From 2010 to 2020, Nixa’s population increased by 22.26 percent and is still growing, bringing changes to everything from existing structures to housing and roads.
People have asked why the roads in terrible conditions haven’t been fixed, and that’s because some roads are not city roads, they’re county roads.
“Nixa is actually in a very unique position when it comes to the roads, and it actually goes back to what’s called annexation,” Mayor Jarad Giddens said. “Nixa has never forced annexation. … We’ve always done voluntary. So there’s actually some places inside the middle of the city that are not city, they’re county.”
County roads are not put up to the same standards that city roads are, and the city cannot do anything to the county roads without permission.
“As long as it’s not gravel, it’s a road [it’s up to standard],” Giddens said. “Lots of them don’t handle a lot of weight, so they crack easy. It is more expensive the way we do our roads. But, they last a lot longer and they’re safer for pedestrians and cars.”
Nixa City Council is working to redo all of North Street. As part of this project, the City Council would improve the road, add sidewalks, crosswalks and remove the hill going down Century Elementary, adding a bridge.
This will cost $10 million.
“That one’s going to depend on some sort of state or federal grant, to help us out on that,” Giddens said. “Even a matching grant would be still $5 million, [which] would be a lot to do on a road project in a residential area.”
Sidewalks are also part of the city-county roads relation. The city cannot add or improve sidewalks on county roads.
While adding sidewalks is complicated by this, it’s not impossible.
The city of Nixa will be adding a 2,800-foot multipurpose trail on North Cheyenne Road – some of it being county road – that will go down to High Pointe Elementary, and Summit Intermediate. This will be done at the beginning of next year.
“I was able to work with our street department to find a matching grant,” Giddens said. “We’re in the design phase right now.”
With the increase of housing, more apartments are made to fit the growing population, which may impact the traffic.
Retired teacher Jeanne McCroskey has lived here when the roads were still gravel and has seen this town grow to have all it does, including apartments.
On Northview Road, there is a sign about a nine-building apartment complex called The Retreat.
“Can you imagine if all those people move in here- what that’s going to do to the traffic?” McCroskey said. “There’s no room for them to… take people’s yards for the road.”
Nixa has something called the Comprehensive Plan, which outlines how the city would grow in the span of 10, 15, and 20 years. In the last meeting to discuss it, it was agreed that no more than 15 percent of available housing should be apartments.
Earlier in the year the total areas zoned, which includes places where apartments have been built and others where construction hasn’t even started, was at 9 percent.
Giddens has lived here for about 20 years.
“Pretty much all the areas where you’re seeing apartments, traffic studies have already been done. We know the traffic count, at least the average,” Giddens said.
