lighted crosswalk - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-28T09:05:38Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/lighted+crosswalkHighland Beach: Town takes big step toward lighted crossings for walkershttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-town-takes-big-step-toward-lighted-crossings-for-w2019-04-03T17:09:24.000Z2019-04-03T17:09:24.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>After years of discussions, studies and lobbying of state officials, Highland Beach is taking a first step toward getting lighted crosswalks on State Road A1A. And it’s being done with the apparent blessing of the Florida Department of Transportation. <br /> During a meeting April 2, commissioners gave Town Manager Marshall Labadie the green light to have a contracted engineering firm begin designing a crosswalk lighting project in collaboration with FDOT staff. <br /> Labadie said the improvements the town hopes to see in the plans include pedestrian-activated, flush-mounted LED crosswalk lights as well as solar-powered, pedestrian-activated flashing lights and minor crosswalk landing improvements. <br /> If the project can be completed as Labadie envisions, pedestrians hoping to cross State Road A1A could push a button and activate a pole-mounted light. At the same time, lights embedded in the crosswalk would be activated to further alert motorists of a pedestrian either entering the crosswalk or already in it.<br /> “With pedestrian safety being a paramount concern for the community for many years, the goal is to make improvements to the existing eight crosswalks in the town,” Labadie said in a memo to commissioners. <br /> Because A1A is a state road, any improvements the town makes must get FDOT approval. <br /> Labadie, who met with state officials late last month, said that does not appear to be a problem as long as Highland Beach pays for the improvements. <br /> Determining estimates for the cost of the project — as well as designing it and creating plans — are part of the responsibility of the civil engineering firm Keith & Schnars.<br /> The firm will be paid not more than about $47,000 for the work, which must be completed within 180 calendar days from the date of the town’s approval.<br /> Labadie said FDOT has standards for what can be used on state roads to enhance safety based on the volume of traffic and, in this case, the number of pedestrians using crosswalks. <br /> Because the crosswalks in Highland Beach don’t meet those standards, FDOT is reluctant to foot the bill. FDOT officials, however, are OK with the town’s paying for the job. <br /> “They will allow us to go farther, but it’s on our dime,” Labadie said. <br /> The issuing of a work order to the engineers and the expected approval from FDOT are good news for resident John Boden, who has been pushing for lighted crosswalks for years. <br /> In the past, FDOT hasn’t seen the need for lighted crosswalks. That has changed, according to Boden, due in large part to Labadie’s reaching out to FDOT and his building of a working relationship with its regional leaders. <br /> “I’m delighted that the most-qualified person in the town has taken over moving the crosswalk lighting project to completion,” Boden said. “Nothing happened for two and a half years until Marshall got involved and he was able to get effective communication and cooperation with DOT.” <br /> Labadie cautioned that while the project is moving ahead, certain variables could affect the final outcome. One of those variables will be costs that could be incurred in removing and reinstalling embedded road lights when the state repaves A1A in three to five years. <br /> Another issue could be the need to put funding for the project in front of voters if the estimated cost exceeds the town’s $350,000 spending cap before a referendum is required. <br /> Labadie thinks it is in the best interest of residents to light the crosswalks, even if the money has to come from the town’s budget. <br /> “Taking these steps to protect our residents, even on our dime, is warranted,” he said.</p></div>Highland Beach: Public can weigh in on A1A improvements studyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/highland-beach-public-can-weigh-in-on-a1a-improvements-study2018-11-28T18:34:51.000Z2018-11-28T18:34:51.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Rich Pollack</strong></p>
<p>Could Highland Beach have designated bike lanes and lighted crosswalks along State Road A1A in the not-too-distant future? <br /> Would it be possible and financially feasible to have underground utility lines instead of unsightly power poles and wires along the roadway, as well as improved drainage facilities to minimize street flooding?<br /> These questions and many more related to improvements along A1A are expected to be addressed in a $147,000 “Complete Streets” study the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council is conducting for the town.<br /> Focused on providing design plans for a multitude of improvements along the roadway as well as cost estimates, the study is being fast-tracked to meet several deadlines.<br /> Commissioners and representatives from the planning council are hoping to have enough information available in time to bring plans before voters in March during the municipal elections and in time to commit to improvements by a mid-March state deadline.<br /> This month, residents will have a chance to hear more about the project — and have some say in how it is developed — during a public design workshop set for 6 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Highland Beach Public Library. <br /> “This is an opportunity for the community to address many of the issues residents have expressed concerns about through public forums,” Town Manager Marshall Labadie said. “Those include crosswalks, flooding, sidewalk improvements and bike lanes.” <br /> The workshop will include an opening presentation, a discussion of opportunities and challenges and “table sessions” with facilitators designed to generate ideas, according to a proposal Kim DeLaney, director of strategic development and policy for the planning council, presented to the town. <br /> “We’re asking people to sit at a table and tell us how they want the corridor to look,” DeLaney said during one of several presentations she made to town commissioners.<br /> The driving force behind the discussion of major improvements to A1A throughout the town is a Florida Department of Transportation “Three R” project that essentially includes repaving the roadway through the 3 miles of Highland Beach. <br /> A five-year process, the project includes refurbishing, replacement and repair along A1A and is an opportunity for the town to ask for any improvements residents would like to see along the roadway. <br /> Because the state has overall authority for the roadway and final say for any improvements, any plans presented by the town would require FDOT approval. <br /> In the past, the state has been slow to grant the town permission to make changes, especially in the area of crosswalk improvements, but Labadie said he recently met with Gerry O’Reilly, who oversees the region for FDOT, and came away optimistic. <br /> “They were not only very welcoming to us, but they were also welcoming to the ideas we were presenting,” Labadie said. <br /> Labadie said the town hopes to implement some interim crosswalk improvements, including improved signage and possible pedestrian-activated signals. <br /> “FDOT said they are willing to work with us,” he said.<br /> How much of the funding for the overall improvements for the project will come from the state and how much will come from the town is still to be worked out, but should residents approve all or part of the project, chances are they will see an impact on their municipal taxes, Labadie said. <br /> He said the town will probably need to borrow money to implement the improvements and that it is exploring financing options. <br /> “At the end of the day, it will likely cost residents,” he said. <br /> DeLaney said that through the study, her organization will present the town with costs of individual items and present the Town Commission with “a range of options.” <br /> How the project will be presented to residents in the referendum is still up in the air, but Labadie said the commission appears to be willing to break the overall project into logical categories, which are likely to be the streetscape project, drainage improvements and underground utilities. <br />Although commissioners have shown support for developing plans, some want to be sure the town is following the wishes of its residents and is being fiscally responsible. <br /> “This really depends on what the town wants,” Commissioner Peggy Gossett-Seidman said. “The worst-case scenario is that we can’t come to a consensus as a community and everything goes to hell in a handbasket.”<br /> Commissioner Elyse Riesa said she is concerned that the overall project could be a drain on town finances. <br /> “I’m not in favor of going into debt to where we don’t have funds to do anything but work on the road,” she said. “If we do, we might as well be known as Highland Road instead of Highland Beach.”</p></div>