County Commissioners approve two complete streets-related items

At the Sept. 25th County Commissioner's meeting, there were two items of interest to BikeWalkLee on the agenda that were approved without comment by the Board.  Commissioner Hall also gave a "shout-out' to BWL for winning the APA award.  Below are BikeWalkLee's 9/24 comments to the commissioners.

County Commissioners,

 On Tuesday's agenda there are two items of interest to BikeWalkLee:

  

Agenda Item 12 C: Resurfacing Contract for Arterials and Collectors

 This contract is part of the ongoing effort by  the County’s complete streets team to evaluate the roads on the annual resurfacing lists to see what opportunities exist to address the needs of all users when the roads are resurfaced.  We commend the County Manager and her interdepartmental team that is working so effectively & creatively on looking at our roadways in a new way.  The blue sheet reflects the recommendations made by both the CSAC and the BPAC for complete streets improvements in each of the five road segments, along with LeeDOT's responses for how they could address these suggestions.  

We look forward to the next phase of implementing the county's revised transportation and budgeting process which will include advance planning on road segments on the 10-year road resurfacing schedules,  rather than this annual resurfacing contract review process.  By reviewing these road segments for complete streets opportunities in a more holistic way and earlier in the planning process, the county will be able to address the needs of all users in the most cost effective way.  

Agenda Item 12 D: ADA Transition Plan

This contract will address a long-standing issue in Lee county--that too many of the bike/ped facilities and intersections on county-maintained roads are not in full compliance with ADA standards.  This study is a first step in addressing the problem.  It will investigate the current state of ADA compliance, identify deficiencies, prioritize correction of the deficiencies, and provide cost estimates to bring the facilities into compliance with the federal standards.  For streets to be complete they need to be safe and accessible for all road users, including those with disabilities.  Making the required improvements benefits everyone.

We encourage your support for both of these agenda items.  Thank you for your continued leadership and support for complete streets in Lee County.

BikeWalkLee

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Commissioner Hall's Shout-Out to BikeWalkLee
At the end of today's BoCC meeting, Commissioner Hall congratulated BikeWalkLee for receiving the APA Florida 2012 Award as Public Interest Organization of the Year.  She thanked us for our great work and commended the County Manager and her staff for involving BikeWalkLee in the county's efforts, to the benefit of Lee County.  Thanks, Commissioner Hall!