WATERLOO - When Dean Platt bought his tree nursery in 1944 it was on a gravel road.

That route exploded over the years into U.S. Highway 218, picking up steam as a retail corridor connecting Waterloo and Cedar Falls. In the late 1960s, Platt and his neighboring merchants in the Cedarloo Commercial Club successfully lobbied both cities to give the street a new identity: University Avenue.

"It wasn't just a name," Platt recalled. "It was University Avenue. It took us from Washington Street in Waterloo all the way over to the college."

While U.S. 218 relocated north as a freeway in 1992, University Avenue's six lanes still carry more than 14,000 cars a day past Platt's.

"I thought when the (highway) bypasses went in, it would reduce our traffic, but it hasn't," Platt said. "It's still a good place to do business."

But there have been changes in the 35 years since University Avenue widened. For one, it's no longer a state highway. And businesses along the route face increasing competition from outlying commercial districts along San Marnan Drive in Waterloo and Viking Road in Cedar Falls. Its lack of sidewalks and recreational trails may also run at odds with changing lifestyles and trends.

With that in mind, the Iowa Northland Regional Council of Governments is in the early stages of a 15-month process to develop a design for the 4.7-mile stretch of University Avenue from U.S. Highway 63 in Waterloo to Main Street in Cedar Falls.

While the road hasn't been programmed for reconstruction, plans developed now with input from University Avenue property owners, motorists and other stakeholders will serve as a blueprint when University is rebuilt in the future.

- When Dean Platt bought his tree nursery in 1944 it was on a gravel road.was University Avenue. It took us from Washington Street in Waterloo all the way over to the college."

Connections

Kamyar Enshayan, a councilman in Cedar Falls, was one of about 20 people who attended a public meeting on the planning process earlier this month. He saw the opportunity to redesign the corridor in practical and symbolic terms.

"It traditionally connected the two communities, but for a variety of reasons has sort of been abandoned," Enshayan said. "I really think reconstructing the University Avenue corridor has a tremendous potential for redevelopment and connecting the two communities, which could lead to new investment."

Bob Lentz, an engineer with AECOM, is the project manager for the planning process, which will cover traffic safety, traffic operations, access to locations along the street, aesthetics and issues related to public transit, pedestrians and bicycles.

A visual tour of University from Iowa Highway 58 heading east points out a number of shortcomings, Lentz said.

Around Tucson Drive in Cedar Falls there are utility poles in the sidewalk itself and no setback between the walks and the curb; sidewalks don't exist through the College Square Mall area; and there are minimal setbacks between University Avenue and the frontage roads, which create some issues at the access points.

Farther east, there is landscaping in the median but no visual enhancements on sides of the road, Lentz added. East of Ansborough Avenue, University is heavily residential with a number of residential street intersections, and the stretch east of Fletcher Avenue often has very light traffic.

Meanwhile, Lentz said, University Avenue "appears to be a missing link" in the recreational trail system.

Traffic declines

New traffic counts were conducted this fall, showing about 19,000 vehicles a day at Highway 58 in Cedar Falls tapering off to only 7,000 cars per day east of the Fletcher interchange in Waterloo.

There were 436 crashes recorded in the University study zone from 2003 through 2007, mostly from rear-end collisions and left-turn violations. The most were at Cedar Heights Drive, with 56, though the Valley Park Drive, Falls Avenue, Ansborough and Highway 63 intersections all had accident rates ranking higher than state averages.

"Over the last 10 years … generally there's been a slight downward trend in the traffic volumes," Lentz said. "With six lanes, we have adequate capacity, maybe excess capacity in some places."

But a survey of property owners, primarily businesses, along the University corridor showed almost no support for narrowing the roadway from the current six lanes. "A majority of people felt that University was fine as it is with the lane configurations," Lentz said.

The lack of sidewalks, crosswalks and bike accommodations were all ranked as more important by the 41 respondents to the survey. The University corridor visual appearance was also perceived negatively.

Mark Witmer, executive director of North Star Community Services, at 3420 University Ave., Waterloo, is particularly concerned about pedestrian issues. Many clients of North Star, which serves those with disabilities, arrive by bus or on foot.

"There are no sidewalks in our area on either side of University and yet there are quite a few bus stops," Witmer said. "When you get off the bus, where do you walk? In the wintertime, there's snow and people walk in the street."

In warmer months, Witmer often rides his bicycle to work from Valley Park Drive in Cedar Falls to his North Star office.

"My most direct route would be University, but I really can't use it," he said. "It would be really nice to have a bike lane there."

Limited access

Access is a key issue to businesses along the University corridor, no matter how customers arrive.

"Any way in which they transform University Avenue that makes our shoppers more able to come - whether on foot, bikes or cars - we're excited about it," said Jeremy Larsen, general manager of College Square Mall, which was constructed in 1970 around the same time University was widened from four to six lanes.

"We want to be part of all the ideas being discussed," Larsen added. "A number of things they could do would be fantastic for College Square Mall."

Bob Starbuck opened Tee to Green Golf at 2827 University Ave., Waterloo, in February 1992, shortly before U.S. 218 traffic was diverted onto the new freeway. He's been happy with the location.

"It's a busy street with three lanes both ways," he said. "With my access road, it helps a whole bunch. A lot of people up the road don't have (frontage) roads."

Scott Jordan, who bought the Cedarloo Center at 4302 University Ave., Cedar Falls, in 2007, is particularly concerned about access.

"That shopping center has been there forever and it serves both Waterloo and Cedar Falls, which is what I really liked about it," said Jordan, who is investing in improvements at the strip mall. "But the biggest complaints I heard were from people who couldn't make a left onto University to get to Waterloo."

Jordan has been asking state officials and the Iowa Department of Transportation, which controls and maintains University, for a median cut, to no avail. "All of the tenants think it would increase business," he said.

Changing character

Jack Haes, whose family started Peterman and Haes Carpet One, at 4003 University Ave., has watch the character of the University corridor change over the years. He's not involved in the business today, but began working there for his father in 1964.

Several "big box" stores were located in the area where Hobby Lobby, Kmart, and Upper Iowa University's campus are situated. Cars roared around Tunis Speedway. Across the road from Peterman and Haes, where Hy-Vee is located, was the Starlite Drive-In movie theater. Competition for businesses were in the downtown areas, not Crossroads Center.

"The businesses had some issues with the highway being widened from four to six lanes," Haes recalled. "They lost a lot of parking spaces and many didn't feel they were compensated well enough for that."

Then all of the four-way stop signs were replaced with traffic signals.

"This upset my dad tremendously," Haes said. "Here we put in a six-lane road that was supposed to improve traffic flow, but the business people were surprised how it slowed things down.

"The city promised they were going to coordinate and synchronize the traffic lights," he added. "But after about a year they hadn't done anything, and now they said it would take too much money."

Business revitalization

Efforts have been made to improve the business climate along University.

Tax incentives for retail development helped Cedar Falls revitalize Black Hawk Village in 2001. Waterloo City Council members recently added the University corridor to the city's Consolidated Urban Revitalization Area, providing property tax breaks for new construction and building improvements.

Waterloo Planning and Development Director Noel Anderson said the CURA addition was an effort to stop University businesses from migrating to newer commercial parks.

"There is existing retail, there is existing office development in that corridor," he said. "This gives them incentive to invest and stay where they are."

Darin Beck, president of Barmuda, has owned businesses, including night clubs and restaurants, in the University corridor for many years.

"I really like the approach they're taking," Beck said of the University planning process. "I just think it's wonderful that they're starting well ahead of schedule and they're not going to be rushing it at the end.

"I would like to see more of the businesses and private property accommodated with better curb cuts or turning lanes," he added. "But it is going to be a huge challenge. It needs to be beautified and private investments needs to happen up and down the corridor."

Beck is hoping the cities work in conjunction with the road planning process to focus on land use and development along University.

"I think at some point, it's going to be important to have a long-range plan for the redevelopment and revitalization of the private property along the way," he said.

"I think there's still life there," he added. "A lot of people think it's time to move out to suburbia, the urban sprawl thing, but I think University's always going to be there."

Information and an opportunity to provide input are available online at www.inrcog.org. Another public meeting is tentatively slated for July, with a project completion date in November 2009.

Contact Tim Jamison at (319) 291-1577 or tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.