Roadway reconstruction related to the new Interstate 74 Bridge may be a puzzle now to motorists in downtown Bettendorf, but an even more significant street reconfiguration may be on the horizon – conversion of the Grant and State Street one-ways to two-way traffic.
The city council Tuesday (Aug. 2) approved hiring a traffic consultant for $100,000 to conduct an analysis of the two downtown one-ways with an eye toward making them into two-way streets.
The so-called Town Square block along State Street in downtown Bettendorf should be used as originally envisioned – as an open plaza for civic events and activities – a team of urban planners from the Iowa Downtown Resource Center told city officials in early October.
The planning experts' recommendation is in stark contrast to two development proposals currently being considered by the city council. Both call for creation of mixed use commercial/residential development with parking on the block between 20th and 21st Streets between State and Grant Streets.
For more than a year, Bettendorf Mayor Bob Gallagher and City Administrator Decker Ploehn have been telling their economic development staff and developers they would support use of city tax incentives for projects involving downtown apartments.
In emails obtained by bettendorf.com through a Freedom of Information request, both Gallagher and Ploehn were focused on redevelopment of eight apartment buildings in the downtown known collectively as the Carling Apartments.
In a rare public discussion among Bettendorf aldermen about downtown and riverfront redevelopment, the city council and staff this week conceded they have no consensus on where they're headed and agreed to work toward a unified vision for the area.
A fertilizer spill this month in southwest Iowa killed nearly all the fish in a 60-mile stretch of river with an estimated death toll of more than 750,000, according to Iowa and... more
The Iowa Senate on Monday sent a bill to the governor’s desk restricting stormwater and topsoil regulations, a measure Democrats say unfairly limits local control.
An India online media company, Quint Digital Limited of Delhi, has purchased a 10 percent stake in Lee Enterprises, Inc., owner of the Quad City Times, the Dispatch/Argus and more than 70 other media properties.
Quint Digital and three of its owners, Raghav Bahl, Ritu Kapur and Vidar Bahl... more