Traffic safety enhancements coming to St. Nicholas Town Center
In the not-so-distant future, pedestrians may find it a little safer trying to cross Beach Boulevard at St. Nicholas Town Center.
In approximately three years, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is planning to install a crosswalk across Beach Boulevard near Palmer Terrace. The project will be part of a larger intersection improvement venture between San Mateo Avenue/Walton Street and Linden Avenue and Schumacher Avenue. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2022 at a cost of $986,000.
“This project is being designed to enhance pedestrian safety and reduce angle crash patterns at the Beach Boulevard and San Mateo/Walton Street intersection,” said Sara Pleasants, community outreach specialist for FDOT. Pleasants said several improvements are currently being considered as part of the project but may be subject to change by the time construction begins because they may require coordination with third parties, such as residential property owners, businesses, and the City of Jacksonville.
Improvements included in the project are:
- Install rectangular rapid flashing beacons and establish a mid-block pedestrian crossing between Palmer Terrace and Kenneth Street.
- Install no left/U-turn sign to prohibit eastbound and left/U-turn movements at Beach Boulevard and San Mateo intersection.
- Install yellow two-foot to four-foot turning guideline striping for the northbound, southbound and westbound left-turn movements at Beach Boulevard and Walton Street intersection.
- Install a Keep Right sign with Object Marker for westbound through northbound left-turn traffic in front of center concrete traffic railing at the Beach Boulevard and San Mateo intersection.
- Install backplates with yellow reflectorized borders on signal heads at the San Mateo Avenue/Walton Street intersection to reduce sun glare and enhance signal visibility.
- Trim landscaping adjacent to the Beach Boulevard overpass gravity wall.
- Evaluate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ramps in the southeast corner of the Beach Boulevard/San Mateo Avenue/Walton Street intersection to assess the feasibility of reconstructing the dual ramps as a single ramp and realign the crosswalk along the east leg.
- Evaluate the Beach Boulevard overpass bridge end treatment to assess feasibility of replacing the existing concrete bridge railing at the approach end with a guardrail/attenuator-end treatment to improve intersection line of sight at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and San Mateo Avenue.
- Relocate the stop bar for southbound San Mateo Avenue traffic closer to the intersection to allow for better sight distance.
- Increase All-Red clearance intervals (east approach by .5 seconds and north /south approaches by 1.5 seconds) at the Beach Boulevard and San Mateo Avenue/Walton Street intersection to help reduce the potential for angle and left-turn crashes.
- Add Advance School Crossing Assembly signs on the northbound and southbound approaches of Beach Boulevard and San Mateo/Walton Street intersection.
- Consider installing flexible delineator posts along double yellow lines adjacent to the westbound left turn lane at Beach and San Mateo/Walton Street intersection to prohibit U-turns adjacent to the on-street parking and to prevent mid-block U-turns.
- Eliminate the westernmost and easternmost on-street parking spaces located on the north side between San Mateo Avenue and Palmer Terrace to improve stopping and intersection sight distances. Additionally, eliminate the easternmost angle parking spot just west of the south leg of Palmer Terrace to improve sight distance.
By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News
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