Repaving, improved drainage, a second sidewalk and shade trees are proposed in the next city budget.
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN
Published June 4, 2003
SEMINOLE - The stretch of 66th Avenue N east of Seminole Boulevard is scheduled for a major overhaul.
City officials plan to spend $680,000 to improve the condition and appearance of the half-mile road, which ends at the Shores of Long Bayou, a gated community of villas and condominiums.
The project is part of Seminole's proposed capital improvement budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. City Council members will vote on the 2003-04 budget in September.
What can residents expect if the project is approved?
- Sections of the street would be replaced and the entire two-lane road would be repaved and widened by 4 feet.
- Swales would line both sides of the road so stormwater runoff could drain to a retention pond at the end of the street.
- The existing sidewalk on the street's south side would be replaced and a new 5-foot-wide sidewalk would be installed on the north side of the road.
- Trees would be planted on both sides of the road to provide shade for pedestrians.
"There is going to be some temporary inconvenience" during the job, but the overall improvements will please residents who live along 66th Avenue and motorists who drive on the road, said Mitch Bobowski, Seminole's general services director.
Years ago, 66th Avenue ended at the wetlands that border Long Bayou. Then developers discovered the waterfront property and began building condominiums and townhomes. Every time a building went up, developers paid a transportation impact fee to the government. Those fees are intended to offset the cost of repairing roads damaged or overburdened by the development. And those fees are paying for most of the project, Bobowski said.
Over time, additional motorists and heavy construction vehicles taking supplies into the condominium complex wore down the road. Most residents along 66th Avenue agree the road needs new asphalt, but some question the need for a second sidewalk.
"It's a waste of money buying concrete for nothing," said Harry Jones, who has lived in his home on 66th Avenue with his wife, Virginia, since 1968. "The only thing it's going to do for me is give me a place to run my edger, and I don't need that."
Virginia Jones said pedestrians rarely use the existing sidewalk across the street. "Why do something that's not necessary?" she said.
Edie Hardin, who lives in the gated community at the end of 66th Avenue, also thinks one sidewalk is sufficient. She has another idea for city planners.
"If they would eliminate the sidewalk, a bicycle path would be nice," she said.
Other planned projects in the capital improvement budget include:
- Resurfacing Burning Tree Circle, 118th Street from 110th to 112th Avenue and 112th Avenue between 117th and 118th Street.
- Improving drainage on 70th Avenue, 108th Street, 84th Avenue, Village Green Avenue and Old Ridge Road.
- Converting City Hall into a community room and converting Seminole Community Library into a new city hall.
