The session was originally set to happen at the Footbridge Pavilion but was moved to Historic Firehouse No. 2 due to heat. There, members of the public shared their ideas for the footbridge’s opening celebration, set for Spring 2026, as well as ongoing programming and improvements in the surrounding RailYards area. Ideas ranged from bringing in local bands to installing bathrooms to structuring the celebration across multiple weekends.
"From what I hear, this is going to last a month," said Springfield quality of place ambassador and event emcee, Tim Rosenbury, to much applause.
"I don’t have a problem with that. Do you?" Several attendees answered, "no!"
Commercial Club member, Mona Pieron, who helped run the event, said that this session was just the beginning.
"We’ll have another brainstorming session where we show these are the ideas that came in," she said. "What do you think about these, which ones do you think we can expand on, which do you think need to be put off until after the bridge is finished?"
The bridge, built in 1902, goes over 13 sets of railroad tracks to connect C-Street with Chase St.
The footbridge was closed in 2016 due to structural concerns. The City of Springfield accepted a bid from Springfield-based Branco Enterprises to rehabilitate the bridge and add an elevator for disability access. The project is expected to cost $10.8 million. $8,000,000 of that is coming from the State of Missouri, with the rest coming from special obligation bonds, city taxes and contributions from the Commercial Club.