Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Monticello officials came together last week prepared to adopt a resolution asking the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to reconfigure the pedestrian bulb-outs on U.S. 90 because of traffic safety concerns.
Once the city officials heard from representatives of the FDOT, however, the resolution failed to garner the necessary support to pass. Bottom line, the bulb-outs will remain as they are, but likely will be made more attractive in time.
The two-page resolution that the Monticello City Council set out to adopt on Tuesday evening, Jan. 19, described the bulb-outs as overextended protrusions that made it difficult for large vehicles to negotiate turns on U.S. 90, they have caused curb-overruns and lane encroachments into the oncoming traffic, and generally made for an unsafe situation.
“If we could get the bulb-outs reduced two or three feet, that would work,” said Councilman Troy Avera, who took the lead in expressing the community’s concerns.
“I’ve been bombarded by older people who have trouble making the turns on regular passenger cars,” Avera continued. “We have a real problem here. The design didn’t take into account that we have very narrow streets.”
Jason Peters, FDOT Director of Operations for District 3, spoke on behalf of his agency. Peters said his people, of whom there were several present, had come to listen to the city’s concerns. But he had a few comments that he wanted to make first.
Peters reminded the officials of the city’s 2017 resolution, which had specifically requested the bulb-outs as traffic-calming and pedestrian safety measures.
“We didn’t take the resolution lightly,” Peters said. “Our design team took the resolution seriously and implemented the bulb-outs in the plan.”
The bulb-outs, he said, provided pedestrians with safety islands from which they could look beyond the rear of angle parked vehicles and survey the oncoming traffic. If the bulb-outs were reduced, it would reduce pedestrians’ visibility and force them farther out into the road to see the oncoming traffic, putting them at risk.
He further reminded city officials that the bulb-outs were part of the 2013 Jefferson County Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan that both the city and county adopted in conjunction with the Capital Region Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA).
He noted that in the various public hearings held at the document, the FDOT team had mentioned the tradeoffs that the pedestrian bulb-outs would entail in terms of reduced turning radiuses for the larger vehicles, and no one had objected or raised concerns.
“Most of the comments were positive at the public hearings,” Peters said.
And yes, he said, the bulb-outs made it more difficult for larger vehicles to negotiate the turns, but it was doable, as actual driving tests by the FDOT had shown. And yes also, there were tradeoffs, but they were worth it in terms of the increased pedestrian safety.
Peters also suggested that if the barren appearance of the bulb-out was a problem, the FDOT was willing to partner with the city to landscape the islands with the appropriate plants and foliage to make them more attractive.
“But we’re here to listen and understand your concerns,” he reiterated.
Avera restated his concerns. He didn’t want the FDOT to think that the city was being negative. The city, he said, appreciated its relationship with the FDOT and the improvements that the agency had made possible for the city, past and present. But the bulb-outs design had not taken into consideration the city’s narrow street and rural flavor.
“We’re a rural community with lots of pickup trucks and trailers and the bulb-outs make it difficult to turn without going into the other lane,” Avera said.
Councilman John Jones disagreed. He, for one, supported keeping the bulb-outs as they were.
An avid pedestrian who regularly walks the city’s streets, Jones said he appreciated the bulb-outs’ traffic calming effect and the safety that they provided to pedestrians. Too, he said, as one who was accustomed to driving large trucks, the bulb-outs were negotiable.
“It’s a process of learning where the curbs are and learning to turn,” Jones said.
“I love them,” he concluded. “They slow the traffic down and you can see the street. I’m for them. People just need to learn how to drive.”
Councilman George Evans noted that the FDOT’s design of the bulb-outs assured for safety, a quality that could be compromised if they were redesigned to meet the city’s request. He also was inclined to leave them as they were.
In the end, Avera moved to adopt the resolution, a motion that failed to get another council member to second it, which effectively killed it.
Avera, however, did get assurance from the FDOT that it plans to reduce the number of traffic-directing signs around the courthouse circle, a concern of some city officials, who worry that the busy signage distracts and confuses both motorists and pedestrians.