Town and Country rezoning a no go

The Conway City Council in its meeting Tuesday denied a recommendation from the planning commission to rezone the Town and Country Mobile Home Park from RMH to MF-2.

Trent Management, which owns the property, alerted residents of the park last month that they would have to move to make way for a 192-unit, 504-bed apartment complex to be rented to college students. Residents of the park, located at 2730 Dave Ward Drive, argued the number of college students would cause traffic problems.

At Tuesday night's council meeting, Alex Eyssen, a developer with Campus Crest, said a traffic study showed the apartments would create minimal impact. An engineering firm from Little Rock conducted a study last week and concluded about 30 vehicles would enter the complex during the peak a.m. hour, with about 100 exiting, and about 130 would enter during the peak p.m. hour with about 70 exiting.

A couple of audience members pointed out that, because the study was done last week, the University of Central Arkansas had already dismissed classes for the summer, and that would have an impact on the results.

Much of the discussion centered around the fact that there is one entrance/exit to the property at Dave Ward Drive near Salem Road. To get to school, students would have to either make the right turn onto Dave Ward Drive and then make a U-turn to go back toward the colleges, or they could make a second right hand turn onto Salem Road. Council members were concerned more traffic during school hours could be dangerous with children walking to Marguerite Vann Elementary and Bob Courtway Middle Schools.

Cinnamon King, a resident of Whitney Woods, a subdivision across from the mobile home park, said a friend of her son was hit by a car while crossing Salem Road walking to school. She said she has tried to make the U-turn after turning out of the mobile home park, and there is not much time to get into the turn lane. She said she believes students would take Salem Road instead.

"Those college kids are going to be zooming down Salem at the same time my babies are crossing the street going to school," she said.

A motion to approve the rezoning failed 6-2. Aldermen Andy Hawkins and Jack Bell voted in favor, with Aldermen David Grimes, Mark Vaught, Shelley Mehl, Mary Smith, Theodore Jones Jr. and Shelia Whitmore voting against it.

Also on Tuesday, the council voted to name the new girls' softball complex being built on Siebenmorgen Road "City of Colleges Park." Mayor Tab Townsell said the city solicited public input on the name but received none. The architecture at the complex will have a collegiate theme and will be "something we can be proud of," Townsell said.

The council also voted on the naming of the new park featuring a boys' baseball complex that will be built on the YBMA fairgrounds, which the city has purchased. The city received plenty of input on the naming of the park, mainly in honor of people who helped run the baseball program over the years, Townsell said. The council decided the park's various fields could be named after individuals. The council voted to name the park "Conway Station Park." Townsell said the name "ties the reason Conway is on the map to its first park." The architecture will have a railroad theme, he said.

(Staff writer Rachel Parker Dickerson can be reached by e-mail at rachel.dickerson@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1277. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)