MONROE — The Monroe City Council voted to spend $125,000 to design a traffic exchange that would shift traffic from a congested intersection in downtown Monroe.

A few residents who attended the council’s meeting Tuesday criticized the preliminary design for the Jefferson Street connector project, drawn by Ramey Kemp & Associates, Inc. The two-block-long bypass would divert Jefferson Street traffic to connect with Franklin Street west of Charlotte Avenue.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of a municipality planning how to make cut-through traffic available and easier,” resident Bob Bullard said.

Many people heading west on Jefferson Street already skip the congestion caused by the left turn onto Charlotte Avenue, followed promptly by a right turn onto Franklin Street. Instead, they continue straight on Jefferson past Charlotte, turn left on Crawford Street, then right on Franklin.

Resident James Kerr urged the council to take its time when deciding on a final design, arguing that it carves off an “important” section of the downtown historic district.

“This would be a solution for people that don’t even live in Monroe,” Kerr said.

David Mitchell said his Realtor told him his home at 502 W. Franklin St. would lose 20 to 30 percent of its value.

Mitchell said oncoming traffic would pass next to his living room and make it impossible to back out of his driveway.

Kerr added that the change would defeat the purpose of the Downtown Master Plan because it wouldn’t encourage people to “slow down, shop and linger.”

City Manager Wayne Herron noted that there will be several public comment periods for the proposed road change. Tuesday’s decision was just meant to hire a firm to create a more definitive plan, he said.

The city will pay $97,200 to the contractor and $27,800 to the city Engineering Department to hire a firm to help develop a pavement design.

As part of the Downtown Master Plan, Jefferson and Franklin streets will one day be two-way again, but this project will not change traffic patterns on the streets in the downtown area.