by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
City Council member Art Shad will introduce legislation to permanently close a portion of Landon Avenue.
According to Shad, the bill has a “great deal of neighborhood support” and will likely be well received as it moves through the committee process before coming to a vote before the full Council.
“The portion of Landon Avenue we’re talking about is the area on either side of the railroad tracks,” said Shad. “It’s on an elevated curve and the neighborhood surrounding it has been very vocal about it being unsafe for a long time.
“I was already getting calls about it on my first month on the Council and I’ve come to understand that from a safety standpoint, it’s far from ideal. In fact, the road is much thinner than what is acceptable by today’s standards and could not even be built now.”
Shad said despite the absence of an official homeowners association, Landon Avenue neighborhood residents and business owners held meetings and eventually approached the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida East Coast Railway, a regional freight railroad operator and frequent user of the tracks, to see what could be done.
“What the neighborhood had to do was meet a list of criteria before it could go before Council,” said Shad. “Everyone from the sheriff’s office, to public works, fire and rescue and the School Board had to approve their application before it could be submitted.
“Basically, each entity had to be sure that, with the road closing, response times and school schedules wouldn’t be affected too badly. Once they were sure, I agreed to take it up and bring it before the Council.”
Despite Landon Avenue not being a State road, FDOT rail office representative Jan Bordelon helped guide application efforts.
“Florida Statutes actually allow the Department of Transportation and the Railway Administration to review all public railway crossings to help determine whether or not they are redundant and if they meet code requirements to close,” said Bordelon. “And of course, we always try to work with the communities as much as we can and help in any way possible.”
If approved, Shad said closure efforts would begin by late spring with funding coming from the City and the FDOT.
“FDOT is always looking for opportunities to close off as many crossings as they can,” said Shad. “From a safety standpoint, they’re definitely going to benefit from something like this so it makes sense for them to help pay for it.”
Bordelon said an existing federal program allows the Rail Administration and the FDOT to match up to $7,500.
“It’s an incentive program and it helps us make the railway as safe as possible for the community,” said Bordelon.
When completed, Shad said the closure will resemble a “landscaped cul-de-sac.”
“There has been some concern over us making it look ugly, which everyone wants to avoid,” he said. “It will be much more than just a stop sign and it will help that area maintain a much-needed neighborhood feel.”