Council Bluffs contemplates future of South 24th Street

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COUNCIL BLUFFS - When Paulette Tyrakoski went to work on South 24th Street, Sapp Brothers Truck Stop was one of just a few businesses at the interchange of Interstates 80 and 29.

"We were out in the field, kind of," said Tyrakoski, who now manages the truck stop.

Things have changed in the 26 years since then. The fields eventually became a haven for travelers, particularly those in 18-wheelers.

Four gas stations - including two large truck stops - and a number of truck-related businesses, motels and restaurants fan out from the South 24th Street corridor north of the interchange.

In recent years, the area has changed once again. Bluffs Run Greyhound Park opened northwest of the interchange in the mid-1980s and later added a casino.

The Mid-America Center followed in 2002. By summer 2005, Bass Pro Shops is expected to open a superstore south of the convention center and arena, followed by additional stores, restaurants and other amenities.

As the area evolves from an industrial center into more of a commercial and entertainment district, officials say they want to protect public investments and put a more appealing face on what is becoming a gateway to the community and to Iowa.

"Now we have an opportunity to look at it and say, 'Where is it going to be 20 years from now?'" Mayor Tom Hanafan said.

Work also will be needed to improve the flow of increasing traffic, they say, with better links between South 24th Street and other thoroughfares. State plans call for eventually widening the Interstate.

Plans dating to at least the 1960s called for industrial development north and south of the interchange.

Current land-use plans, however, call for pushing industrial development farther south of the interchange and encouraging commercial growth around the interchange, said Don Gross, the city's community development director.

An eight-lot industrial park already is planned to the south, off U.S. Highway 275. FedEx Ground has expressed interest in building a distribution center there.

The Council Bluffs City Council recently rejected a plan to change zoning for a large area north of the interchange and east of Bluffs Run. The move was intended to give the city greater control over development north of the interchange.

Truck-related businesses argued that the change would keep them from expanding.

"We've invested a lot of money here, and we keep reinvesting," Tyrakoski said.

The change would have pushed out Sioux City Truck Sales Inc., said Roger Sawatzke, a Council Bluffs attorney. The company wants to add a leasing facility to its Peterbilt dealership.

Instead, the City Council is expected to approve a zoning change this month to a vacant tract east of Bluffs Run.

Gross said the empty ground near Bluffs Run is critical to future development.

"We feel very comfortable that it's a good start," he said.

The city also might recommend a zoning change to some commercial properties in order to gain more say in issues such as design and landscaping.

Issues such as unpaved parking, no landscaping and poor building construction could discourage further development, city officials say.

In addition, creating a lighter industrial zone for the truck-related businesses would hold them to higher design standards for alterations or additions, Gross said.

Trucking officials said they are willing to consider such requirements.

"We won't know until they come up with the wording," Tyrakoski said.

Sapp Brothers long ago added green space and landscaping to present a more welcoming look for auto traffic, she said. The truck stop hopes to tap into the increased auto traffic when Bass Pro opens.

Handling that traffic is another matter.

The intersection of 27th Avenue and South 24th Street, just north of the Interstate interchange, has already seen at least one fatality.

A high volume of car-truck traffic, including many drivers unfamiliar with the area, flows along two lanes in each direction, with no turn lanes.

The city probably will consider improvements on South 24th Street north of the Interstate as early as next year, city engineer Greg Reeder said. Lanes are now being added to the segment south of the Interstate.

"Now's a good time to look at the future of that as we decide what should be done," he said.