02-20-91 v MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HELD IN CITY HALL
AT 7:30 PM ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1991
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gulliford. Present, in
addition to the Mayor, were Commissioners Cook, Edwards, and Weldon.
Also present were City Manager Leinbach, City Attorney Jensen, and City
Clerk King. Commissioner Tucker was ill and was excused.
The meeting was held for the purpose of discussions relative to proposed
bike paths and/or sidewalks on Seminole Road from Fifteenth Street north
to Hanna Park.
Public Services Director Kosoy explained the city had two preliminary
designs for layout, one prepared in-house and one by Hugh Matthews of
England, Thims and Miller. Mr. Kosoy presented the in-house plan and
said they would propose to install the sidewalks first and later extend
the paved road to provide 4-ft. bike lanes along each side of the road.
A protective barrier would also be installed along the drainage ditch on
Seminole Road. He said an alternate route the bike paths might follow
would be along Sea Oats Drive, Park Terrace East, Country Club Lane, and
Park Terrace West to Seminole Road.
Hugh Matthews presented his plan to install a 6-ft. wide pathway from
Hanna Park to Fifteenth Street on Seminole Road which would be used by
both bikes and pedestrians. He proposed starting the construction of
the sidewalk at the north end, on the west side of Seminole Road to
Nineteenth Street. The sidewalk would then cross the road and run along
the east side of the street to meet up with the existing sidewalk at
Fifteenth Street. It was pointed out Seminole Road had a 100-ft.
right-of-way and could easily accommodate the bike lanes as well as the
sidewalk. The city was working on a drainage project at Nineteenth/
Twentieth Streets which would need to be completed before the sidewalks
would be installed in that area. In order to avoid working around the
drainage project, he felt it would also be more cost effective to have
the sidewalk cross the street at this point. He suggested allowing the
sidewalk to meander around existing landscaping and utility poles from
Nineteenth Street south.
Discussion ensued regarding the desirability of a 6-ft. wide walkway
vis-a-vis 4-ft. wide. It was the general consensus that the sharing of
the sidewalk by bikes and pedestrians could pose potential future
problems. It was felt bike paths were also needed and the city should
plan to extend the road pavement to provide bike paths when funds became
available.
Mr. Matthews presented a preliminary cost estimate of $76,500 for the
6-ft. concrete walk. This figure would include clearing, grassing and
fill dirt. He said this figure could be adjusted to approximately
$55,000.00 for a 4-ft. walkway.
Mayor Gulliford confirmed that $32,000 had been budgeted for repaving of
George Street which was a common boundary between Atlantic Beach and the
City of Jacksonville. It was hoped the City of Jacksonville would share
the cost of this work and the $16,000 thus saved could be applied to the
Seminole Road sidewalk. Along with other gas tax funds, it was felt
monies would be available to construct the sidewalk this fiscal year.
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Minutes of Meeting of the Committee of the Whole
February 20, 1991
The question of the bike paths could then be addressed next year and
could be constructed in phases according to the availability of funds.
Pat Pillmore, Camelia Street, commented on the 6-ft. width and felt this
would not be attractive and could become a nuisance. Kerry Brown, 454
Inland Way, inquired how the cost of an asphalt sidewalk would compare
with concrete and was advised the difference would be minimal and it
would be difficult for a paving machine to work in the confined space.
Barbara Bonner, 463 Selva Lakes Circle, said she had been interested in
bike lanes for a long time and hoped the City Commission would consider
installing bike paths in the southern end of the city also, particularly
on Plaza and Sherry in the vicinity of Atlantic Beach Elementary School.
Many residents from Oceanwalk and Seminole Road were in attendance and
voiced support for the project. Discussion also ensued relative to an
expected schedule for this project and Mr. Kosoy said he felt the design
work could be completed and bids received and construction of the
sidewalk started in May. This would, of course, be contingent upon the
availability of funds.
Commissioner Cook pointed out that even though bicycles were subject to
all the same laws as other vehicles using the roads, by city ordinance,
bicycle traffic was permitted to travel in both directions on Beach
Avenue from Twentieth Street to the Sea Turtle Inn and this could be
used as an alternate route to Seminole Road. He said he hoped the
design of the sidewalks would take into consideration the drainage
problems in some areas so the sidewalks would not be under water during
rainy periods. He also encouraged the construction of a guard rail
along the drainage ditch.
After a complete discussion of the matter, Commissioner Cook moved to
recommend to the City Commission at the next regular meeting that they
instruct the City Manager to initiate the design and secure bids for the
construction of a 4-ft. sidewalk from Hanna Park to Fifteenth Street.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Edwards and was unanimously
approved.
Mayor Gulliford thanked Hugh Matthews for his work in connection with
this project and expressed the hope that he would continue to work with
the city on this matter.
Scott Block, Barefoot Trace, inquired whether street lights could be
installed on Seminole Road from Twentieth Street to Oceanwalk and the
City Manager was directed to look into this.
There being no further discussion, the Mayor declared the meeting
adjourned at 8:30 PM.
Maureen King, City Clerk