higher density and/or smaller/lower-priced houses.

Did anyone else read the front-page articles about development and affordable housing in the NWA Times today? In the article about impact fees, the whole argument seems to me to be very weak-- it, according to the numbers in the article, only would raise the prices of new homes a few thousand dollars. That can't be the real reason for the affordable housing shortage in Fayetteville. Later in that same article, it gives the example of Oakbrooke (Paradigm developer), where it appears the planning commission backed down on approval of the affordable homes because of neighbor concerns of property values. That seems to be the real problem (well, that and high land prices but that goes without saying). In addition to that, strictly anecdotal, I hear from developers and people who work for them that there's just more money to be had in the higher-end price ranges, and with so much work little attention is paid to affordable homes. Mith, or someone else who knows about the new Fayetteville 2025 Plan, doesn't it aim to promote dis-incentives to developers trying to build on the fringes of the City? And/or promote incentives for "infill" developments? (Other than promoting higher density housing, but then where is the higher density affordable housing in Fayetteville?) Because this seems to be really important for a thriving city (as the other article points out)-- if not, people will continually look to places like Springdale, Prairie Grove, Greenland, etc. for affordable housing, thus perpetuating sprawl into jurisdictions Fayetteville does not control. I'm no developer, nor urban planner, so my knowledge in this is limited. Perhaps if growth in NWA cools off, land prices might cool off and developers may pay more attention to the lower priced housing market?

^Yeah, I guess so! I googled it again, 4100 West Sunset Springdale, AR (and even tried Yahoo)... still got the same thing. Oh well

It definitely wasn't more than 2 years ago... maybe last year? Huh, maybe I just haven't paid much attention to it even though I've driven through it recently several times.

It says construction won't occur until Fayetteville secures the extra funds. That doesn't mean construction will happen tomorrow, it still has to be let to contract. I remember Township between Gregg and College always being horrible (Sunbridge helped a little). I learned to avoid it over the years, so I don't think I've been on it during rush hour lately-- I'm assuming it's still as bad as always?