PHOTO UPDATE: Batavia Aldermen OK $117,000 River Street Arch

St. Louis has its Gateway Arch, McDonald's has its golden arches, and Batavia will have its own $117,000 arch to mark the entranceway to North River Street.

Batavia aldermen approved the proposal at Monday night's City Council meeting. Aldermen Susan Stark and Victor Dietz voted against it.

The city will pay $93,960 to WW Timber to build the arch. Additional costs include design work, foundation installation and lighting. The total expenditure is more than double the original estimate of $55,000, the Daily Herald reports.

Funds for the project will come from the tax increment financing district.

The arch design is different than the concept originally proposed for the gateway at North River Street and Wilson Street. An artist's rendering of the approved arch design is featured with this article; a rendering of the original concept, found in the streetscape report, is also attached.

According to the city's streetscape report, "we will need to draw attention to the entryway to the new River District to the north."

"Add a gateway arch to the northern entry to River Street announcing a unique area of the City," the report says. "This gateway could be historic or contemporary. It would mark the intersection as the entry to a special place."

The River Street area has been proposed as a "Woonerf," a Dutch traffic code regulation that restricts motorized traffic to walking pace so that pedestrians and bicyclists can share the street with drivers.

"The creation of a woonerf would draw regional attention to River Street; the flexibility to close for special events provides a setting for festivals and special events and could add impetus to redevelopment," the report says.

Architect and 5th Ward alderman candidate Steve Vasilion told the City Council that he doesn't like the new design, which he said doesn't reflect the city's past or future, according to the Daily Herald article. Incumbent 5th Ward Alderman Eldon Frydendall voted in favor of building the arch but said people he's talked to either love or hate the River Street concept.

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