Don’t rush decision on Second Avenue

Cedar Rapids City Council members should not rush a decision on whether to close section of Second Avenue to make way for a new medical “mall.”

Councilors initially seemed to jump at the idea, proposed by the Physicians' Clinic of Iowa. We're skeptical.

The PCI facility will be substantial - it's intended to be an important anchor in the city's new Medical District - but other factors also must be considered.

How would such a closure affect traffic flow in and out of downtown - especially during daily commutes and when trains are on the crossings? What improvements would have to be made to nearby streets to accommodate existing and new traffic generated by the facility? These questions require careful study before councilors come to a final decision.

We support development of the Medical District, but in ways that aren't detrimental to other business and activity in Cedar Rapids' core, which is still recovering from the flood.

Council should decide whether or not to close the road segment only after carefully reviewing likely long-term and wider effects of this ambitious new project.

PCI wants to build a $36 million medical “mall” and an $8 million parking ramp along 10th Street SE to anchor the city's new Medical District. Construction is set to begin next year.

As part of the project, next week they are expected to formally ask the City Council to vacate Second Avenue SE between 10th and 12th streets SE.

Closing those blocks would allow them to build a larger building, improve patient access and allow for future growth, PCI's chief executive officer Mike Sundall has said.

At first, Cedar Rapids City Councilors seemed enamored of the idea - But they've tempered their enthusiasm in the wake of residents' responses to the proposal.

Many overwhelmingly negative responses came in “fast and furious,” Council member Monica Vernon recently told a Gazette reporter. She said her initial comments on the idea were probably more positive than they should have been.

Council should take residents' concerns to heart.

No transportation study has been started for the Medical District - city staff still are putting together an outline of what that study should include, Interim City Traffic Engineer Ron Griffith told us this week.

City engineers can't yet say how the closure might affect the flow of traffic. They haven't estimated the extra vehicle trips that might be generated by the Medical District, or where those cars will come from and when.

“It could be that it won't work very well,” Griffith, a project engineer in the traffic engineering division, said. Without more objective data, they can't say.

So proceed with caution, councilors. This decision requires more study.