Decorah City Council approves three-lane concept for Short Street project

The Decorah City Council voted 6-0 Tuesday night in favor of building three lanes in a reconstructed Short Street.

City council members took the action on the recommendation of the city's Street Committee.  Committee members heard from City Engineer Lindsa Erdman, who told the group at two-lane Short Street "does not work well."

In response to a question, Erdmann said the three lane concept was better not for safety reasons but for the way it would eliminate issues with turning traffic. 

The concept approved by the Decorah City Council calls for not just three lanes, but two bike lanes--one on each side of the street--and a five foot wide sidewalk on each side of the street.

The approval of the three-lane street concept clears the way for Erdmann to begin calculating "final preliminary assessments" for property owners along the street.  The project carries a $2.7 million price tag, with around $106,000 of that amount coming from property tax assessments.