by David Ball
Staff Writer
The City Council Finance Committee was in transportation mode during its meeting Tuesday, as the committee debated ordinances involving two key Jacksonville intersections.
The committee voted down what was likely the most controversial issue – a proposal by City Council member Bill Bishop to replace a proposed overpass at the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Kernan Road with a U-turn design known as a “Michigan U-turn.”
The committee also deferred action on an ordinance to approve a licensing agreement with Florida East Coast Railway to construct and maintain an expanded railroad crossing at Greenland Road west of Phillips Highway at a cost of $864,426 along with a $6,000 annual “licensing fee.” Staff said the city has never paid such a licensing fee before.
Both items require a vote by the full City Council. And while the railroad discussion sparked talks of eminent domain, the discussion surrounding the much-debated Atlantic and Kernan overpass created a definite division among Council members.
JTA officials, who supported the original concept of an Atlantic overpass over Kernan, began by giving graphic illustrations of what the Michigan U-turn would look like. Essentially, drivers who wanted to turn left on either Atlantic or Kernan would travel straight through the busy intersection, make a U-turn and then turn right on the desired road, thereby eliminating the need for a traffic light.
JTA Executive Director Mike Blaylock said the overpass design was part of a highly studied overall traffic improvement plan, and although the U-turn could save nearly $30 million, it was not the best use of dollars.
“In looking at transportation planning, nothing should be in a vacuum,” he said.
JTA consultant David Stroud of Reynolds, Smith & Hills said the U-turn design was “very unconventional” for Jacksonville, and may create even more traffic problems in the form of accidents.
“Michigan U-turns do work, but it has to be in the proper location,” said Stroud. “This is not the right location.”
Bishop, who is not a member of the Finance Committee, said he took offense that “people from Jacksonville aren’t smart enough to drive on this” U-turn.
“What it’s about is doing what’s right,” he added. “This thing hasn’t even started off the ground yet, and it’s already affected lives.”
Bishop and Council member Clay Yarborough, also not a committee member, gave examples of how the Arlington Expressway through their districts has eroded the business and residential areas. Committee members Art Graham and Richard Clark argued the opposite.
“Businesses in (my) area are thriving,” said Graham, referring to the intersection of 9A and Baymeadows Road. He said recent home listings in nearby Deerwood are well above $600,000.
“The overpass did not do anything to kill the neighborhood,” he added. “We’ve gone through all this before. We should’ve half-way built this thing (at Atlantic and Kernan) by now.”
Clark said traffic congestion, not the Arlington Expressway, has led to economic troubles, and the same fate awaits the Atlantic/Kernan exchange.
“People avoid that intersection like a plague,” said Clark. “It’s the single worst intersection in the city of Jacksonville.”
Clark quickly called for a vote, which ended in a 3-3 tie with Committee Vice Chair Kevin Hyde absent in another city meeting. After Hyde joined the meeting, the Michigan U-turn proposal failed in a 5-2 vote.
The next regular meeting of the Finance Committee is scheduled for Sept. 17.