by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
City Council member Lake Ray has petitioned for better roads and shorter drive times in Jacksonville for years. The first steps towards getting accomplishing those goals are finally being taken, he said.
Ray and Denise Bunnewith, executive director of the First Coast Metropolitan Organization, said last week that bids will be issued before the end of this month that would allow an outside consultant to perform a formal transportation needs assessment study.
Ray, also an MPO board member, said the results of that study would likely prove that Clay, Duval, St Johns and Nassau counties need Intelligent Transportation System.
The potentially $75 million dollar program would establish better directional signage, improved traffic signals and a real time traffic monitoring system in those counties.
ITS is already up and running in cities across the country, including Dallas and San Diego.
“What we’re looking for is a complete analysis of where we need to go,” Ray said of the impending study. “We want to establish a blueprint for for ITS.”
Ray said the study, which could be completed before the end of 2005, would likely call for a hired consultant to examine major arteries and intersections and compile traffic counts to determine what action needs to be taken.
“We’re still a ways out, but all that we may be looking at is an expansion of the services we already provide,” said Ray. “For example, entities like the JTA, for example, would have the documentation to prove that their role should be bolstered and that funding should be made available for that.”
A bulk of the funding, said Ray, may come from federal grants.
“There’s a lot out there and it’s going to be important to see what we would qualify for and how we can get it,” he said. “Clearly, Jacksonville is focused on growth, so the sooner we can work towards implementing ITS, the better.
“In the end, we’ll need to get together all of the policy making bodies in the City, including the Mayor’s Office and the City Council, and let them know what exactly our needs are and how we can best approach satisfying them.”