Old Bonhomme Sidewalk Project Moves Ahead After Hearing

Plans to improve a 2-mile stretch of Old Bonhomme Road and add 5-foot sidewalks to either side moved ahead after a public hearing last month designed to address property owners' questions about the $2.4 million project.

Olivette City Manager Mike McDowell said about 15 to 20 property owners among the approximately 90 who will be affected showed up for a meeting with city planners on Oct. 17.

"We went over the plans with property owners who were present and answered questions," McDowell said. "Not everyone was enthusiastic about the plans as they were drawn, and there are probably going to be some minor adjustments."

Planners said in the presentation that the existing 3- to 4-foot sidewalks along a 2-mile stretch of the road are not adequate for pedestrians or cyclists. Plans call for 5-foot wide sidewalks on either side of the road, as well as improvements to the road surface and curbs.

The work would extend on Old Bonhomme south and east from Olive to approximately Irv Zeid Citizen's Park.

The next step, McDowell, said, is to get the thumbs up from the Missouri Department of Transportation to seek to purchase right-of-way property from homeowners along the route. Homeowners will be approached to sell anywhere from 1 to 2-and-a-half feet of their property fronting Old Bonhomme.

That process could take up to six months, McDowell said, after which bidding could begin on the construction work.