Hayes Street

Hayes Street is the name originally given to the road now known as University Avenue in Little Rock. Hayes remained unpaved into the 1950s, but by February 1961 when it was widened to a paved boulevard with four lanes, mercury vapor lights, and six traffic signals it had become the second-highest traffic counts (behind Broadway, with four designated state highway routes) in the city.

The decision to pave the road with asphalt in the mid 1950s was made by County Judge Arch Campbell. The road was widened to four lanes for $743,000 in 1960. The road almost immediately became characterized by what local leaders called "sprawl" and "blight" due to unplanned and uncontrolled development of four shopping centers and many other stand-alone businesses in the late 1950s and 1960s. Road use jumped from 11,000 vehicles per day in 1959 to 26,000 per day in 1962.

References

• "Avenue Woes Laid to Lack of Planning," Arkansas Gazette, February 2, 1961.
• Matilda Tuohey, "University Avenue Has Developed into Cinderella Street of Little Rock," Arkansas Gazette, December 30, 1962.