January 10, 2008

 

Dear Commissioners:

 

As the liaison between citizens of the City of Tallahassee who are interested in improving our region’s public transportation system and the Tallahassee City Commission, we the members of the Transit Advisory Committee write to you to seek your assistance in addressing a specific safety concern.  The concern is in an area where many transit users and pedestrians may wish to go but where heavy automobile traffic and a lack of pedestrian amenities create a potentially unsafe environment. We request that you direct a representative from the City’s road department to work with Star Metro planners, and other agencies such as the Florida Department of Transportation; with input from the Transit Advisory Committee, to improve this situation.

 

The area in question is the southern entrance to the Governor’s Square Mall. In this area, a local bus route operates on Lafayette Street, and an express bus route operates on Apalachee Parkway. The Transit Advisory Committee believes that it is desirable to construct a transit station that can be used by both routes in both directions, and from which transit passengers can walk safely and conveniently to a pedestrian entrance into Governors Square Mall as well as to other businesses in the area. This desire is made difficult, because of heavy traffic, the lack of crosswalks at Indian Head and between the northeast and northwest corners of Apalachee and Magnolia, and the absence of sidewalks interconnecting the Indian Head neighborhood and the Old St. Augustine/Apalachee Parkway/Mall areas.  

 

Of primary interest to the committee is the connection between East Indian Head Drive and Governors Square Mall. The TAC recognizes that there can be several possible ways of improving safety and transit service to this area and that an acceptable solution to all parties likely will require a partnership between City road engineers, Star Metro planners, state highway engineers, and this committee. We would like you, the City Commission, to initiate this process by requesting City traffic engineers and Star Metro planners to initiate contacts in the formation of such a committee.

 

To get the ball rolling, we suggest one approach for such a committee to consider. Our vision is for a covered transit stop with bicycle racks and seating located in the land area on the southeast quadrant of Apalachee Parkway and East Indian Head Drive (in the grass area between Lafayette and Apalachee Pkwy.). This transit stop would include other pedestrian improvements such as:

  1. Pedestrian Improvements –
    1. At the intersection of Indian Head and Apalachee Parkway traffic signals be installed that include a pedestrian phase to enable pedestrians to cross Apalachee Parkway as well as Indian Head and the Mall entry roadway.
    2. Existing sidewalks on the north side frontage road (currently ending at Maggiano’s Restaurant) be extended to connect with the pedestrian cross walk at Apalachee Parkway and Indian Head.
    3. New sidewalks or a marked pedestrian corridor be established from the intersection of Apalachee Parkway and the Mall entrance road to the sidewalk in front of the main department store building at the mall (approximately 500 feet). Note: This improvement is also included in item 3 below for bicycles.
    4.  All sidewalks and pedestrian cross walk markings be coordinated with and connected to the transit shelter identified in item 1 above.
    5. The pedestrian cross walk and sidewalks be linked (north to south) to the Lafayette Street enhancement projects identified in the MPO plan.
  2. Bicycle Improvements
    1. Bike racks at the transit shelter (proposed in item 1 above) and on transit coaches.
    2. The planned enhancement improvements along Lafayette include bicycle facilities and ultimately connect to bicycle lanes on Capital Circle SE. and other existing and/or planned bicycle lanes and routes in the community.

 

As a part of our assessment of this area we utilized the Florida Department of Transportation ARTPLAN software. This software provides planners and policy makers a quantitative assessment of the multimodal transportation conditions. A report from this analysis has been attached to this letter.

 

Please find attached a graphic image that shows how this concept could look in the near future.  We look forward to hearing from you and learning of your comments and questions.  Please be assured that we are prepared to more elaborately discuss these concerns at any time that will be mutually convenient.  On behalf of the citizens of Tallahassee, we remain faithful members of TAC.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Gregory L. Thompson

Chair

Transit Advisory Committee

 

 

 

 

 

Copy to Florida Department of Transportation District Engineer

 

 

Transit Advisory Committee