Springfield City Council tables 7-Brew Sunshine location again; approves bid for Jefferson Ave. improvement project

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Members of Springfield City Council have again tabled their vote on approving a 7-Brew coffee drive-thru location on Sunshine Street.

Susan Istenes, Director of Springfield Planning and Development gave a report stating that Springfield Public Works staff looked at options to try to mitigate potential traffic backups in the area. Their recommendation was to construct a median on Jefferson Avenue.

Istenes stated that if at any time in the future, the director of public works could determine that traffic generated by the coffee shop is causing an unsafe conditions on the public streets meaning a median would have to be installed.

Istenes told the council that under the current ordinance if they wanted to approve the addition of a median to the plan, City Council would have to send the Conditional Use Permit back to the Planning Commission with a recommendation to add the median condition.

City leaders discussed the median would only allow right-in and right-out traffic on Jefferson Ave. into 7-Brew. There would also be an entry and exit option onto Roanoke Ave where drivers could go either left or right onto Sunshine leaving the coffee shop.

Council members were given a few options to decide on for the 7-Brew but ultimately decided to table the item until January 9, 2023, to allow staff more time to consider other options.

City Council members also passed a special ordinance approving the plans and specifications for the Jefferson Ave. Streetscape improvement. The ordinance approved a bid from KCI Construction Company based in Kansas City. KCI has also developed a Springfield location and is accepting other construction bids in the area. The bid was in the amount of $1,797,790.

The Jefferson Ave. Streetscape improvement project is between St. Louis and Walnut Streets. It includes new signals at St. Louis and Jefferson and modifications to the signals at Walnut and Jefferson and McDaniel and Jefferson. There will also be ADA sidewalk improvements to the intersections.

The work is scheduled to begin during the spring.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com

Copyright 2022 KY3. All rights reserved.