Treasure Island officials look at a 10-year plan similar to Dunedin's that includes a few traffic lights and a healthy budget.
By KATHY SAUNDERS
Published February 8, 2004
TREASURE ISLAND - The goal of a new master plan being circulated by the city takes on a puzzle familiar to public administrators: how to keep traffic downtown without stalling residents who want to get to and from the island as quickly as possible.
Consultants hired by the city say the remedy is a few strategically placed traffic signals and a budget of about $750,000.
"This is the classic Catch-22 and a classic conflict that has existed in communities throughout the United States," City Manager Chuck Coward told commissioners Tuesday night. "In this plan we have focused on traffic flow, pedestrians and parking."
Coward described a 10-year plan similar to one implemented about nine years ago in Dunedin. Residential traffic there was diverted from downtown to the north along an improved State Road 580. Downtown Dunedin today is a quaint district of restaurants and specialty shops.
"You don't have to build these things overnight," said Jerry Dabkowski, a traffic engineer with Tampa's Volkert & Associates, one of the firms that guided Dunedin in its redevelopment.
"Today, you cannot find a parking space in downtown Dunedin because of the success (of the redevelopment)."
Dabkowski recommends the city install traffic lights along Gulf Boulevard to the north and south of downtown. He suggests the signals be placed at 108th Avenue on the north and 106th or 104th avenues on the south. Residents who want to get to the north of the city from the Causeway Bridge can avoid the slower pace around the downtown clock tower and go directly to Gulf Boulevard, past City Hall and the fire station.
Drivers going south onto the island could bypass the business district with the help of a traffic signal to help them turn left at the triangle intersection of 108th, 104th and 107th avenues. Another light at Gulf Boulevard will keep the traffic flowing, Dabkowski said.
Consultants said they believe the traffic studies will convince Florida Department of Transportation officials that the additional signals are warranted on the state-maintained Gulf Boulevard. The traffic lights on Gulf Boulevard also would make it safer for pedestrians to cross the road, engineers say. The safety of beachgoers trying to reach downtown has been a concern among city leaders.
"I don't think there is one of us that lives here that hasn't encountered a pedestrian on Gulf Boulevard trying to scurry across the five lanes," Coward said.
The traffic volume through the downtown district is expected to grow when the new, toll-free Causeway bridge opens in 2007.
Treasure Island began efforts to improve downtown in 1999 when residents completed a visioning process that included a $500,000 beautification of the business district.
Coward is referring to the new traffic proposals as Phase II of that same master plan. He got the go-ahead from commissioners on Tuesday to present the proposals to civic associations and business leaders throughout the city.
Harry Black, manager of the beachfront Island Inn, attended the Tuesday briefing. By diverting traffic from the business district, he wants to make sure the city doesn't discourage tourists. "I want to look at it again," Black said. "It's a two-sided blade there."
Dabkowski said Dunedin merchants had the same initial reaction. "We feel that there are some innovative things that can work very well," he said. Among his suggestions are improving parking areas with landscaping and creating more parking in city alleys. "Tourists like to have efficient, safe traffic," he said.
Coward said the city probably could begin installing traffic signals within the next year. The city has a $450,000 federal grant pending to help finance the project.
"There is not a lot of construction involved in this," Coward said.
