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Davenport leaders consider converting 3rd, 4th streets to 2-ways

Davenport has already secured $10 million in federal funding to reconstruct the area from Telegraph to Harrison streets.

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Downtown Davenport Partnership will discuss the conversion of Third and Fourth streets into two-ways during the Davenport City Council discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

Converting the streets has been contemplated since the 1980s, and the project will cost a lot of money, time and road-closure confusion for travelers.

"We know that this has been a hot topic for a long time, but ultimately, there are stacks of studies that agree that this is a good idea," Downtown Davenport Partnership Executive Director Kyle Carter said. " We're also aware that there has to be a balance between walkability and growth of downtown and our adjacent neighborhoods and traffic efficiency."

The city has secured $10 million in federal grant money to reconstruct Telegraph through Harrison streets.

RELATED: Now a 2-way street, 1st Avenue opens in Sterling

"Plus, the Downtown Partnership, which is made up of the downtown property owners and businesses have agreed to pay for almost 35-40% of the conversion costs over 10 years to help the city pay for that bond, which is between $600,000-700,000, which is real money," Carter said.

The plan is to convert Third and Fourth streets at the same time, while also building a Fourth Street flood detour.

"There is no other neighborhood in the city that would ever be built from the ground up with one-way pairs running through it that are four lanes wide and move as quickly as these do," Carter said.

The one-way streets in downtown Davenport have raised safety concerns because the neighborhood has expanded to include 2,000 residents but the infrastructure hasn't.

The two-way road discussion will take place at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday at Davenport City Hall.

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