Roadwork underway for Beach Boulevard
Motorists traveling down Beach Boulevard (State Road 212) in the St. Nicholas area will continue to see construction between Schumacher and San Mateo avenues.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) website, construction began in this past October.
The website outlines several proposed improvements for this project including the “installation of a mid-block pedestrian crossing between Kenneth Street and Camden Avenue; installation of new mast-arm signals and pedestrian signals at San Mateo Avenue and Beach Boulevard; and new sidewalks, curb, highway signage, roadway striping and various other safety improvement.”
Mid-block pedestrian crossings function the same way crosswalks at a traffic light, providing “a dedicated safe area for pedestrians to cross the street, utilizing a signal for vehicle control and street lighting for better visibility at night. Drivers will get a flashing red light, indicating they must stop while pedestrians safely cross the road.”
The new mast-arm signals at San Mateo Avenue and Beach Boulevard are being installed “to address ongoing angle and left-turn crashes,” according to an e-mail from FDOT Community Outreach Specialist Daryl Goss.
In his e-mail, Goss cited several reasons the mast-arm signals were selected for this project and the specific location they are being installed, including minimizing the traffic interruptions during construction. Maintaining the existing strain pole signals, Goss explained, would have resulted in necessary right-of-way acquisitions and the installation of additional poles on all four corners of the intersection since diagonal layouts are prohibited by current FDOT criteria.
Goss added the new mast-arm traffic signals will also be more wind resistant.
“This is of critical importance to maintaining/restoring the traffic grid during and after strong weather events,” he wrote. “It should also be noted that Beach Boulevard (State Road 212) is a vital transportation artery and a designated hurricane evacuation route.”
Mudville Grille, a St. Nicholas staple since the 1990s, sits at San Mateo Avenue and Beach Boulevard and has seen its fair share of the car accidents at that intersection. Owner Louis Joseph remains doubtful the new signals will help reduce the number of collisions.
“The accidents are happening because people are running the red light, nine out of 10 times,” he said. “We will have some cars that are pulling in front of other cars making a left onto Walton [Street] but for the most part, people are running the red on San Mateo crossing over to Walton and they’re blinded by the overpass.”
Goss’s e-mail, however, detailed additional features of the proposed design to reduce collisions and property damage and improve safety at that intersection, including:
- “moving the southbound stop bar closer to the intersection for better sight distance;”
- “adding nearside, dual signal indications for northbound/southbound traffic;”
- “adding retroreflective backplate borders to the signals in all directions;” and
- “enhanced street lighting at the crosswalks for the pedestrian safety; and constructing a bulb-out (extending the sidewalk into the parking lane to narrow the roadway) at the southeast corner where the building has been hit from red-light running.”
The cost of the project is estimated at $1 million and Traffic Control Devices LLC is the project’s contractor. According to the FDOT website, the project is expected to wrap this summer, barring any unforeseen weather or circumstances.
By Michele Leivas
Resident Community News
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