The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is scheduled to resurface Herschel St./St. Johns Ave./Riverside Avenue (State Road 211) from San Juan Avenue to I-95 (under the Fuller Warren Bridge) beginning in summer 2024. In addition to milling and resurfacing, project improvements include shoulder treatment, sidewalks and ADA curb upgrades, shared-use lane markings, signals, highway signage, traffic calming features and pedestrian lighting upgrades.
In February of 2023, the RAP Transportation & Infrastructure Committee attended the public hearing for this project and walked away with a list of items that needed to be addressed based on community feedback and our own expertise on drainage, traffic and pedestrian safety issues. See a list of concerns we shared with FDOT. After several back and forth conversations with FDOT and working with our state and local elected leaders including Rep. Angie Nixon, Rep. Wyman Duggan, and Councilmember Jimmy Peluso, we have seen significant traction on many of these items:
- Parking, it was decided, is up to the property owner. Along St. Johns Ave., if parking is removed, it was because the property owner requested it, or did not respond to FDOT when asked if they wanted to keep on street parking. The loss in parking was reduced by half, but is still an overall loss.
- Bumpouts along St. Johns Ave. will be landscaped with sod rather than concrete, as per our request
- Drainage improvements on Riverside Ave. at Stockton and Osceola St. are in discussion based on State of Florida funding which will work to connect State and City infrastructure for stormwater
- Bike lanes are not being added. Sharrows are being painted on streets.
- Crosswalks are being added at critical intersections where we identified they would aid pedestrian crossings
If you want to see a visual of the project and ask about the construction timeline and impacts, please attend the public meeting on Thursday, May 23, 2024 from 4:30-6pm. Details of the meeting and project documents and photos can be found here.
