Jonesboro, Ark. — As the start of the new school year approaches, the City of Jonesboro is moving forward with multiple infrastructure projects aimed at improving pedestrian safety, including a $1.4 million development on Johnson Avenue.
According to Mayor Harold Copenhaver, the Johnson Avenue project will add a new turning lane and extend sidewalks west toward Main Street and east toward J-Town’s Grill and St. Bernards Behavioral Health Clinic. The upgrades are part of the city’s long-term revenue bond plan.
Copenhaver emphasized the importance of these improvements, particularly for students traveling near Arkansas State University, which has set a high standard for pedestrian-friendly infrastructure on its campus.
“You can see what the university does with their sidewalks,” Copenhaver said. “It’s just as important that the community also invests in sidewalks for our youth and for our students to have accessibility throughout the city of Jonesboro.”
Safety remains a top priority for the mayor, and he described the project as a step toward providing safer pedestrian routes. On Tuesday, the city council approved additional upgrades to walkways along Caraway Road, another area where officials have noted pedestrian risks.
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand,” Copenhaver remarked. “We can see where the people have been walking, and it’s not safe. And so, what we’re doing is creating that [safety].”
Local business owner Shawn Easley, who has partnered with Stadium View Student Living near the intersection of Johnson Avenue and University Loop, echoed the need for these improvements. Easley observed students walking through grass and private yards to avoid dangerous routes. Having witnessed these issues firsthand and with a daughter who graduated from Arkansas State, Easley supports the city’s efforts but said more can still be done.
Easley rated Jonesboro’s pedestrian infrastructure a “six out of ten” and suggested that areas like Stadium Boulevard and the Shoppes at Turtle Creek could benefit from pedestrian overpasses. “It’s really, really unsafe,” Easley said. “I mean, about every day, I’m dodging somebody.”
Mayor Copenhaver said he encourages residents to share feedback like Easley’s so the city can prioritize further improvement projects. “I want our residents to say, ‘We feel that this might be an area that we could make it safer for our community,’” he said.
Alongside the Johnson Avenue project, the city is collaborating with the Arkansas Department of Transportation on a $4 million initiative that includes installing a new HAWK light—an enhanced pedestrian crossing signal—north of Arkansas State’s campus. Additional roadway improvements are also part of the plan.
As these projects take shape, city officials are aiming to create a safer environment for students and residents to navigate Jonesboro’s streets.