Item 8C - 10th St Parking ImprovementsA GENOA ITF.M # 8
MARC H 14,20 16
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY C OMMISSION AG ENDA ITEM ON 10 111 STREET BEACH ACCESS
CONGESTION
AGENDA ITEM: T hi s is a formal request ror th e C ity Manager and staff to begin the
process of id ent ifYing the traffic volumes in the area of the l 0111 S treet
beach access, in c lu di ng 1 0'11 S tr eet be tween the beach a nd. Ocean Blvd.,
PJaza Drive between Ocean Blvd. and East Coast Drive, and along Beach
Ave. & CJub Drive between 7'11 Street and Ocean Blvd.
SUBMITTED BY: Commi ssioner John M Stinson <3M ~
DATE: The241h ofFebJU ary20 t 6
BACKGROUND: The C ity of A tl anti c Beach committed to fac ilitating a mee ti ng between
residents of the Clo ister condominium complex and neighboring residents adjacent to the
C loister cond ominium , in which a ll parties wo uld work to some resolution of traffic congestion
and the C loister residents requesting use of their so uth gate. This meetin g was h eld in ea l'ly
January 2016.
The benefits of the work done by all parties thu s far, has id entifi ed some concerns th at s hould be
of kee n interest to th e City of A tl anti c Beach a nd are contributing factors to the req uests made
and presented in the meeting of early January 2016.
ln no partjcular order or priority, U'tese factors are:
1) Traffic congestion and d ri ver I pedes tri a n co nfusion on 10111 Street between th e beach
access and Beach A venue.
a. Contr ibuting factors include: C lo ister north gate ingress & egress; opposi ng traffic
a ng led p arking adjacent the "Bikini " apartments; parking a lo ng 10111 Street
adjacent to the C loister nm1h fence; vehi c les backin g into th e I 0 111 Street -Beach
Ave intersection; t he heavy u se of the beach access by beach vis ito rs.
2) Resident concerns abo ut resident, pedes trian and verucu la r safety o n Pl aza Drive between
Ocean Blvd. and East Coast Drive.
a. Contributing fac tors include: traffic loa ds o n the st reet due to th e limited access to
n e ighborhood s east of the a rea; the s peed of t:r aftic exiting Ocean B lvd. and East
Coast Drive o nto this portion of Plaza Drive; and the n arrow street wi dth be tween
Ocean B lvd. and. East Coast Dri ve.
3) Resident concems abo ut resident, pedestrian and vehicular traffic safety o n tJ1e Beach
Ave -C lu b Drive ro ute between 7111 Street and Ocean Blvd .
a. Contributing factors include: th e impact of additional traffic should the C loi ster
south gate be accessed; current traffic loads and the abili ty of these neighborhoods
to absorb more traffic; hi g h levels of pedestrian a nd bicycle traffic along this
1
AGENDA ITEM# 8C
MARCH 14, 2016
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM ON lOth STREET BEACH ACCESS
CONGESTION
route; limited amount of parking for visitors creating further congestion and
safety concems.
The City of Atlantic Beach and our adjacent neighboring communities are the premier beach
destination of northeast Florida and the southeast United States. As the Jacksonville metropolitan
area and sunounding communities continue to experience growth, the demands on our
infrastructure, neighborhoods, public safety and our beach access points will also increase.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: Currently Atlantic Beach is experiencing an offseason with
regards to visitors and traffic. Although not one of the more popular spring break destinations,
Atlantic Beach does experience a moderate peak of visitors during the spring break period,
which will begin in a few short weeks. The presenter believes this spring break and the following
summer 2016 period would not be an ideal time frame to introduce changes to traffic patterns and
more confusion to visitors.
Therefore, now is the time to gather necessary data to evaluate traffic flows and forecast the
impact of any changes planned. Key milestones to complete prior to any influx of visitors or
traffic include:
1) Traffic counters should be placed to determine loads during these times of lighter traffic
and visitation.
a. It is recommended counters should be placed at the following areas for a period of
(2) months:
i. ih Street, just east of the ih Street and Beach Ave intersection, in the
offset of Beach Ave but prior to Beach Ave resuming a northerly direction
towards 8th Street and Club Drive.
11. Club Drive between Beach Ave & Ocean Blvd.
111. Plaza between Ocean Blvd. & East Coast Drive.
IV. lOth Street between the beach access and Beach Ave.
b. It is recommended the counters be placed or retained again for a (2) month period
on or about June 2016 in the same areas for additional data gathering.
2) Data should be collected from the counters weekly to fully understand traffic loading and
any increases experienced.
3) Data should be collected twice daily for a one-week period at a midpoint in each time
frame to better understand peak periods of traffic loading.
4) The data collection should begin as soon as practical to facilitate implementing any
changes prior to the summer 2016 season.
5) A traffic engineer isn't required, the changes to parking and residential traffic are simple
to address and would be an unnecessary expense to bear.
CONCLUSION: Changes to residential traffic patterns and parking are generally easily
implemented and expense should be minimal. But, time is of the essence, and the issues will be
compounded as time and demand on resources increases.
2
AGENDA ITEM #8C
MARCH 14, 2016
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM ON lOth STREET BEACH ACCESS
CONGESTION
BUDGET: Time and expense of traffic counter utilization, time and expense for data collection,
time and focus of City staff to meet with other team members to evaluate data and make
recommendations.
RECOMMENDATION: Create a team consisting of one Public Works senior staff member,
one Public Safety senior staff member, one member (past or present) of the Community
Development Board, one resident with interest or experience in such matters, working with one
member of the current City Commission to review gathered data, to conduct a onsite review of
all beach access parking, and to make recommendations to the City Manager and City
Commission no later than the 1st of May 2016.
3