Lora Wegman graphic
Broadway now	Altered photo of Broadway with trees
Photo illustration courtesy of Ann Koenig

Critics of the downtown concrete canopy did a victory dance in August when the decades-old structure came down. Demolition opponents said the canopy, though unsightly, at least provided cover from inclement weather.

Now that the canopy is down and temperatures are up, what’s going to protect pedestrians from the summer sun?

Mayor Darwin Hindman has the answer: trees.

"It would add an unquestioned ambience to downtown," he said. "Trees are an environmental machine. It’s hard to design a better one."

At the annual Columbia City Council retreat early this month, Hindman pitched a vision of trees lining Broadway, with photo images provided by Ann Koenig, a forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Koenig said she handed Hindman the images because she felt prompted to get involved.

"Once the concrete canopy came down, there was an opportunity screaming to a forester that we would be able to plant trees," she said. "There was not a whole lot of room before."

Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala, who attended the retreat, said today he likes the idea of having trees along Broadway downtown, but the proposal needs more study in light of other city needs.

"It’s a great idea, and I think we should press it," he said.

Brett O’Brien, the city’s natural resources park supervisor, said planting and maintaining urban trees can be challenging because of soil requirements and space restrictions. But he said that many communities now regard urban trees as infrastructure that offer a financial benefit.

"It’s beyond the thing that trees are just nice," he said. "It has financial value."

The city maintains about 420 trees downtown at an annual cost of about $14,000, O’Brien said.

As for improving Broadway, Hindman’s proposal doesn’t stop with trees. He also envisions a traffic roundabout at Fourth Street and Broadway featuring landscaping and a safe way for pedestrians to cross the street. This western gateway into downtown would "calm the cars" entering the district and showcase Flat Branch Park and the emerging "Blind" Boone Home, he said.

"That will just tie all of that together," Hindman said.

The mayor said the city’s budget has funds for upcoming downtown sidewalk improvements that call for trees. As for other possible downtown improvements, Hindman and other city leaders are looking at alternative financing methods such as creating a community improvement district, where property owners can agree to pay taxes or assessments for some capital projects or services.

"It just makes sense to me," he said. "It seems to me that strengthening downtown would increase business. So why not do it?"

Meanwhile, Hindman knows that big ideas can hit snags.

"The devil is in the details," he said laughing. "But it can and it ought to happen."

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