MADEIRA BEACH – Lane closures are scheduled to begin later this month on the Tom Stuart Causeway, according to a letter from Florida Department of Transportation official Donald Skelton to Mayor Charles Parker.
Parts of the letter were read by Parker at the Feb. 28 Board of Commissioners meeting.
Motorists driving on the causeway will begin encountering delays due to the lane closures in March. The westbound outside lane will be closed for about three months while a traffic barrier is installed, Skelton said in the letter. When the westbound lane is reopened, a full-time lane closure of about eight weeks is proposed for the eastbound bridge improvements.
Skelton said that the FDOT is coordinating with the contractor to determine if temporary lane closures could be used in the eastbound direction to provide additional congestion relief during peak traffic hours.
Residents attending the meeting expressed their frustration with the already existing traffic problems in the area due to road construction projects. Linda Lee, who spoke to the commission on another matter, said that she had spent over a half hour that afternoon driving from her office at Gulf Boulevard and 140th Avenue to a convenience store at Sunset Beach.
Robert Shaw said that he envisioned a time during the upcoming summer season when he will purchase a container of chocolate ice cream at the local market and have a chocolate milkshake when he arrives home.
“Or hot cocoa,” another resident chimed in.
136th Avenue beach access to be closed for a year
The city’s 136th Avenue beach access will be closed to the public until the end of March 2007. The commission voted to rent the access’s 10 parking spaces to the developer of the adjacent BellArte condominium project for use as a staging area for the construction crew. City Attorney Michael Connolly termed the arrangement “a usage permit.”
City staff recommended approval of the rental agreement. City Manager Jill Silverboard said that the 136th Avenue access parking area is one of the city’s lesser-used lots. Silverboard also said that allowing construction workers to use the right of way next to the site will result in fewer lane closures along Gulf Boulevard. The entire beach access will have to be closed anyway because of safety issues, Community Development Director Paula Cohen said.
Several commissioners expressed concerns about limiting parking in the area. Commissioner John Wolbert said that the city should hold off turning the parking spaces over to the developer until the first of May, after the winter tourist season.
“We are taking parking away from the citizens going to the beach” at a peak time, Wolbert said. Commissioner Arnold Alloway also opposed closing the entire beach access.
Resident Robert Shaw said that the beach accesses are public property and represent an agreement with the citizens for their use. Leasing the parking spaces to a private developer “represents a breach of that agreement,” Shaw said.
A vote in favor of the agreement was 4-1, Alloway opposed. The developer will pay the city $350 a month to rent the parking spaces, Connolly said. The city will give up income for parking meters at the site, so the arrangement is not considered a revenue producer for the city, Silverboard said.
