By Willa Boisseau, SCANews Senior Editor
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) brought big news to the Olive Business Association meeting in February. Karen Yeomans, Area Engineer for West St. Louis County, brought aerial photos of major changes to the intersection of Olive Street Road and I-170.
Construction will close the intersection for various periods of time during the same time that parts of Highway 40 (I-64) will be under construction. Good results of the new interchange will be safer access to both I-170 and Olive, safer pedestrian crossings along Olive, and better traffic flow along Olive. Problems in moving between University City and Olivette will result during closings. This will be a real headache for merchants and their customers. Page and Bonhomme Avenues would seem to be the best alternatives.
Becky Grunbaum, U. City Department of Public Works, had updates on the Olive Street Road enhancements. They are scheduled to be completed by summer of this year. Decorative street lighting, new trees and more attractive pavement at some intersections will be part of the plan. More than six miles of bike routes will be finished from Olivette through U. City to Forest Park in St. Louis.
The OBA encourages use of its computer link at www.olivelink.net. A Business Directory and a newsletter are available now. More information will be added in the future. A printed newsletter is distributed to merchants. This month's issue contains a special feature, Business of the Month. The featured business is the well-known Bob's Seafood. Its new and much larger location on Olive will bring in many devoted customers to the west Olive Link area.
Mayor Joe Adams announced that Thomas Moton, University City Assistant City Manager for the past several years and OBA's valued contact with City Hall, will be moving to his new position in Greenville, North Carolina, at the end of February. Mr. Moton said he will be Assistant City Manager for a much larger city, following what will be a professional career advancement for him. The OBA will miss him.
OBA Co-Chairman Bart Beyers announced that a fair will be presented in Heman Park this summer. The main purpose of the fair will be to showcase U. City businesses, their food and their products and services.
The next meeting of the OBA will be Tuesday, March 14, at Heman Park Community Center. This meeting will be a Bagels and Coffee meeting at 8:00 A.M. The time change, for this one meeting only, will allow people who cannot make the evening meetings to attend an OBA program. Everyone interested in the businesses along the Olive corridor, and what is happening there, is encouraged to attend.
Be sure to note the 8:00 A.M. meeting time on March 14! |
