HOLMES BEACH – Holmes Beach commissioners have discontinued for the foreseeable future their discussions about altering or adjusting the flow of traffic on Second Avenue.
On June 23, commissioners Steve Oelfke, Jessica Patel, Terry Schaefer and Carol Whitmore agreed to suspend the Second Avenue discussions until further notice so concerned Second Avenue residents can participate in the next discussion.
To date, the commission has not approved any adjustments or alterations to the Second Avenue route many southbound motorists use as an alternative to Gulf Drive, between 52nd Street and 43rd Street.
Second Avenue resident and current city commission candidate Mark Hebden first shared his Second Avenue traffic and safety concerns last year when city commissioners were debating the installation of speed bumps along the 500 block of Key Royale Drive.
On May 26, at the request of Mayor Judy Titsworth, Public Works Director Herb Raybourn and Police Chief Bill Tokajer presented five potential Second Avenue traffic adjustment options for commission consideration.
The May 26 discussion did not produce any final decisions but one option emerged as a leading possibility:
Installing temporary barricades at the 52nd Street/Second Avenue intersection and the 52nd Street/Fifth Avenue intersection to prevent southbound vehicles from using Second Avenue as an alternative to Gulf Drive. If installed and deemed successful, the temporary barricades would eventually be replaced by permanent landscape walls. Since the May 26 meeting, commission support for the barricades has diminished.
On June 9, the Second Avenue discussions continued and about a dozen potentially impacted residents, property owners and commuters shared their views on the proposed traffic adjustments. The majority of those who spoke do not live on Second Avenue, do not support restricting southbound traffic on Second Avenue and do not support Second Avenue residents being given preferential relief from the traffic and congestion that exists on many other residential streets. During the June 9 meeting, a few Second Avenue residents spoke in favor of altering the flow of traffic on their street.
No final decisions were made, but comments made by the five commissioners indicated dwindling support for the proposed Second Avenue traffic adjustments.
JUNE 23 DISCUSSION
When initiating the June 23 discussion as old business, Whitmore said the commission would not be voting on any Second Avenue actions that day because some Second Avenue residents were out of town and couldn’t attend the meeting.
Commissioner Steve Oelfke said there are two primary issues: the first is the safety concerns caused by speeding and motorists who don’t stop at the stop signs. The other concern is Second Avenue being used as an alternative to Gulf Drive.
Oelfke said the congestion on Gulf Drive creates the additional traffic on Second Avenue. He said if Gulf Drive wasn’t so frequently congested, fewer people would use Second Avenue.
Oelfke said he was recently traveling south on Gulf Drive and as the traffic started to slow, he watched a pickup truck turn right onto 51st Street or 50th Street to take Second Avenue to 43rd Street, where it intersects with Gulf Drive. Oelfke said he stayed on Gulf Drive, and he and the pickup truck reached the 43rd Street intersection at about the same time.
“All it got him was a few seconds, literally,” Oelfke said. “It brought it home to me that people are really fed up with that Gulf Drive backup and Second is a release valve that holds some of that traffic that would otherwise be further down Gulf, Marina and Palm. As much as I don’t like that it’s used as a cut-through, I think eliminating it as a cut-through would cause more harm.”
Continuing, Oelfke said, “What is the root cause of this? Part of it is so many people are trying to leave the Island at the same time. What could be done to alleviate that?”
He said the timing of the traffic signals at the Gulf Drive/Manatee Avenue intersection and the Manatee Avenue/East Bay Drive intersection contribute to the traffic delays.
He said there are newer traffic signals that use artificial intelligence and cellphone pings to adjust the signal timings in response to real-time traffic conditions, peak traffic periods and approaching emergency vehicles.
Oelfke said the traffic signals on Manatee Avenue in Holmes Beach do not utilize AI technology and do not respond to current traffic conditions. He said addressing the effectiveness of those traffic signals might help ease congestion on Gulf Drive, which in turn might ease congestion on Second Avenue.
Regarding a previously mentioned traffic study, Oelfke said if the city’s going to spend money on a traffic study, the study should address the root cause of the issue rather than studying just one street.
After acknowledging that he sometimes uses the Second Avenue route, Schaefer said, “I always used to believe that was a secret that we residents knew, but that secret is out.”
PUBLIC INPUT
According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, nine of the 35 residential properties along Second Avenue receive the property tax-related homestead exemptions given to homes used as the owner’s primary residence.
Jeff Jump owns three homes along Second Avenue, including a home owned in his name that receives a homestead exemption.
On June 13, Jump sent an email to Schaefer that said, “I own three homes on Second Ave. I don’t have any problem with people using Second Avenue as long as they adhere to the law. I would even support less stop signs. I want to make sure cleaners, lawn workers and visitors continue to have access to my houses.”
Second Avenue resident Alan Williams spoke during the June 9 meeting and he was the only attendee to provide public input during the June 23 meeting. He again suggested the congestion along Second Avenue could negatively impact property values if potential buyers see all the traffic when visiting a home for sale.
Williams acknowledged the traffic and safety concerns are not unique to Second Avenue and these issues need to be addressed citywide. After reading aloud an excerpt from the city’s comprehensive plan that references preserving the city’s single-family residential character, Williams said, “I’m a full-time resident here and all you’re doing is driving people away from that area who would be full-time people.”
Williams noted Second Avenue is deemed by state statute as a local road and it is not deemed as a connector road or major connector road. He said this is also the case for many other local roads that are being used as connector roads.
Williams said he hates hearing local streets referred to as cut-throughs.
“That road should not be a cut-through. It’s not designed for a cut-through,” he said.
He also shared his opinion that it’s illegal to cut through the S & S Plaza parking lot to reach Second Avenue.
FUTURE DISCUSSION
Regarding Whitmore’s desire to continue placing the Second Avenue discussion on future commission meeting agendas, Mayor Judy Titsworth said that’s going to make residents afraid to miss a meeting out of fear that a Second Avenue decision will be made when they’re not there.
“People are showing up for meetings and we don’t have anything from staff. I would suggest waiting until the people on Second Avenue approach the chair, or me, to say they’re ready for a discussion,” Titsworth said.
Titsworth and Schaefer noted public comment about Second Avenue can still be given during public comment on non-agenda items.
“If we put something on agenda, it’s a communication to the public it’s going to be discussed,” Schaefer added.
Whitmore said Hebden told her he would be out of town on June 23 and she wanted to respect his desire to be present when a Second Avenue decision is made.
“That’s why I kept it on. I’m not sure when he’s coming back,” Whitmore said.
Regarding the previously proposed traffic alterations, Oelfke said, “At some point, I think it’s appropriate to say we don’t support that or we do support that.”
