Foundational work changed face, future of region
Jan. 6—Imagine driving on Main or Gloster in Tupelo at any point in the course of a day. Now imagine doing so in a time before turning lanes were installed. Anyone turning left across traffic brought at least half the cars heading in the same direction to a halt. Then imagine the inevitable crashes resulting from drivers having stopped in traffic, or having changed lanes quickly to avoid stopped traffic. It was a scenario to be dreaded and, if possible, avoided — two conditions not ideal for anyone. Certainly not ideal for a city whose budget depends strongly on sales tax collections. It's hard for a business to thrive if its customers dread going to the store.
Throughout the 1970s and beyond, Tupelo was primed for exponential business growth. As the 1980s wound to a close, matters had reached a boiling point. Something had to happen. Citizens, visitors and business owners were all troubled by Tupelo's traffic debacle. That's what Mayor Jack Marshall and the then-board of aldermen faced every day.
At the time, Tupelo budgeted $1.2 million per year for street improvement and maintenance. To understand exactly what the extent of the traffic problems were, aldermen contracted with an outside firm to make a thorough evaluation. The firm studied the city's streets, intersections, its thoroughfares great and small. It weighed traffic counts and studied accident reports. The findings that resulted were not encouraging. Traffic studies indicated the city needed to make $93 million in improvements, a figure 77.5 times the size of the amount annually budgeted for the same. Something very different would have to be done.
If Tupelo was going to continue to grow, to become what it could potentially be, this question needed a creative answer, and soon. It was in this pressure-packed environment the Major Thoroughfare Program was born.
Mississippi had recently adopted the landmark 1987 highway improvement act, which was set to make major improvements statewide on a pay-as-you-go basis. In that same spirit, aldermen, city financial leaders and the mayor settled on a similar plan for Tupelo.
Mississippi law allows municipalities to impose up to 10 mils of tax per year for public service projects. That would allow the budget for street improvement to be doubled almost immediately. One mil equals a dollar of tax on each $1,000 of a property's assessed value. A tax of 10 mils would allow for meaningful improvements to be planned and made. It would put the city on a path to a better future.
The only catch? Citizens would have to authorize it at the polls in a special election, and in a measure that would stand for 5 years. People had to be convinced to go to out of their way to vote, and impose an additional tax upon themselves. That would be a hard sell if citizens couldn't be sure the money would go where voters meant for it to be. That's where the citizens' committee came in. Work on Major Thoroughfare projects is subject to the direction and approval of a committee of citizens. Those citizens come from all council districts and from the city at large. Every member is a resident of the city, since the tax itself is a city tax only.
"We make sure the funds don't get lost into some other budgetary item," Greg Pirkle said. He's been on the Major Thoroughfare Program's citizen oversight committee since the movement's early years. "The committee has been very protective of the people's funds. We feel a heavy responsibility. At every step of the way, there are a lot of questions asked and answered to make sure we're spending the money in the right place. We don't rubber stamp these decisions by any means."
Tupelo residents authorized the Major Thoroughfare Program and its corresponding tax in 1990. That endorsement has been repeated six times since. With each passing phase, support for the program grows stronger. The resulting improvements have been so effective, so well-directed and well-received, reauthorization votes have passed by a progressively higher percentage each time.
"This was probably the single most important economic development tool that happened in my 36 years representing the city," said Guy Mitchell III, now retired. He and his firm represented the city of Tupelo for 36 years, including the late 1980s and early 1990s, when traffic problems were at their zenith. "The most rewarding part of its success has been seeing what happens when people of every walk of life pull together for something like this.
"I know the construction can be frustrating to drive around, but it's made a world of difference. Every time a section of 5-lane was completed, wherever that progress took place, the number of new businesses being established in that area exploded. It's been a tremendous economic development tool for our city."
"When we go back to the community (to authorize another phase), we take a map showing the roads we've done since 1991," Pirkle said. "People who weren't living here then may have trouble understanding how much difference it makes in having a 5-lane street in front of Ballard Park instead of a 2-lane road.
"I hope people won't become complacent and think the roads we have just happened. The program has been so successful, I'm afraid people might think it just happened that way on its own. That is certainly not the case."
Kevin is the weekend edition editor for the Daily Journal. Contact him at kevin.tate@journalinc.com.
