City council approved the construction of sidewalks on Bobby K. Marks Drive on Tuesday in a unanimous decision.
The approval allows the City Manager Matt Benoit to sign an Interlocal Agreement with Sam Houston State University officials for the joint planning, design and financial participation of a crosswalk project on Bobby K. Marks Drive, a street which runs through campus.
Student Body President Spencer Copeland brought the issue to city council in August 2014 hoping to make the street safer for students who park in the area.
“Any student who walks across that street knows that it is just a crazy street,” Copeland said. “There is no easy way to get across unless you walk down to the only crosswalk, which is not always convenient.”
Although the item has been on the agenda for the last six months, there was no debate Tuesday when topic was brought up and all nine council members approved the action.
“I’m excited we are moving forward,” Huntsville City Councilwoman Tish Humphrey said.
According to Copeland, the time it took to pass the legislation was understandable.
“That’s kind of the pace of this,” Copeland said. “It required the university and the city to work out an inter-local agreement and then needs to be approved by the appropriate members in each institution.”
Although after six months city council has finally come to a conclusion on the matter, according to Copeland the finite details are not yet concrete.
“The details are still waiting to be finalized,” Copeland said. “It is a way for students to cross that road safely and we are glad that city council was able to help us out on this project.”
The council voted on other items throughout the meeting as well. The minutes from the city council meeting held on Jan. 6 and the strategic planning meeting Jan. 13, were approved unanimously as well as the approval to consider the purchase of a vacuum Hydro-Excavator for the Water and Wastewater Divisions.