Quad Cities or Des Moines? (live, bill, island)

[Stevie]

I've heard that Davenport doesn't have flood protection. Is this also true for the rest of the Quad Cities?

[mfrerkes]

Originally Posted by Stevie

I've heard that Davenport doesn't have flood protection. Is this also true for the rest of the Quad Cities?

There are flood walls in Moline, Rock Island, and Bettendorf. However, there was still street flooding in both Moline and Bettendorf during the summer floods. The Army Corps of Engineers has already determined that fortifying Davenport with a flood wall would not be feasible nor cost effective, and would actually create flooding problems for those aforementioned cities with protection.

Many of Davenport's downtown structures that lie within the flood plain have been retro-fitted to mitigate damage caused by flooding. Modern Woodmen Park (the baseball stadium) constructed an outfield berm several years ago. That facility actually remained open for business even when the entire surrounding area was covered by flood waters. The Figge Art Museum also lies in the flood plain, but was untouched by water due to its design. There are very few residential areas in Davenport which lie within the flood plain.

Since 1993, Mississippi River flooding has gone from a serious problem to only a minor nuisance due to the engineering efforts implemented over the last 15 years. The Corps of Engineers has determined that Davenport's current flood preparedness is more cost-effective than erecting permanent structures.

[RonnieJonez]

Originally Posted by dmguy30

The City of Des Moines isn't behind the "Des Moines: Do More!" campaign. It is from the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

Greater Des Moines Partnership

After visiting the Quad Cities several times in the past few years, I've been quite impressed. I love the Figge and skybridge. It's definately a very cool place. On absolutedsm, a guy has posted tons of recent pictures of Davenport in their forums. I'll have to stop to check out these neighborhoods.

absolutedsm.com forum • Index

Thank you for the clarification. That is very important.

[QuadCityImages]

Originally Posted by Stevie

I've heard that Davenport doesn't have flood protection. Is this also true for the rest of the Quad Cities?

We have no flood wall, which people are fast realizing is the better way to go. The false sense of controlling mother nature just causes disasters like Katrina when the levees inevitably fail. Also, in some the other cities of the QC, you can hardly see the river from their downtowns due to their flood protection.

The only things the river flooded in downtown Davenport this year, despite it being a top 10 flood, were a public restroom, a hot dog stand, and an abandoned restaurant.

[Dport7476]

I can't really add much except that the Quad Cities feels more like one big city than a lot of people might think. I live in Bettendorf and jumping across the river to go to the Iwireless center is no different than going to the Adler theatre in Davenport. As a matter of fact I'm closer to South Park mall in Moline than I am North Park mall in Davenport. Also as far as concerts go we seem to get much larger acts here at the Iwireless center than Des Moines gets. I went to the 80/35 concert in Des Moines to see The Flaming Lips and couldn't believe how small the turnout was.

[DMRyan]

Which much larger acts are you talking about?

[QuadCityImages]

I think we get about the same level of acts, although since DSM is a larger metro, you guys should have bigger names.

[DMRyan]

I can somewhat agree with that, with Des Moines' new arena underperforming expectations when it comes to luring concert acts. A check of the upcoming concert calender shows many of the same shows at the two arenas.

Metallica already played both, Nickelback and Motley Crue are playing both. iWireless has Brad Paisley, Wells Fargo Arena has Rascal Flatts and Slipknot.

[newtscholar8]

Being a newcomer a couple of years ago, I preferred going to Des moines , but thats becasue i live near the Quad cities where Des Moines is a two hour or more trip.

[TootsieWootsie]

There are many things to do in the QC area; however, I would choose Iowa City over any other city in the State of Iowa (and I live in the QC area now). Just top notch quality entertainment in Iowa City compared to any other city here.