Time For Davenport and Bettendorf To Swap Land And Stop The Confusion

Do you know where the border of Bettendorf and Davenport is?  Sure you do.  It's I-74 right.  Not quite.  In fact, only a small part of 74 is actually the border of the cities and it's super confusing.  This is why the two cities need to swap land.

If you collected baseball cards as a kid you might remember the days of trading with your neighborhood friends. I sure do.  You'd all get together and see what everybody has.  It was a fun and easy way to complete a team set or get more of your favorite player without having to buy more random cards packs.  Well, that is what Davenport and Bettendorf need to do.

What does the Davenport/Bettendorf border look like?

As you can see below, Davenport is where you mostly think it is.  But then, it shoots across 74 into a business and residential area.  You can actually see, it cuts right through Crow Valley Golf Club.  Did you lose your ball in Bettendorf or Davenport?  I think the rules of finders keepers are different in each city.

So while Davenport extends to the east of 74 when you are north, Bettendorf extends to the west of 74 when you go south.  And if you zoom in on Google Maps you can see how it follows part of Kimberly then cuts right between two businesses.  Need to get your computer fixed at Millenium Computer Services, you are in Bettendorf.  Then get some seafood right next door at Red Lobster, in Davenport.

What is in that section of Davenport?

Already mentioned Crow Valley Golf Club being split in two, and you can see below there are of course a lot of houses as well.  The big-ticket item though for the city of Bettendorf would be the 53rd and Utica Ridge businesses.  That place is a cluster of tax revenue.  It's also a cluster f that often has bad cell service, but I'm sure Bettendorf would still take it.  The border below is at Crow Creek Road, so Trinity hospital is already a part of Bettendorf.

What's in that section of Bettendorf?

Besides more homes, of course, there are a fair amount of businesses that Davenport would get in this swap.  Everything along River up to 74, plus all the places at Middle and Kimberly.  That would be the big tax revenue section for Davenport with plenty of businesses and more potential there.  And it's not just that one section, everything on the east side of Kimberly, up until you get to the aforementioned Red Lobster is currently Bettendorf.

Does it really matter where the border is?  Probably not.  But I'm a bit OCD and things are so close to being perfect with the highway right there.  I like a good strong border.  You know, like a river.

So to the cities of Bettendorf and Davenport, get together in your mom's basement after school with some Rice Krispie treats and Hi-C and make the swap like you are trading baseball cards.  I'm sure neither city will get a bad deal like when I traded that Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card for the Greg Jefferies rookie card.