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Contract signed for Pine Avenue sidewalks

Contract signed for Pine Avenue sidewalks

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

ANNA MARIA – A signed contract is now in place for the installation of brick paver sidewalks along Pine Avenue, between Gulf Drive and North Shore Drive, where no paved sidewalks currently exist.

Where applicable, the brick paver sidewalks will follow the same unpaved meandering paths that veer away from Pine Avenue and closer to the business entrances. New crosswalks will also be installed in the initial phase of the multi-phase sidewalk installation project. The existing con­crete sidewalks in that area will remain in place for now and be replaced later in a future phase of the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project.

On Aug. 22, the Anna Maria City Commission authorized Mayor Dan Murphy to sign a contract with Eason Builders Group owner Scott Eason for the initial phase of the multi-phase project.

In reference to the city’s long-pro­tracted efforts to secure a suitable and affordable sidewalk installer, Murphy paraphrased a famous World War II statement made by United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill and said, “It’s the end of the beginning on Pine Avenue.”

Contract signed for Pine Avenue sidewalks
The unpaved pedestrian paths will be replaced with brick paver sidewalks. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

For the first one-block portion of the sidewalk and crosswalk installation project, Eason Builders Group bid $233,704, Mali Construction bid $272,796 and C-Squared construction bid $665,290. On July 25, the city commission authorized Murphy to meet with Eason as the mayor and commission’s first choice to do the initial phase of the project. After some additional fact-finding and contract negotiations, Murphy, on Aug. 22, sought city commission authorization to sign the contract with the Eason Builders Group that had already been reviewed and approved by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) as the state agency overseeing the city’s expenditure of the state appro­priations that will fund the majority of the Reimagining Pine Avenue project. Murphy said the signed contract would be sent to FDOT so the state agency can issue a notice to com­mence.

“I expect to get all that done quickly so Scott can begin work and we have this come to fruition,” Murphy told the commission.

Eason’s wife and young son accom­panied him to the meeting.

When introducing himself to the commission, Eason, a Holmes Beach resident, said, “I’ve got a seven-month-old boy and what I realized in the past seven months is I’m walking a lot more than I ever have in my entire life. I’m pushing a stroller.”

Eason applauded the mayor for working so hard on the Reimagining Pine Avenue project and not accept­ing the single bids received from C-Squared that were rejected by the city commission on four previous occasions.

“I’m an Island resident. I want to do this project. I very much care about this city and I think a walkable Pine Avenue is what we all want. We’d love this opportunity to do this work. I won’t let you down,” Eason told the commission.

In response to Eason’s stroller comments, Murphy said he watched his own daughters struggle to push his grandchildren’s strollers down Pine Avenue while headed to the beach at the end of the street.

“I didn’t understand why we had sand sidewalks out here. I’m looking forward to Scott doing a bang-up job and bringing this project home for us. I hope we can get it done quickly, efficiently and to everybody’s satisfac­tion,” Murphy said.

The commission then voted 4-0 in favor of authorizing the contract with Eason Builders Group, with Commis­sioner Charlie Salem recusing himself because he and his husband own two commercial properties along Pine Avenue.

The city is approaching the sidewalk installation project in four separate stages, with each stage covering a block or so of Pine Avenue. Bid proposals will soon be reviewed for the next stage that will extend from North Shore Drive to Crescent Drive, followed by another phase from Crescent Drive to Tarpon Street and another phase from Tarpon Street to Bay Boulevard.

Reimagining Pine Avenue bid selected

Reimagining Pine Avenue bid selected

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

ANNA MARIA – Longboat Key-based Eason Builders is the city of Anna Maria’s first choice to install new brick paver sidewalks and new crosswalks along Pine Avenue between Gulf Drive and North Shore Drive.

On July 25, Mayor Dan Murphy and the city commission discussed three bids received for the first phase of a multi-phase brick paver sidewalk installation project that’s part of the greater Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project.

The Phase 1 work will consist of brick paver sidewalks being installed atop the unpaved, meandering pedestrian paths along Pine Avenue between Gulf and North Shore. The existing concrete sidewalk on the other side of Pine will remain in place for now.

For the Phase 1 project only, Eason Builders bid $233,704, Tampa-based Mali Construction bid $272,796 and the Sarasota-based C-Squared construction company bid $665,290. Because C-Squared’s bid was so much higher, Murphy recommended excluding that bid from further consideration.

Murphy noted the Eason and Mali bids were close to the $181,053 previously estimated by the George F. Young engineering firm that designed and engineered the Reimagining Pine Avenue project.

Murphy sought and received commission authorization to engage in further discussions with Eason Builders.

“I’d to go to Eason Builders and do fact-finding and see if I can come back with an acceptable contract with Eason Builders,” Murphy told the commission. “If that fails, I’ll come back to the commission again and try to come back with an acceptable contract from Mali.”

He noted he can only enter into contract discussions with one company at a time.

Murphy said additional cost savings might be realized if the city’s public works department does the pavement striping and marking for the crosswalk installations.

Murphy noted the bids must also be reviewed and approved by the Florida Department of Transportation – the state agency overseeing the city’s expenditure of the state appropriation that is funding a significant portion of the Reimagining Pine Avenue project.

Reimagining Pine Avenue bid selected
In some areas, the unpaved paths meander toward the business entrances. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

During the past couple of years, the city previously issued four separate requests for proposals for the sidewalk and crosswalk installations. In all four instances, C-Squared was the only bidder. The city commission rejected all four of C-Squared’s previous bids because of the proposed cost and the commission’s ongoing desire to receive proposals from multiple bidders.

Commissioner Mark Short said receiving competitive bids for the first time illustrates what the mayor and commission have believed all along, that C-Squared’s bids were abnormally high.

“While people may be frustrated that we’ve been talking about this project for a couple of years, it does show we’ve been prudent about how we’ve approached this utilizing not just our money, but the state’s money,” Short said.

Future block-by-block project phases will result in brick paver sidewalks being installed along the length of Pine Avenue where no concrete sidewalks currently exist.

The phase 2 bids for sidewalk and crosswalk installations between North Shore Drive and Crescent Drive are expected to be revealed and discussed soon.

Latest Pine Avenue bid rejected

Latest Pine Avenue bid rejected

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

ANNA MARIA – Following Mayor Dan Murphy’s recom­mendation, the city commission rejected the latest Reimagining Pine Avenue bid received from C-Squared.

On May 9, the commission voted 5-0 in favor of rejecting C-Squared’s approximately $1.4 million bid to construct a one-block Reimagining Pine Avenue prototype area that was to include new brick paver sidewalks along both sides of the Pine Avenue from Gulf Drive to North Shore Drive, and new crosswalks in that same one-block area. The sidewalks and crosswalks were to be funded by a state appropriation previously ap­proved by the Florida Legislature.

Using a different funding source, the city also planned to install new streetlights in the one-block area that would serve as a test area for similar safety improvements to be made later along the rest of Pine Avenue.

The latest rejected bid marks the fourth time since 2022 that the city commission has rejected a project-related bid from C-Squared. The previous three bids received in 2022 and 2023 were for the entire stretch of Pine Avenue. In all four instances, C-Squared was the only construction company to submit a bid proposal in response to the city’s request for proposals (RFP).

Murphy said he didn’t consider the latest C-Squared bid received in April to be a “good value proposition.” During a previous discussion, Murphy noted that C-Squared previously bid $1.4 million to install sidewalks and crosswalks along the entire stretch of Pine Avenue.

On May 9, Murphy said he met with a C-Squared representative in hopes of lowering the latest bid. The company offered to reduce the bid by $56,000.

The mayor now proposes taking a piecemeal approach for three separate but related projects, starting with sidewalks, then crosswalks and then streetlights.

“I’d like to put a focus on local contractors who can do this work,” Murphy told the commission. “There are a couple that are interested already who’d like to look at this more on a micro basis than a macro basis.”

When asked if another RFP, or multiple RFPs, would be issued for the separate projects, Murphy said he didn’t know yet.

Commissioner Jon Crane again suggested seeking input from potentially interested contrac­tors before drafting and issuing another RFP.

Commissioner Gary McMullen asked if the city’s public works department could carry out some of the project-related tasks. Mur­phy said that’s possible as long as the department has the needed manpower and equipment.

Related coverage: Reimagining Pine Avenue bid higher than expected

Latest Reimagining Pine Avenue bid rejected

Latest Reimagining Pine Avenue bid rejected

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

ANNA MARIA – The City Commission rejected the latest single bid received to install new sidewalks along both sides of Pine Avenue on April 27.

The mayor and commissioners now hope to use state funds to enlarge the scope of the project in hopes of making it more attractive to more potential bidders.

C-Squared was the only company that submitted a bid proposal in response to the city’s latest revised request for proposals (RFP) for the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project that at some point is also expected to include new and improved crosswalks and new street lighting.

During a special city commission meeting on April 24, Mayor Dan Murphy provided the commissioners with confidential copies of C-Squared’s latest bid. C-Squared was also the only firm to submit bid proposals in response to the city’s previous two Reimagining Pine Avenue-related RFPs.

The initial phase of the Reimagining Pine Avenue project is primarily funded by a $1.28 state appropriation the city secured last year. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is overseeing the city’s use of the state funds.

According to Murphy, FDOT considered C-Squared’s previous bid too high. The latest RFP incorporated additional FDOT suggestions and pertained only to the installation of the sidewalks. City officials hoped the revised RFP would attract more bidders but it didn’t.

Bid rejected

During Thursday’s meeting, Murphy said the commission could accept the C-Squared bid and direct him to enter into fact-finding discussions and subsequent contract negotiations with the lone bidder; or reject the bid and eventually issue another revised RFP.

The previous C-Squared bid proposal received last July proposed a $1.09 million price to install the new brick paver sidewalks. Murphy said C-Squared’s latest bid was approximately 30% and $418,000 higher than the previous bid. Murphy said the increase could be partially due to the latest RFP requesting that crushed granite, rather than crushed concrete, be used as fill material for the drainage trenches to be installed beneath the new sidewalks. Murphy also noted labor costs have increased since the previous bid was received last year. As of Friday afternoon, copies of the rejected bid proposal had not yet been made available to the media.

Murphy said the relatively small scope of the project may not be enough to attract bidders interested in larger, more lucrative projects.

Murphy said the city anticipates receiving an additional $1.4 million state appropriation this year. This would allow the scope of the project to be expanded to include additional safety improvements along Magnolia Avenue, Spring Avenue and a portion of Gulf Drive.

“We’re on the cusp of getting another $1.4 million. We could expand this project to make it more appealing to more bidders. But then again, we could move forward with the project so we can get started right away,” Murphy said.

Commissioner Robert Kingan noted FDOT considered C-Squared’s previous bid to be too high and their latest bid is even higher. Kingan said he doesn’t like choosing from a single bid and he agreed that the project’s smaller scope might make it less attractive to bidders.

Latest Reimagining Pine Avenue bid rejected
Commissioners Jon Crane and Robert Kingan held differing views on accepting or rejecting the latest bid. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioner Jon Crane expressed an opposing view.

“This is probably the most significant project we have on our books. The change of the look and feel and efficiency of Pine Avenue would be greatly improved. We’re not getting the interest and I don’t think we’re going to get any more interest. Now’s a good time to do this,” Crane said.

Commissioner Deanie Sebring said she doesn’t feel comfortable with just one bid or the increased cost proposed in C-Squared’s latest bid. She agreed that increasing the scope of the project might attract more bidders.

“It seems unbelievable that we could only get one local bidder on this project,” she said.

Commissioner Charlie Salem said he understood Crane’s position, but he thinks competition among multiple bidders would benefit the city. He also noted the labor market has recently cooled a bit.

During Monday’s meeting, Commission Chair Mark Short said the city still has plenty of time to complete the state-funded project.

During Thursday’s meeting, Short said, “We’re making progress but not we’re not where we thought we’d be when we started this two years ago. But the possibility of combining projects equals economy of scale. Certain things only have to be done once with a larger project versus twice for two projects.”

Kingan then made a motion to reject the RFP. The commission voted 4-1 in favor of doing so, with Crane voting in opposition.

RFP being issued for Pine Avenue improvements

Bidding opens for Pine Avenue improvements

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

ANNA MARIA – City officials are issuing a request for proposals (RFP) seeking bids for the installation of new sidewalks, crosswalks and lights along Pine Avenue.

The proposed safety improvements are the cornerstone of the city’s Reimagining Pine Avenue efforts.

During the March 17 work meeting, the Anna Maria City Commission authorized the issuance of an RFP that provides interested construction firms with about 30 days to submit their sealed bids. After reviewing the submitted bids, the commission will select a preferred contractor and make some additional design decisions.

Sidewalks

The new sidewalks will either be constructed of pervious brick pavers or continuous stretches of rubberized Flexi-Pave material made from recycled tires.

The bid proposals are to include brick paver sidewalks and the Flexi-Pave alternative available in several colors. Drainage elements will be installed below and beside the new sidewalks regardless of which surface material is selected.

During Thursday’s meeting, the commission debated whether the new sidewalks would be 6 feet wide, or 5 feet wide as previously recommended by project engineer Gerry Traverso. As requested, Traverso provided the commission with diagrams that showed several areas where there is enough space to install 6-foot-wide sidewalks.

Commissioner Mark Short said installing 6-foot-wide sidewalks would eliminate about 50 parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue. Short noted each space must be at least 8 feet wide and there isn’t enough city-owned space to accommodate wider sidewalks and the existing spaces.

“By putting these 6-foot sidewalks in, we’ve taken off the table the ability to parallel park on Pine Avenue,” Short said.

“That would be a fair assessment,” Traverso replied.

Commissioner Robert Kingan previously expressed support for 6-foot-wide sidewalks, but he changed his mind after learning about the consequent elimination of the parallel parking spaces.

“That is a huge change,” he said.

Kingan said he recently counted 39 vehicles parked along Pine Avenue.

“That’s a lot of cars, and suddenly saying we’re eliminating that is a problem, so I’ve changed my tune,” he told the commission.

Kingan said the Pine Avenue business owners would be upset if those spaces are eliminated.

Traverso said due to sightline and visibility concerns, the installation of 5-foot-wide sidewalks will still require the elimination of a small number of spaces.

Short noted the new sidewalks will not eliminate any privately-owned perpendicular parking spaces associated with the Pine Avenue businesses. Where applicable, the new sidewalks will maintain the current meandering path configurations that lead to nearby businesses.

RFP being issued for Pine Avenue improvements
In some areas, the pedestrian paths meander toward nearby businesses. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Commissioner Deanie Sebring noted that previous Reimagining Pine Avenue discussions included the potential removal of the parallel parking spaces in order to accommodate new sidewalks and bike paths.

Sebring said eliminating the parallel parking spaces would encourage people to use alternative modes of transportation to get to Pine Avenue. Commission Chair Carol Carter said eliminating the street-side parking spaces would result in more people parking in the surrounding residential areas.

The commission voted 4-1 in favor of 5-foot-wide sidewalks along the length of both sides of Pine Avenue, from Tampa Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, with Sebring casting the only opposition vote. That vote preserved, for now at least, the majority of the parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue.

RFP being issued for Pine Avenue improvements
There are currently no plans to install bike paths or eliminate the parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Bike paths are not included in the RFP being issued for sidewalks, crosswalks and lights. Bike paths could be pursued later as a subsequent phase of the Reimagining Pine Avenue project, but there is not enough available space to install bike paths and preserve the existing street-side parking spaces. A commission decision on installing bike paths or preserving the existing parking spaces is not expected until after the new sidewalks, crosswalks and lights are installed and evaluated.

Crosswalks

The commission voted 5-0 in favor of three raised crosswalks with embedded flashers being installed across Pine Avenue. The crosswalks will be equipped with control buttons that allow pedestrians to activate the flashers.

Traverso recommended a raised crosswalk near Roser Memorial Community Church and another at the other end of the street near city hall, The Donut Experiment and Poppo’s Taqueria.

Short suggested, and the commission supported, the installation of a third raised crosswalk across Gulf Drive at the Los Cedros Drive intersection. Existing non-raised crosswalks will be enhanced with additional lighting, safety striping and new signage.

“I go up and down Pine every day and the problem I hoped we were going to solve is people walking in the street,” Commissioner Jon Crane said. “My biggest concern is getting people out of the street.”

Crane is concerned that even with the new sidewalks and crosswalks many pedestrians will continue to walk in the road and cross where there are no crosswalks.

“Rarely do I ever see a pedestrian use a crosswalk,” Crane said.

RFP being issued for Pine Avenue improvements
The Pine Avenue improvements are sought to improve safety for pedestrians and others. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Mayor Dan Murphy said shrubs or other landscaping elements could possibly be used to create natural barriers that guide pedestrians to the designated crossing areas. He also said the commission could consider adopting a jaywalking ordinance that would result in violators being subjected to citations and fines. No formal actions were taken on either of those actions.

Lighting

The commission voted 5-0 in favor of installing up to 27 new solar lights along Pine Avenue. The new lights and poles will replace the existing ones previously installed by Florida Power & Light. The commission reviewed some lighting options provided by Traverso, but the appearance and aesthetics of the new lights and poles will be determined during or after the RFP review and selection process.

Related coverage

Pine Avenue sidewalk, crosswalk concepts approved

City addressing Pine Avenue streetlight complaint

Mayor presents Reimagining Pine Avenue timeline

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

Commission to reconsider Reimagining Pine Avenue parking reductions

Commission to reconsider Pine Avenue parking reductions

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

ANNA MARIA – City officials are reconsidering the elimination of 53 parallel parking spaces in the Reimagining Pine Avenue project.

During a special commission meeting on Monday, Oct. 25, the divided Anna Maria City Commission reached an initial 3-2 consensus in favor of eliminating 53 parallel parking spaces located in the city-owned rights of way along Pine Avenue. But during the commission’s regular meeting on Thursday, Oct. 28, Mayor Dan Murphy recommended a step-by-step decision-making and implementation process that addresses sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting first and allows commissioners more time to reconsider the need for Pine Avenue bike paths and the potential elimination of the parallel parking spaces.

The city does not intend to eliminate nor significantly impact the privately-owned perpendicular parking spaces associated with the Pine Avenue businesses – as long as those parking areas do not infringe upon city-owned rights of way.

Consensus reached

During the Oct. 25 meeting, the commission reached a majority consensus regarding several Reimagining Pine Avenue design options. These included the locations of the sidewalks and bike paths as well as crosswalk and street lighting improvements and a delivery truck turnaround area near the City Pier.

Commissioners Carol Carter, Deanie Sebring and Mark Short supported the elimination of the parallel parking spaces. Commissioner Doug Copeland and Jon Crane did not.

“I do not believe there should be parallel parking on Pine. I think it’s very dangerous for strollers, bikers, walkers. There’s no space. It should never have been put there in the first place,” Sebring said.

“I’m not feeling good about parallel parking along Pine,” Carter added.

Copeland presented an alternative design option that included sidewalks on both sides of the street, two bike lanes on the same side of the street and parallel parking along the opposite side of the street. Copeland said the most important element for any of the design options is the installation of continuous sidewalks constructed of the same materials, but his overall design concept did not garner the majority support of the commission.

Short asked contracted traffic engineer Gerry Traverso if diagonal parking spaces could be installed along Pine Avenue. Traverso said that would provide fewer parking spaces than the parallel parking spaces and work better on a one-way street. Murphy noted the commission previously eliminated the design alternative Traverso proposed that called for Pine Avenue and Magnolia Avenue to become one-way streets.

When choosing between the two remaining design concepts previously proposed by Traverso, the totality of the commission’s Oct. 25 decision-making produced a design option that most resembles Traverso’s Alternative 2 option.

Alternative 2 proposes new sidewalks and bike paths along both sides of Gulf Drive. Alternative 3 proposes new sidewalks along both sides of Pine Avenue and a single multi-use trail along one side of the street only. Both alternatives propose eliminating the existing parallel parking spaces.

The commission unanimously agreed the new sidewalks and bike paths would be constructed of permeable pavers and be installed atop French drain systems that further enhance drainage.

Where applicable, the paver sidewalks will follow the existing footprints of the unpaved meandering paths that pass by several Pine Avenue businesses. Murphy said the sidewalks would extend the entire length of Pine Avenue, from Tampa Bay to the Gulf of Mexico.

Commission to reconsider Reimagining Pine Avenue parking reductions
Illustrated in gray, the new sidewalks will follow the footprints of the existing unpaved meandering paths. – City of Anna Maria | Submitted

The commission unanimously supported the installation of raised crosswalks with flashing beacons that double as speed tables, with additional street lighting to also be installed at the existing and new crossing areas.

The commission unanimously agreed to create a delivery truck turnaround area by the trolley stop and parking lot near the City Pier in hopes of decreasing delivery truck traffic on nearby residential streets.

The Pine Avenue improvements are desired primarily to improve safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and others, with improved traffic flow as a secondary consideration. The commission agreed to pursue the Pine Avenue improvements first and address Spring Avenue and Magnolia Avenue as future project phases. Murphy said Magnolia Avenue will still be repaved as currently planned and budgeted.

The commission made these decisions while facing a Wednesday, Oct. 27 deadline to apply for a state appropriation that, if approved, could provide state funding for the city project.

Consensus reconsidered

On Oct. 28, Murphy suggested the specific design decisions be made one at a time, beginning with the installation of sidewalks along both sides of Pine Avenue and the delivery truck turnaround area, to be followed by the crosswalk installations and street lighting improvements.

Using this approach, Murphy doesn’t envision the commission addressing bike paths and the potential elimination of the parallel parking spaces until June or July. He said the elimination of parking spaces to accommodate bike paths remains “a major bone of contention.”

“The consensus we took was 3-2. Let’s see what these first three things (sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting) are going to do for us and then we’ll go to the bike path. There might be other alternatives to the bike path, there might not. There might be other alternatives to run a bike path down Magnolia and not disturb any parking on Pine. I want you to have time to think about that and also be able see the improvements, if any, that the first three steps have made. By June or July, you’ll have been through a spring break season. Taking it in bites like this I think is a good approach,” Murphy told the commission.

He said he would bring some of these matters back for discussion at the commission’s next meeting.

City staff member Amy Moriarty told the commission the city has now submitted an initial application for a $1.2 million state appropriation from the state Legislature for the Pine Avenue improvements.