Ask City Manager De’Carlon Seewood

Hello Jim. It looks like Public Works staff were able to respond to your request. Please let us know if you require any further assistance. 

Thank you for your comment. The Route K and Old Plank Road roundabout project was approved by the Columbia City Council on June 5, 2023. Because Route K is a state-maintained roadway and Old Plank Road is maintained by the City, the work has been a joint project between MoDOT and the City of Columbia.

The project is designed to improve safety and traffic flow by replacing the skewed intersection with a modern roundabout. The hill on Route K is also being lowered to improve sight distance, and new sidewalks and crosswalks are being added for people walking in the area.

Construction began July 28, 2025, following earlier delays (unforeseen utility conflicts and unsuitable material) that pushed the start date later than planned. The original goal was to begin work in May. The later start shifted the active phases into the fall and winter months and extended detour impacts for drivers throughout the area.

Regarding Sinclair Road, once the new elementary school opens in 2026, CPS will be able to handle student drop-off and pick-up within school property, which should reduce some of the current congestion during peak hours. Additionally, improvements to Sinclair Road are part of a future Capital Improvement Project, although funding for that project via the sales tax will not be completed until 2030.

We appreciate your engagement. Phase three is scheduled to end Dec. 26, weather permitting, which will allow Route K to reopen to through traffic.

Thank you for your kind words, which will be shared with the staff.  The food containers you are describing remain among the materials we ask residents to place in their blue bags for collection.  The bottles and jars you are describing are made of valuable plastics that are easily repurposed for other products.

Thank you for your question, Ruth. 

All City streets, including those in the Cimarron, Greenbriar, and Trail Ridge subdivisions, have been plowed since Monday, when we transitioned our efforts from priority streets to neighborhood streets. However, many neighborhood streets may still appear snow-packed in some areas. Additionally, crews are continuing to address the most current weather conditions. 

Our snow response prioritizes making streets passable rather than completely clear. A passable street means that a vehicle with front-wheel drive, traveling well below the speed limit and using appropriate winter driving techniques, can navigate it safely.

Achieving fully cleared, bare wheel paths on every street would require a significant increase in resources, including more trucks, salt, and drivers. Given Missouri’s relatively mild winters, we believe that level of investment would be excessive, especially when residents can adapt by driving slower and more cautiously in neighborhoods.

Under the City’s priority road system for winter weather response, we focus our efforts on high-volume roads to ensure public safety and maintain essential travel routes. These priority roads are strategically located to ensure they are generally within 1,000 feet or less of every residence in town. This allows residents to navigate only a short distance on untreated streets before reaching a plowed and treated priority road. These priority routes are maintained continuously, 24 hours a day, during a winter storm, which is why they may appear clearer than residential streets.

Our Housing and Neighborhood Services department will have one of our staff members visit the area, and we can send a notice to the owner regarding the snow and ice covered sidewalks.  Sidewalk snow removal violations are primarily complaint-driven due to the many properties throughout the City that are not in compliance. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

Hello Virgil,

I'm sorry you are experiencing these concerns. If you are not able to get in touch with your apartment's security team, we encourage you to reach out to the Columbia Police Department at 3-1-1 for non-emergencies or 9-1-1 for emergencies so they can respond appropriately. 

Thank you for your comment, Donna. We will pass your comment along to be shared with the Mayor and City Council. 

Good morning. Since these properties are managed by the Columbia Housing Authority, concerns should be sent to their office. If you have brought these concerns forward to the Housing Authority and they are still occurring, you can contact the Office of Neighborhood Services to report a problem. https://www.como.gov/neighborhood-services/

Good morning. Thank you for reaching back out. Staff with our Transit division have gone by this location. If you encounter this again, please contact our Transit division at 573.874.7524. 

Thank you for letting us know. We will pass this on to the appropriate staff so they can repair it. 

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have reached out to our Homeless Outreach Team at the Police Department who work closely with our community members experiencing homelessness.