Design dispute delays South Barstow reconstruction

Tom Giffey |

Now that our endless winter seems to be officially vanishing, we can look forward to the Chippewa Valley’s other favorite season: road construction. But it will be a little while longer before the jackhammers get jackhammering downtown: On Tuesday (April 23), the Eau Claire City Council voted unanimously to delay for three weeks accepting a contractor’s bid to tear up and rebuild a five-block stretch South Barstow Street. (Haas Sons of Thorp id the low bidder at $1.57 million.) The council will now act on the bid at its May 14 meeting, giving merchants and property owners extra time to offer input on the street and sidewalk design.

According to the Leader-Telegram, some property owners – notably John Mogensen and Lisa Aspenson – have objected to elements of the design, including the profusion of plant-filled, landscaped “parklets” along the thoroughfare. The delay will allow the council to gather input on changes to the plan from several sources, among them the South Barstow Business Improvement District. That group’s board will meet at 7:30am Thursday (April 25) in the North Conference Room at City Hall to discuss amenities along the street.

The council can’t delay forever, of course: “As long as we hit the next council meeting, we’ll be OK. If you go past that council meeting, the project’s done for the year,” said deputy city engineer Doug Derks, according to the Leader-Telegram. Before we hear jackhammers, we’ll hear that clock ticking.