Anna Maria is ready to advertise for bids on its plans to improve Pine Avenue.
City commissioners voted March 17 to approve motions establishing terms for a request for proposal to improve Pine’s sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting and to issue the RFP.
Commissioners began “reimagining” Pine last summer and approved up to $125,000 for an engineer to design plans for potential improvements, including:
- Pervious paver meandering sidewalks;
- Additional and enhanced crosswalks;
- Additional and enhanced street lighting;
- Conversion of the trolley turnaround at the east end of Pine to allow delivery trucks;
- Bicycle paths on both sides of Pine.
The city contracted St. Petersburg-based George F. Young last year to engineer the plans.
The city is handling the improvements in phases: the first involves sidewalks, crosswalks and lighting; the second will involve expanding the trolley turnaround and adding bike lanes.
Mayor Dan Murphy said the RFP would be issued as soon as possible and likely include a 30-day bid period.
He said the commission could approve change orders to alter any plans moving forward, but the RFP needs to be issued to get the ball rolling.
Plans for the second phase of improvements will be presented later.
The total improvements are projected to cost about $1.363 million. The city budgeted $73,000 and is requesting $1,288,440 in state appropriations to fund the remainder of the project.
The appropriation request passed the Florida Senate and House and made it to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk. DeSantis can line-item veto any part of the 2022-23 budget, which may require a couple of weeks to review.
Sidewalks
City commissioners voted 4-1 to include in the Pine Avenue RFP 5-foot-wide meandering sidewalks with two options for pervious materials, including brick and rubber-crumb pavers.
Commissioner Deanie Sebring voted “no,” stating a preference for 6-foot-wide sidewalks where possible.
George F. Young traffic engineer Gerry Traverso presented plans that included 6-foot-wide sidewalks along several stretches, as requested by commissioners at a previous meeting.
Pine’s current sidewalks are 5 feet wide, but several commissioners supported expanding the width to improve safety and walkability.
However, as Commissioner Mark Short pointed out and Traverso confirmed, expanding sidewalk width would require the elimination of about 50 parallel parking spaces.
Commissioner Robert Kingan said the discovery “changed (his) tune” on 6-foot-wide sidewalks since the elimination of parallel parking would leave Pine’s commercial tenants “beside themselves.”
Sebring supported eliminating parallel parking on Pine, instead promoting wider sidewalks and bike lanes to get people off the road.
“I think it’s very dangerous to have parallel parking on that road,” she said.
Traverso said the city could maintain parallel parking while adding bike lanes and 6-foot-wide sidewalks if it narrowed Pine’s traffic lanes from 12 feet wide to 10 feet wide.
However, Murphy suggested the commission dismiss the idea, stating the roadway already is too narrow.
A couple of residents voiced support for 5-foot-wide sidewalks during public comment.
Short moved to include 5-foot-wide sidewalks, with two options for material, in the RFP so that parallel parking could remain on the table moving forward.
Commissioner Jonathan Crane seconded the motion, which passed.
Crosswalks
Commissioners unanimously voted to approve plans to enhance and add crosswalks to Pine Avenue.
Plans include the addition of raised and lighted crosswalks at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive, and Roser Memorial Community Church, 512 Pine Ave., as well as at the intersection of Pine and Los Cedros Drive.
The crosswalks will be raised by 3 inches and include in-road blinking lights facing drivers in both lanes to increase visibility.
Plans also involve restriping crosswalks across all corners at four-way intersections.
Traverso said no stop signs were added to the roadway to protect the crosswalks, only “yield to pedestrians” signage.
Crane supported the plans but questioned their “ultimate utility” since, in his experience, it was rare to see a pedestrian use them to cross the street. He indicated that most people cross at random.
Murphy said the city could add signage along Pine to advertise a fine for jaywalking to test if the measure is feasible.
“Good luck,” Kingan chuckled.
Resident Dave Haddox supported Murphy’s suggestion. He said he used to live in Milwaukee, where jaywalking is a nonissue due to the city’s strict enforcement.
Kingan moved to include the crosswalk improvements in the RFP.
Sebring seconded the motion, which passed.
Lighting
Commissioners also unanimously voted to include in the RFP the installation of about 27 solar-powered light posts along Pine, with a design to be determined later.
The new posts would replace those on Pine, which are owned by Florida Power & Light.
By taking over lighting for the roadway, the city can choose the design and placement.
Traverso’s plans include installing light posts at every intersection to better light pedestrian crossings, as well as every 100 feet to light the roadway and sidewalks.
He said the plans do not include lighting along the meandering sidewalks because it would involve private property but said the city could explore deals with property owners to add lighting in certain areas as the project progresses.
Several commissioners supported a hook-arm light pole but left the design unspecified in the RFP.
Short moved to include the installation of 27 solar-powered light poles in the RFP.
Crane seconded the motion, which passed.