Shared-Use Path
During the May 23, 2023 Public Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life Committee (“PSNQLC” or “Committee”) meeting, the Committee discussed the Chase Avenue and 34th Street shared-use path project and requested that City staff 1) explore alternative design options including the feasibility of bifurcating bicyclists and pedestrians along the segment in front of an affected single family home at 3186 Prairie Avenue; 2) consult with the Florida Department of Transportation (“FDOT”) with regard to a potential alternative configuration of the path in front of the single family home and the impact (if any) on the FDOT grant for the construction of the shared-use path; 3) schedule an on-site meeting with the Committee Chairman to see first-hand where the path would be located; and 4) return to the June PSNQLC meeting with a status update.
As requested by the PSNQLC, the City staff considered various options with respect to the alignment of the shared-use path. The option being considered to address the resident’s concern includes revising the design to terminate the shared-use path immediately west of the property at 3186 Prairie Avenue, and continuing the bicycle lanes on the existing roadway to the intersection of Prairie Avenue and 34th Street. The existing sidewalk north of 3186 Prairie Avenue would remain as-is. Providing a safe connection from the proposed bicycle lanes on 34th Street to the existing bicycle lanes on Prairie Avenue requires further analysis to minimize conflicts with vehicles, pedestrians, and existing trees.
The Transportation and Mobility Department and the Office of Capital Improvement Projects are collaborating on the design and implementation of the Chase Avenue and 34th Street Shared-Use Path Project. The design plans have reached 90% completion and the Project has been in permitting since October 2022. The construction bid documents have been prepared and await the final permit approval prior to issuing. However, the requested design modifications would have to be incorporated into the design documents, and would be subject to permit revisions, a possible second presentation to the Design Review Board, and a presentation to the community to advise of the changes. The design consultant has requested additional services to include additional engineering survey work, updates to the tree survey, and revisions to the lighting, irrigation, hardscape, and landscape plans, at an estimated cost of $50,000. It is anticipated that the requested design modifications could possibly delay the project an additional six (6) to nine (9) months. Furthermore, given the project was awarded FDOT grant funds for construction, the revised design plans must be submitted to FDOT for review and approval, and confirmation that the design intent is consistent with the grant application, prior to commencing construction. The grant funding is scheduled to expire on June 30, 2024, thus, FDOT expects that the project should be commence construction soon.
Traffic Calming
The Central Bayshore Neighborhood Traffic Calming Project, which is presently in the design phase, is being concurrently executed with the Chase Avenue and 34th Street shared-use path project. A map of the proposed traffic calming devices throughout the Bayshore neighborhood is included in Attachment A. To verify the necessity of additional traffic calming devices requested by the community, City staff recently initiated a re-examination of traffic calming measures through additional data collection in certain areas to determine any supplemental needs. The analysis concluded that various additional traffic calming devices are warranted, and the City recently surveyed the affected property owners as well as re-surveyed property owners who previously opposed the traffic calming devices from the original project scope. Contingent upon the results of the resident surveys, the proposed additional traffic calming devices may be incorporated as part of the design plans.
The consultant is finalizing the 60% design plans, and once completed City staff will review and provide comments to the consultant, who will incorporate any necessary modifications to the design plans before submitting the plans to DTPW for review. Once the 60% design plans are submitted to DTPW, DTPW will have approximately one (1) month to provide comments that will be incorporated into the revised 90% design plans. The same process will be followed for the 90% design plans. The final signed and sealed design plans are anticipated to be completed in Fall 2023.