Walk, run and bike safety plan: Task force asks city commission to support efforts to make runners and bikers safe

A task force of people who walk, run and ride bicycles on Amelia Island spoke to the Fernandina Beach City Commission, presenting a plan to make streets and trails on the island safer.

Mike Spino is the chair of the Citizens’ Task Force for Safe Walking and Biking. The group held three public meetings that were attended by more than 150 people and conducted an online survey. He brought some recommendations to the city commission.

“What we heard loudly and repeatedly is that our residents are concerned about the speed of vehicles and the condition of our roads,” Spino told the city commission. “At the outset, we thought we would hear about the need for significant capital improvements on city streets but, in fact, what we heard was the need for improvements on state and county roads.”

Atlantic Avenue, South Fletcher Avenue, Citrona Drive and 14th Street are roads that are not under the purview of the city.
A majority of the survey respondents listed South Fletcher as a concern. Spino said his group had met with the Florida Department of Transportation, and were told improvements will not be made to that road until 2028. He asked the city commission to advocate with FDOT to make that happen sooner.

The task force recommended smoothing and repaving South Fletcher from Main Beach with an emphasis on stormwater drain covers, correcting uneven bike lines, where bikers are forced into traffic lanes, and studying sidewalks for issues affecting runners and walkers. High visibility and other crosswalks should be added at the beach accesses, traffic calming devices added along South Fletcher and a sidewalk should be added south of Sadler Road, the task force concluded.

Spino said FDOT plans to renovate Atlantic Avenue in 2025 and asked the commission to ask for a safety study to measure vehicle, pedestrian and bike traffic to determine where signage, lights and crosswalks should be added and determine the safe speed for this area. He said that, although there is a high volume of cars, bikes and pedestrians on Atlantic, there are no crosswalks to any of the amenities such as the Egans Creek Greenway or the Atlantic Rec Center and no left turn lane into Fort Clinch State Park.

Multiple residents have identified safety concerns along Citrona Drive, Spino said, including lack of lighting, bicycle lanes and sidewalks, although it is home to Fernandina Beach Middle and High schools. He said the city should ask Nassau County to focus on improving Citrona. 

There is no crossing point for crossing South Eighth Street. The task force recommended asking FDOT to make crossing improvements and to conduct a speed limit assessment.

The Shave Bridge, which takes people over the Amelia River on the north side of Amelia Island, is part of the East Coast Greenway, a bicycle route from Florida to Maine. Spino said it is one of the most used cycling routes on the island but has no bike lane or sidewalk. He asked the city commission to support a county trail study on the north/west side of South Eighth Street from Sadler Road to the Shave Bridge and ask the state to add bike lanes or a trail on South Eighth from the Amelia Island Parkway to the Shave Bridge.

Spino also suggested the city work with the Amelia Island Tourist Development Council (AITDC) to promote cycling to the beach and slow traffic. Riding to the beach decongests the beach access areas and frees up parking, he said, and most residents live within one mile of the beach. He suggested the AITDC should use public service ads encouraging cycling to the beach and get visitors on “island time” and slow traffic.

Spino said a project to build connector on Lime Street, a 400-foot paved path, to South Seventh Street is currently in process with the city staff. This path is currently used by city employees and the public to get from Clinch Drive and Lime to South Seventh and downtown. A paved path would facilitate safe travel for pedestrian and bicycle commuters to and from downtown by getting them off South Eighth Street. A sidewalk on Lime Street would connect the path to South Eighth Street and the lighted signal. Cost estimates are between $10,000 and $20,000. The city is seeking an easement from the railroad.
“That’s your advocacy agenda,” Spino said. “It doesn’t cost you anything but to use the power of your office to reach out to the state and county to make badly needed improvements.”
Spino said some more complicated and costly projects include a design study of Beech Street, as it is unsafe because of unstructured parking. He asked the city commission to support city staff’s efforts to improve Beech Street to maximize the available parking, add landscaping to slow traffic and provide a trail for safe walking and biking. Beech Street is on the repaving schedule for 2025, so Spino said these improvements need to be accelerated and coordinated with the re-design process.

A connector from Amelia Park to Bosque Bella Cemetery would include signage, crosswalks, push to cross lights and 600 feet of paved path from Dade Street to Amelia Circle, Spino said. That project is estimated at $20,000 to $40,000. The task force suggested the city support the county in an effort to put a trail on North 14th Street connecting Atlantic Avenue to Old Town and eventually the Dee Dee Bartel’s Boat Ramp.

Commissioner Chip Ross asked Spino how much money he believes should be appropriated for the projects.

“In a well-run city, you would have an ongoing appropriation for sidewalks and trails,” Spino said. “The three projects that we’ve identified, Lime Street would be $10,000 to $20,000; Beech Street would be $60,000 to $75,000; 15th Street would be $20,000 to $40,000. That would probably be one I would push off because we have been asking for Lime Street for a long time, and Beech Street needs to get done before he starts pulling up with heaving equipment. So that’s roughly $70,000 to $100,000 in this upcoming budget would make real improvements in our community and make things safer. That, and your advocacy with the state.”

Vice Mayor David Sturges referenced budget talks currently underway for the 2023-24 fiscal year, and $1.1 million from last year that will be rolled over into the budget that will take effect Oct. 1.

“Even though it’s not in the budget, you’re talking about $95,000 and how we have overages of $1.1 million from last year, I bet we could probably find $95,000 to make this happen,” Sturges said. “I think we, as a commission, definitely want to support your committee and definitely want to support the citizens, and I think the trails are important.”

jroberts@fbnewsleader.com