Batavia mayoral hopefuls talk bridge needs
Batavia mayoral candidate Alan Wolff thinks that one of the first things the city ought to address is where to build a second bridge over the Fox River.
His two opponents agree.
Siting the bridge, "regardless of how long it takes to fund or develop, is key to business development" in Batavia's downtown, he said in a Daily Herald endorsement interview this week. Without knowing what property might have to be taken for a bridge, developers might be reluctant to plan new projects in the area, the 2nd Ward alderman said.
Mayor Jeff Schielke, also running, agrees with Wolff that the second bridge issue needs resolution. There is an ad hoc city committee studying the issue presently, and it's expected to present its findings to the city council in the near future.
In November 2000, Batavia residents voted against building a second bridge connecting First to Webster streets. While the city council earlier that year had unanimously supported the idea of a second bridge - to alleviate traffic congestion on Wilson Street - aldermen later disagreed over location and whether homes and businesses should be torn down to make way for a bridge. The final choice was approved 8-6.
"The minute the vote (by the council) was taken, that was the end of the issue," Schielke said, stressing council consensus would be needed to sell residents on building a second bridge.
Batavia MainStreet executive director Britta McKenna, the third mayoral candidate, said she supports building only a local, or circulator, bridge, as compared to a regional bridge like that on Fabyan Parkway. A bigger bridge would take too much traffic away from downtown. "Our downtown will disappear," she said. But a smaller bridge "creates new opportunities, new corners for development," she said.
Of course, how to pay for a new bridge is a problem. Eighty percent of the cost of the new Wilson Street bridge was covered by federal money. None of the candidates believe that's going to be available again.
"St. Charles has been trying the last eight years to fund Red Gate Road (bridge). There's no money out there," Schielke said.
All three said local taxes would have to be raised to pay for a bridge, via referendum.