by David Chapman
Staff Writer
The final 2008 meeting of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization featured a a look ahead to 2009 and beyond, with the election of the organization’s new officers and discussion and action on several Northeast Florida projects.
Former vice chair and current City Council member Art Graham was elected chair of the organization for 2009 by other board members. Graham takes over for former Neptune Beach Mayor Dick Brown.
Additionally, Clay County Commissioner Doug Conkey was elected vice chair and Council member Stephen Joost was elected treasurer. As vice chair, Conkey will also be chair of the quarterly Business, Industry and Government meetings.
An emergency action was passed allocating $860,000 from the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) fund toward a Baker County project, at the urging of Florida Department of Transportation Dist. 2 Planning Manager James Bennett and North Florida TPO ex-officio member and Baker County Commissioner Alex Robinson.
“We’re trying to get this project kicked off,” said Robinson. “These funds will help see it through.”
The funds will be used for Lowder Street improvements; Baker County is part of the North Florida TPO TRIP Agency and is eligible for funds for such projects.
With rumors about President-elect Barack Obama’s increased infrastructure plan, North Florida TPO members also discussed getting their “shovel ready” projects ready to submit to officials
“We all need to be putting together a Christmas list and sending it to the Santas in (Washington) D.C.,” said Conkey.
Conkey also posed the question of when to think about prioritizing submissions as a region instead of individually.
Several members inquired about where FDOT prioritized the State Road 9B project. FDOT Dist. 2 Secretary Charles Baldwin noted it was second on the list, behind State Road A1A corridor improvements.
Other notes from Thursday’s North Florida TPO meeting:
• Kelley Teague of Metroplan Orlando, the regional transportation partnership in Central Florida, gave a presentation on the area’s regional transit plan. The presentation included the cost structure of the $615 million project, rail lines and stops and planned features that will add to the economic impact of the project.
• The meeting was delayed slightly as members of the Executive Director Evaluation Committee wrapped up their report. The report will be released during a January retreat, but Graham did have encouraging words about North Florida TPO Executive Director Denise Bunnewith. “I’m pretty pleased with what she’s done so far,” he said.
• During her executive director report, Bunnewith spoke of the revenue generating cameras installed in Orlando intersections to catch red light runners. Bunnewith’s report states that more than 6,000 offenders have been caught and fines have totaled more than $750,000.
Graham noted that Duval County officials have had discussions on the topic but held off due to possible law suits that could arise. The cameras are intended to increase traffic safety, but as Baldwin said, there hasn’t been a significant decrease. Members agreed to continue to monitor Orlando’s success with the system before moving ahead with their own.
• The next official North Florida TPO meeting is Feb. 12. The January meeting will be used as a retreat to bring new members up to speed on the organization’s goals.
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