Skip to main content

Tag: meandering paths

Pine Avenue sidewalk and crosswalk concepts approved

Pine Avenue sidewalk, crosswalk concepts approved

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – City commissioners have approved the conceptual plans for the new sidewalks and crosswalks to be installed or modified as part of the Reimagining Pine Avenue project.

Mayor Dan Murphy and contracted traffic engineer Gerry Traverso presented the conceptual plans to the commission on Feb. 10.

Brick paver sidewalks will be installed along the entire length of both sides of Pine Avenue. Where applicable, the paver sidewalks will follow the existing footprint of the meandering paths located in front of some of the businesses on both sides of the street.

Made of permeable pavers that allow water to drain through them, the new sidewalks will be constructed over underground infiltration trenches and other drainage elements.

Pine Avenue sidewalk and crosswalk concepts approved
The sidewalk plans highlighted in black were presented during the Feb. 10 city commission meeting. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

During Thursday’s meeting, there was some debate as to whether the new sidewalks should all be 5 feet wide or be 6 feet wide in areas where the extra width can be accommodated.

Commissioner Deanie Sebring lobbied for 6-foot sidewalks. For the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, she also again expressed her support for eliminating more than 50 existing parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue. No final decisions regarding the potential elimination of those spaces and/or the addition of buffered bike paths will be made until the other improvements are made.

Commissioners Jon Crane, Carol Carter and Robert Kingan were also in favor of installing 6-foot sidewalks where possible.

Commissioner Mark Short opposed the wider sidewalks and noted that the extra foot needed on both sides of Pine Avenue to accommodate the wider sidewalks would reduce the 50-foot-wide project area to 48 feet. He said he would hate to lose those extra 2 feet that might be needed later.

Pine Avenue sidewalk and crosswalk concepts approved
Contracted traffic engineer Gerry Traverso presented his sidewalk and crosswalk recommendations. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Traverso said 6-foot-wide sidewalks would be challenging in some areas already constricted by fire hydrants, drainage components and other obstructions. He said approximately 30% of the project area could accommodate 6-foot sidewalks, and that the meandering path areas would be the best places to include them. The commission ultimately reached a 4-1 consensus to install 6-foot-wide sidewalks wherever possible, with Short remaining in opposition.

Crosswalk improvements

The commission supported Traverso’s recommendation to install a new raised crosswalk with embedded flashing beacons across Pine Avenue near The Donut Experiment and Poppo’s Taqueria. That location was chosen because there is currently no mid-block crosswalk in that vicinity, which has a high volume of uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.

The existing crosswalk near the Roser Memorial Community Church will be replaced with a raised crosswalk that also features embedded flashing beacons. A third raised crosswalk with flashing beacons will also be installed at some point between North Shore and North Bay Boulevard across Pine Avenue and the existing crosswalks will also be improved without being raised. Traverso said raised crosswalks are not needed at the existing four-way intersections and Murphy said there are currently no plans to create any additional four-way stops.

As a result of Thursday’s discussions, a request for proposals will be issued seeking responses from construction firms interested in installing the new sidewalks and crosswalks.

Traverso also briefly presented some additional streetlighting recommendations but the commission agreed to postpone the street lighting discussion for a future meeting.

Related coverage

 

Mayor presents Reimagining Pine Avenue timeline

Reimagining Pine Avenue will not include one-way streets

Reimagining Pine Avenue will not include one-way streets

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA – One-way streets will not be part of the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety and traffic improvements being discussed by Anna Maria city commissioners.

The commission reached that 5-0 decision during a special meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 22. The decision to eliminate the concept of the one-way streets was met with approval and relief by attending residents.

The commission also reduced from four to two the potential design alternatives that contracted traffic engineer Gerry Traverso first presented on Aug. 19. The commission selected Alternatives 2 and 3 as the choices they will continue discussing. Mayor Dan Murphy noted these two alternatives may include variations to be proposed later by commissioners Deanie Sebring and Doug Copeland.

The safety and traffic improvements discussed Wednesday pertain to Pine Avenue only. Potential improvements to Spring Avenue and Magnolia Avenue will be addressed later.

Preferred design alternatives

Alternative 2 proposes buffered bike paths and sidewalks along each side of Pine Avenue. Separated from vehicular travel lanes, the new sidewalks and bike paths would improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

Reimagining Pine Avenue will not include one-way streets
Design Alternative 2 proposes a bike lane on each side of Pine Avenue. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

Alternative 3 proposes sidewalks along both sides of Pine Avenue and side-by-side bike paths running in opposite directions along one side of Pine Avenue.

Both alternatives include the potential for additional stormwater treatment and improved drainage through the use of an exfiltration trench or trenches with valley gutters and inlets.

Reimagining Pine Avenue will not include one-way streets
Design Alternative 3 proposes two bike lanes along the same side of Pine Avenue. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

During previous discussions, Traverso said the sidewalks and bike paths could be constructed using permeable concrete or permeable pavers instead of standard concrete. This would allow for better drainage but would also significantly increase the project costs.

Traverso said the new sidewalks would be configured in a manner that maintains the existing locations of the meandering pathways in front of some Pine Avenue businesses.

Both alternatives propose the elimination of 33 public parking spaces currently located along Pine Avenue in city-owned rights of way, and that remains a subject of ongoing commission discussion.

Traffic study results

According to traffic studies that Traverso conducted in mid-June, 2,730 motor vehicles turned right from Gulf Drive onto Pine Avenue during a 24-hour weekday period and 2,639 vehicles made that turn during a 24-hour period on a Saturday.

To account for peak tourist season from February through May, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) recommends increasing non-peak season traffic study figures by 16%. When adjusted for peak season, Traverso estimated 3,167 vehicles per day turn right from Gulf Drive onto Pine Avenue during a 24-hour weekday period in peak season and 3,061 vehicles do so during a 24-hour period on a Saturday.

According to the traffic study, 614 vehicles turned right onto Magnolia Avenue from Gulf Drive on a weekday and 704 vehicles did so on a Saturday. According to the study, 321 vehicles turned right from Gulf Drive onto Spring Avenue during the weekday and 415 vehicles did so on a Saturday.

One-way implications

Before the commission eliminated the concept of the one-way streets, Traverso said converting Pine Avenue into a one-way street with traffic traveling from the City Pier toward Gulf Drive would result in an estimated 3,774 vehicles turning onto Gulf Drive on a weekday and 4,067 vehicles making that turn on a Saturday.

Converting Magnolia Avenue into a one-way street with motorists traveling from Gulf Drive toward South Bay Boulevard would result in an estimated 2,525 vehicles turning right onto Magnolia from Gulf Drive on a weekday and 2,551 vehicles making that turn on a Saturday.

With Pine Avenue and Magnolia Avenue transformed into one-way streets and Spring Avenue remaining a two-way street, Traverso estimated 1,140 vehicles would turn right off Gulf Drive onto Spring Avenue on a weekday and 1,207 vehicles would make that turn on a Saturday. He estimated 1,283 vehicles would turn off Spring Avenue onto Gulf Drive during that same weekday period and an estimated 1,414 vehicles would make that turn on a Saturday.

After hearing those numbers, Copeland expressed strong opposition to the concept of the one-way streets.

“If we did the one-way pairs, you’re adding almost 5,000 cars to Spring and Magnolia. I find that totally unacceptable for those neighborhoods. I would be putting a for sale sign up if I lived on either one of those streets,” he said.

Commissioner Jon Crane suggested making Pine Avenue a one-way street while leaving Spring Avenue and Magnolia Avenue as two-way streets, but that suggestion received no support from the other commissioners.

Parallel parking spaces

Commissioners expressed differing opinions on the elimination of the parallel parking spaces located along Pine Avenue and no final decision has been made in that regard.

Copeland wants to preserve the existing parking spaces. He fears removing them would result in motorists parking in nearby residential neighborhoods and create a lack of public parking similar to what exists in the Bridge Street area of Bradenton Beach.

Sebring supports eliminating the public parking spaces along Pine Avenue. She fears preserving those parallel parking spaces could result in car doors being opened into the path of bicyclists using the new bike paths.

Traverso said the privately-owned parking spaces in front of the Pine Avenue businesses would not be eliminated or significantly impacted.

The question was again raised as to whether the privately-owned vacant lot at the corner of Pine Avenue and North Shore Drive could be used for parking. According to county records, the vacant lot was acquired by the 303 Pine LLC in June and the LLC secured a $1.3 million construction mortgage that could potentially be increased to $2.99 million.

Sebring briefly addressed the Pine Avenue parking again during Thursday’s regular city commission meeting. She expressed her hope that if the Pine Avenue parking spaces are eliminated, the Roser Memorial Community Church would provide some public parking spaces across the street from the church in exchange for the church’s continued use of the city-owned property at the west end of Tarpon Street.

Sebring also proposed using a gated area at the far end of the city-owned AMI Historical Museum property for public parking if the public parking spaces along Pine Avenue are eliminated.

Related coverage

Commissioners hear proposed Pine Avenue solutions

Reimagining Pine Avenue meetings conclude

Reimagining Pine Avenue discussions continue