Safety board discusses segment 2 road work
While the shovels have yet to hit the ground for the first segment of the Estero Boulevard Improvements Project, a Town advisory committee is looking at ways to improve safety by providing recommendations for the second mile.
At a special session last week, members of the Fort Myers Beach Public Safety Committee reviewed plans for that second segment and began creating a list of questions for Lee County Department of Transportation’s Rob Phelan, the project manager, pertaining to the issue. He will be asked to review the inquiries at the board’s June 10 meeting.
According to Town records, goals of this overall project include improving safety for all users (motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians) and improving the drainage on the County-owned boulevard. Committee members have pushed for improved lighting and more crosswalks and a combination of both. All suggestions must go before the Fort Myers Beach Town Council for approval, then passed on to the Lee County Board of County Commissioners for similar action before implementation.
“Besides beautifying Estero Boulevard, which will make it look like we are keeping the infrastructure and the looks of the island up-to-date, I think there are three major concerns of this plan – public safety, traffic flow and drainage,” said Safety Committee member Anthony Scopel. “When the roads become flooded, it’s a disaster waiting to happen with bicyclists and pedestrians. I hope these plans are going to eliminate that hazard.”
While the first segment plans do not involve a separate bike lane (shared lane bicycle markings known as ‘sharrows’ will be used) within the Core Area and Civic Complex between Crescent Street and Lovers Lane, most of the second segment – referenced as part of the Quiet Center- is expected to have that feature. Trolley stops that will employ ‘chicanes’ in the road to shift traffic and possibly slow it for safety are also part of the design.
A rough estimate via a vehicle odometer reading shows one mile past Lovers Lane leads to Bayview Avenue – less than mile north of Publix Supermarket.
While the road improvements project overall is not designed to improve traffic flow, trolley stops and drainage improvements could address congestion in a sense. More people could be encouraged to ride bikes and take the trolley to take some cars off the road.
“All in all, it might help traffic for a little bit. When I drive off the island during season, pedestrians and bicyclists are definitely dodging water and each other, so I think it will help a little bit,” said Scopel. “It is going to make safety more of a key factor for our pedestrians and bicyclists and that, in turn, could help the traffic.”
Questions involve location of landscaping – along the property side of the sidewalks, between the sidewalk and the bike lane or between the bike lane and vehicle lane – and further issues involve pedestrian refuges and trolley stops. Whatever the case involving landscaping, mail delivery vehicles and trash collection trucks will need to maneuver to do business.
Safety Committee Chairman Bruce Butcher, who was absent from the session, stated “there should be some significant buffering or separation between the bike lane and vehicle lane” through email. His comments were read into the record by Councilwoman Rexann Hosafros, the policy maker liaison.
Safety Committee members hope that the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization will have money left over in its coffers after its budget process to be applied to boulevard lighting.
“Councilman Alan Mandel has said that there is usually a small pot of money left over from projects, and this is the time of year you find out what that is going to be. He is going to inquire about that,” said Hosafros.
An MPO representative may be invited to a near future board meeting to speak on the coordination of lighting and crosswalks.
There is also hope landscaping money becomes available.
“(Lee County Commissioner) has promised that he is going to try to help us find the money for landscaping,” said Hosafros.
Conceptual designs within a right-of-way map for the 30 percent plan for the main road of the island were provided to the advisory board members to review. Design issues to be resolved in subsequent design phases include water utility, drainage within storm water work, trolley stops, crosswalk locations, street lighting, landscaping, overhead utilities like the relocation of FPL power poles (now taking place) as well as telephone and cable lines and ROW encroachments. The project approach is to begin on the northern portion of each segment and work south.
Prior to the start of construction in each segment, the right-of-way will be marked and the project team will reach out to individuals that may need to adjust items that extend into the right-of-way.
The first segment’s 50-foot limited right-of-way has been planned to include 10-foot travel lanes in each direction and marked with bicycle “sharrows” for shared use by bicyclists and motorists, an 11-foot center turn lane and 9-foot wide sidewalks on both sides of the road along with drainage improvements.
The Town Streetscape Master Plan includes six segments: the completed North End, Core Area, Civic Complex, Quiet Center, High Rise Resort and South End. Approximately $50 million is being budgeted for the entire project.
The Estero Boulevard Improvements Project will involve concepts presented in the Town of Fort Myers Beach Streetscape Master Plan completed in 2000, information gathered during the 2008 Estero Boulevard Analysis and Design and a right-of-way study.
For continued updates, when they occur, go to www.reFRESHFMBeach.com to learn more.