Macarthur Boulevard Needs Sprucing Up

Sprucing up one of Springfields gems ..appears to be on the back burner. But business leaders say thats going to change. With a new face representing ward 7 .. Macarthur Boulevard could get greener. Some may tell you driving down Macarthur Boulevard is depressing ... The former K-Mart is empty ... The sign looks beat up and there isnt much of a hometown feel as it used to. So business leaders want to know how ward 7 candidates can change that. Thursday the Macarthur Boulevard Business Association (MBBA) pressed candidate Joe Rock and Debbie Cimarossa for answers. They mentioned zoning changes ... And reviving the area by adding more green ... Like Walgreens and the medical clinic. Which leaders say is in the works. Another way ... Keeping the area locally owned and maintained. And one owner says being here since 1982 ... so hes hoping for change. "I think greenspace is a positive outlook. It makes this street somewhat soft without it looking like a concrete jungle all the way down Macarthur. And working with the residents and the merchants this can be a positive outcome." Said Kitty Hawk Travel Owner, Jim OConnor. And MBBA member Sharon Whalen said, "The K-Mart property is in the hands of an out-of-town entity. Theyre not here to look at how terrible it looks. We have to tell them. We need to take pictures. I think we need to bombard them with complaints." Some of the downfalls about Macarthur ... Kerasotes shutting down and then a well supported shopping center moving in ... That deal fell through last year. And some say they would like to limit the number of cash-and-go shops. Although Whalen says shed like locally owned businesses, she wouldnt mind a family style store like Trader Joes move in. The association says extending Macarthur to Interstate 72 will also help. Thats been in the works for about ten years and construction is expected to start this year.