In a city where a debate has raged for more than six years regarding building a new downtown parking ramp, it is refreshing to see the Madison City Council finally move forward on the multi-million dollar State Street reconstruction project.

In April 2002, the city council first adopted the conceptual design plan for updating the current design of the street, which was created in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Plans then moved forward to create new designs for kiosks, benches, streets, lights, trash bins, bus shelters, sidewalks and even seasonal banners.

Finally, on Feb. 3, 2004, the city council once again voted on the plan; this time to finalize the details for the 100 block of State Street so that construction of this phase of the plan could move forward.

However, at least one flaw exists in the proposal: bus shelters with an estimated cost of $49,000.

During the beginning of the redesign plans, Wallace, Roberts & Todd, a consulting firm retained by the city, projected costs of these shelters at $30,000 each. The city chose a new consulting firm, MSA, and updated plans for the shelters so as to ease maintenance and factor in the unusual wear and tear of State Street’s abusive weekend and late October environments. MSA explained to the redesign committee that the cost would actually be thousands of dollars more. The contract for these shelters is still out to bid, so their exact cost is as yet unknown, but educated estimates are leaning toward the aforementioned nearly-$50,000 figure.

These new estimates were released as early as mid-October, 2003, yet there was little discussion over the new price until the city council was set to finalize the plans last week.

Debates ensued over delaying the project to give the engineers more time to modify the bus shelters, reduce the cost, keep the artistic look the re-design team aimed at achieving.

The time also allowed the city council to contemplate whether or not it is worth moving forward with the existing plan that included the bus shelters that could cost $49,000 when the final bids are in.

It is commendable that the city council continues to move forward on this project without unnecessary delays or frivolous debates, as we have seen in the parking ramp project, but was the city council really so helpless in the matter? Moreover, it is disturbing that the council originally sought estimates for the bus shelters that did not factor in the unusually abusive nature of State Street’s nightlife. Surely the council is not naíve to the mayhem that occurs downtown on any given Saturday night.

It must have dawned on someone four months ago, something this board did indeed realize, that these bus shelters have the potential to be quite expensive. Steps should have been taken then to troubleshoot and figure out how to make the shelters more reasonably priced.

In the end, the city council put itself in an awkward position that was avoidable. If the proper steps were taken months ago the city council could have had it both ways: continuing the project without delay while at the same time bragging of fiscally responsible and artistically pleasing bus shelters.