by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
City Council member Lynette Self introduced a bill April 24 that, if adopted, would save more than $10 million on a major road project that’s part of the Better Jacksonville Plan, but the bill hit a few snags Tuesday.
Ordinance 2007-497 would change the design of the new intersection of Atlantic and Kernan boulevards from the currently-planned overpass over Kernan to what’s known as an “at-grade median U-turn design.” According to language in the bill, the U-turn design “offers a cost-effective alternative to the present intended interchange” and “the record evidence demonstrates that an at-grade solution moves traffic nearly as efficiently as the interchange.” The design is also known as the “Michigan U-turn” because it is used at several locations in that state.
The bill as introduced also included language concerning the need to make the change to the effect that the Jacksonville Transportation Authority after many months of study, “has made recommendations that support a finding of just cause.”
At City Hall Tuesday, representatives from JTA attended a meeting with Self as well as Council members Glorious Johnson, Elaine Brown, Ronnie Fussell and Warren Alvarez.
Mike Miller, JTA director of external affairs, said JTA does not support a U-turn instead of an overpass at the intersection and provided copies of two letters received from the Florida Department of Transportation expressing that department’s lack of support for the U-turn.
In a letter to JTA dated April 13, 2006, FDOT District Traffic Operations Engineer J.F. Scott detailed concerns about traffic congestion involved with the U-turns and potential difficulties drivers could face while negotiating the intersection.
Scott concluded the letter with, “Due to the above two conditions created by the median U-turn alternative, I cannot approve this alternative for the Atlantic Boulevard and Kernan Boulevard intersection.”
Fussell pointed out that no matter what the council approves, the design must be also approved by FDOT before the new interchange can be built.
Fussell also asked how much money has been spent to date to design the overpass and how long the project might be delayed if the proposed change takes effect.
JTA Chief Engineer John Davis said $3.5 million has already been spent on the project’s design phase and a new design would postpone the project by as much as a year if the U-turn design were to be approved.
“If we (JTA) thought a U-turn was best, we would have asked for it,” he added.
David Stroud, senior planning project manager at Reynolds, Smith and Hills, said he has quite a bit of knowledge about the “Michigan U-turn” from the two years he worked on road projects with the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Based on his experience, he said the U-turn design is inappropriate for this particular intersection because the design is suited for intersections on major corridors with low-volume traffic on the cross street perpendicular to the main corridor. That’s not the situation at Atlantic and Kernan, where he said a U-turn, “stretches the upper bounds of the design” and would “create operational conflicts.”
Davis said JTA is concerned about drivers approaching the U-turn having to cross all three lanes of Atlantic Boulevard in one direction then getting back on Atlantic in the other direction in order to get to where they wanted to turn on Kernan. He added that according to data from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, “that intersection has the distinction of being the highest traffic accident intersection in the city for two consecutive years.”
Michael Herzberg is an urban planner who works for Sleiman Enterprises, the developer which owns commercial property at three of the four corners around the intersection. He said they are against building an overpass because it would, “block retail view and lead to loss of retail and therefore property value.”
Johnson said she has two problems with changing the design at this time.
First, it would be another example of City government not giving the citizens something they asked for when they approved the Better Jacksonville Plan and the sales tax increase that came with it.
“What are we going to say to the community – to people who wouldn’t have voted for the Better Jacksonville Plan if they knew plans would be changed? I’m tired of answering the people who want to know why we’re changing things.”
Johnson also said she had some personal experience driving through one of the U-turns while visiting Michigan and, “I remember I was almost killed.”
“We have to listen to the transportation experts – and give the citizens what they approved. Maybe what works in Michigan might not work in Florida,” said Brown.
Self is scheduling more meetings on the issue and may travel to Michigan to observe one or more of the U-turns in operation.
A public hearing on the proposed change to the intersection design is on the agenda for the May 8 City Council meeting.