[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Budget projections for the 200 block of State Street came in at reported lower numbers, but Madison officials continued to debate the placement of bike racks, craft vendors and newspaper-kiosk design at the State Street Design Project Oversight Committee meeting Wednesday night. This committee is responsible for the design aspects of the ongoing State Street construction project, which will start up again this summer.

Steve Gohde, an engineer for the Department of Public Works, reported that Joe Daniels Construction Co., Inc. undershot the city engineers’ estimate for the cost of State Street’s 200 block reconstruction of $1.6 million by $200,000.

“We should be sitting in pretty good shape to stay within our project budget,” Gohde said. The 200 block budget is $1.9 million.”

The Madison City Council also presented the committee the task of occupying the same space with two different things, bike racks and vendor space, where State Street meets West Mifflin Street and North Carroll Street.

“The City Council recommended the addition of 20 bike spaces on State Street’s 100 and 200 blocks and approved a vendor spot in the same area,” Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said.

Gohde said adding enough bike racks would require a bike rack to occupy the space meant for a vendor.

Scott Thornton, a member of the State Street Design Project Oversight Committee, said bike racks, because they are permanent structures, should be the committee’s priority.

Rosemary Lee, vice chair of the Vending Oversight Committee, pleaded with the committee to consider the importance of a craft vendor to the city.

“Part of Madison’s ambience is its craft vendors,” Lee said. “Replacing a craft vendor with a bike rack would not only be a disservice to the vendor, but would make legitimate the prevailing idea that [Madison] is anti-small business.”

The committee concluded alternate spaces for bike racks and craft vendors should be fully explored before a final decision on the issue could be made.

The committee also requested more information regarding newspaper-kiosk designs for the three kiosks in the plans for State Street’s 100 and 200 blocks. According to Verveer, a city ordinance allows the committee to design a kiosk any way it sees fit.

“We are on sound legal ground to do such a thing,” Verveer said.

The committee, however, could not decide whether a uniform kiosk, while aesthetically pleasing, was the efficient way for the city to go.

The committee pushed the decision of aesthetics versus efficiency to a future date after more information could be gathered determining the costs of both ventures.

Gohde presented early plans for the 300 and 400 blocks to the committee. He said centering the street, which is currently offset, would sacrifice some trees. Plans for the 300 and 400 blocks are still in the early stages, and trees may not be the only things sacrificed for the reconstruction here, according to Gohde.

“I’m sure there’s other conflicts,” Gohde said. “The plans are in such an early stage that we just haven’t encountered them yet.”