Big Changes Happening at the Center of Cedar Falls

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - Driving through Main Street will look notably different in 2025. Main
Street will be getting a slew of upgrades in the next few years. The Main Street Reconstruction
Project will break ground in Spring 2023.

Similar to University Avenue, roundabouts will be added to aid the flow of traffic. The
roundabout at Seerley will feature a welcome point as you drive into downtown Cedar Falls.
Main Street sees about 10,000 cars per day according to a traffic study done by the city.
Roundabouts will slow traffic and can reduce the likelihood of a crash by 35 percent.

Main Street is currently four lanes, with two on each side. After the project, it will be a three lane
road. There will be a center turn lane down the entire street with one lane going each direction.

While roundabouts and the lane adjustments are the biggest changes, they’re not the only ones.
Lighting, sidewalks, and on-street bike lanes will also be added. An overview gateway feature
will be constructed on the north end of the street to welcome people into the downtown area.

Upgrades to both storm and sanitary sewers and the water main will happen as well. “How we
designed this system is we designed it for a ten year storm event,” said Clayton Carper. “A ten
year storm event is a storm that you’re only expected to see once every ten years.” Extensive
drainage research was put into the project along with the latest rainfall counts in the statewide
urban design standards.

The project will happen in four phases with phase one set to start on April 1, 2023. Phase one
will begin with construction from Seerley to 18th Street. During this phase, there will be a time
when Main Street is closed from McDonalds to Seerley. There will also be a period of time when
Seerley Boulevard will be closed to east/west traffic. A detour will be set up for both of these
closures. Access to businesses and maintaining Main Street traffic will be a priority during
construction.

Phase two will jump to the north side of the street from 9th Street to 6th Street. This phase is
expected to be completed in 2023. Phase three and four won't begin until 2024. Phase three will
be from 18th Street to 12th Street and phase four will be from 12th to 9th Street. Like phase one,
maintaining access to businesses and properties as well as traffic on Main Street will be a
priority.

The City of Cedar Falls has a few different goals for the Main Street Reconstruction project. First
and foremost is to improve and repair the pavement. Aaron Moniza, an engineer at Foth, said it
was initially the driving force behind this reconstruction project. “Most folks know it has
deteriorated to the point where it needs replacing,” said Moniza.

Improving safety for all modes of traffic and providing bicycle and pedestrian mobility are two
more goals the city has for this project. “We’re going to be doing improvements to a number of
the bus stops,” said Moniza. “There will be some bus shelters and some other amenities like
benches and trash receptacles that will be installed as part of the project.”

Helping the downtown economy grow and revitalize is another objective for the project.
Hopefully the new look and improvements will draw consumers and business owners to Cedar
Falls. The new pavement and bike lanes encourage more pedestrians to walk or bike downtown
which leads them to strolling by many downtown businesses.

There are mixed feelings among the Cedar Falls community about this reconstruction project.
Some homeowners are upset the reconstruction will inconvenience them and block their
driveway. Some people are not a fan of the roundabouts, but according to Chase Schrage, they
have heard way less complaints compared to when they added the roundabouts to University.

Another concern residents have voiced is the removal of trees lining the street. Since trees will
be taken out during the construction, the city will be replanting trees along both sides of the
entire street. “It’s not as good as the mature trees but it is what it is to to put a new water main,
storm sewer and sidewalk in,” said Luke Andreason, Principal of Engineering. 275 trees will be
planted as well as over 250 shrubs and flowers.

The biggest concern the city has heard is the roundabout in front of the fire station. “Initially
there were people really upset that we were doing a roundabout right by the fire station,” said
Andreason. “They were really concerned that the fire trucks aren’t going to be able to get in and
out but we’ve worked with the fire station and they will be just fine.” In order to ensure the fire
trucks can maneuver around the roundabouts, a larger truck apron was added to the roundabout
at 18th Street. The city has assured residents that access to the fire department will be maintained
during construction.

A group that’s happy about the changes is the Cedar Falls Biking and Pedestrian Advisory
Committee. A member of this group, Jack Yates, said, “Things could always be better but they
listened to us.” The on-street bike lanes are a big step in the right direction by encouraging
residents to bike and/or walk downtown instead of always driving.

Residents with questions and concerns about the project can contact Luke Andreassen, Principal
Engineer for the city, and Aaron Moniza, Project Manager for Foth. Citizens can also learn more
about the project and stay updated on the Main Street Reconstruction website.
While things may look ugly the next few years during construction, Main Street will have a
beautiful new look by 2025. “I just like to see an old rundown corridor similar to University be
transformed,” said Schrage. “Then in the end it being revitalized with new businesses coming
in.”

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Cedar Falls Boards and Commissions Members Approved

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - The September 19th city council meeting was packed full of topics
and issues for the council to speak and rule about. The City of Cedar Falls holds city council
meetings every Monday at 7 P.M that are open to the public and recordings are posted online.

During this meeting, members for various Boards and Commissions were voted on and approved
by the council. Donna Mallin, Julie Kliegl and Robert Wright were all approved for the Human
Rights Commission. The Art & Culture Board added two new members, Anne Bonsall Hoekstra
and Toni Wilson Wood. Brooke Croshier-Sidebotham, Amy Dutton, and Doug Johnson are now
all members of the Visitors & Tourism Board. Last but not least, the Parks & Recreation
Commision added one new member, James Langel.

All board members were recommended by the mayor prior to the meeting. The motion was
passed unanimously but not without a few concerns from city council member Daryl Kruse.
Kruse didn’t have an issue with the members but he was concerned about the process. “We don’t
have what I would view as the transparency I’d like to see on who’s applying for these different
positions,” said Kruse.

Kruse also brought up the fact that the criteria for reappointment is very little. “The only criteria
appears to be attendance requirements and actively contributing,” said Kruse. “What I’d like to
see and learn is, are they following the mandate or bylaws of the board and commission that
they’re on as opposed to just showing up? And then have more of a review by council of those
components.”

Green was quick to respond to Kruses’ comments. “I wouldn’t entertain a review by council
because that’s the mayor's call of the appointments,” said Green. “Now I have added in the
ability for council members who are the chairs of the commissions to weigh in but at the end of
the day it’s the mayor’s decision.”

The meeting started with multiple proclamations bringing awareness to certain topics this week
and during the month of October. Rob Green, City of Cedar Falls Mayor, announced and
recognized October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “Observing October as Breast Cancer
Awareness month provides a special opportunity to educate our community on the importance of
making evidence based decisions for long term health,” said Green.

Green listed a few things the Cedar Falls community was doing to help spread awareness about
the topic. The Cedar Falls Public Safety Department sells pink police and fire division patches
for an awareness and fundraising drive every October. The Annual Pink Ribbon Run was held
downtown on the first Saturday of October. This event is hosted by the Cedar Valley cancer
committee every year.

The second proclamation of the night was recognizing October 3-8, 2022 as Earth Science Week.
“I encourage all citizens to develop an interest in and an appreciation for the earth sciences in
support of a better community and world,” said Green. Two UNI students spoke on the
importance of earth sciences to understand Earth’s resources.

All but one resolution was passed unanimously. Council member Dave Sires requested item 19
on the resolution calendar, relating to submitting a Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant
application to the Federal Railroad Administration, considered separately from the rest of the
resolutions on the calendar.

The motion was passed after further discussion. “I’m afraid of what’s going to happen with the
natural gas prices and I would like to see those tracks remain for another long time,” said Sires.
“They’re all in good shape. … It just doesn’t seem correct to strangle our utility a chance to have
the coal trains come in when we’re set up to take it that way right now.”

Green gave the floor to Cedar Falls Utilities General Manager, Steve Bernard to respond to
Sires’ concerns. “We’re supportive of this. We think it’s the right time for this kind of project,”
said Bernard. Bernard explained that CFU will continue to have coal access through trucks and
that the railway has possible unloading facilities in Waterloo and Shellrock that they could use if
needed.

Beer permits and liquor licenses were also up for approval during the meeting. Murphy USA,
Escapology Cedar Falls, Holiday Inn & Suites Hotel/Event Center, The Ragged Edge Art Bar &
Gallery and Fareway Store were all up for renewals. Fast Track Racing had a change in
ownership which needed to be reflected on the beer permit.

A special order of business on the agenda for the night was a complaint filed against Up in
Smoke for a second tobacco violation. Sam Anderson, an Assistant County Attorney, spoke
about the complaint. He started by explaining that Up in Smoke’s first violation was in January
2022 and they entered a settlement agreement to pay a $300 fine.

The second violation of selling tobacco to a minor occurred on May 11, 2022. The business
never entered a settlement agreement to pay the $1500 fine, which is why the complaint went to
city council. The motion to fine Up in Smoke the $1500 civil penalty was approved by the
council.

Many council members and people from the community had the chance to speak at the
September 19th city council meeting. Community members can find agendas and recordings of
city council meetings on the Cedar Falls website if they want to get involved with their local
government.

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