Background
Last year,
as called for in the BoCC-approved Action Plan to implement the 2009 Complete
Streets Resolution, the staff developed a revised transportation planning and
budgeting process. This year is the
first time that the new approach has been used to develop the 5-year
transportation funding plan, reflected in the CIP. The staff is to be commended for its
interdepartmental team effort in developing this plan. The transportation CIP, as approved by the
BoCC on Sept. 19, 2012, is an improvement over previous years and reflects a
first step in implementing the new approach. The staff has done an excellent
job of ensuring that all planned road projects include bike/ped facilities in
their designs. It is our hope that as
the collaborative county staff process evolves, road projects will be evaluated
in terms of the broader complete streets and sustainability goals and
priorities the county has articulated.
With respect to the exclusively complete streets projects,
the CIP does not yet include many of the projects that were recommended by the
staff complete streets team, CSAC and BPAC over the past 2 years as part of the review of the resurfacing
contracts. There are many excellent
projects on this list that need to be costed out, prioritized and added to the
5-year CIP. We hope those projects will
be incorporated into next year's transportation CIP.
Highlights of complete streets-related projects
BikeWalklee's two highest priority complete streets projects
were included in the approved CIP.
First, $7 million is budgeted
over the next 5 years for the Estero Blvd. improvement project on Fort
Myers Beach, but the $39 million needed to complete construction is in the 6-10
year window. With the limited ROW on
this narrow barrier island, it is essential that the redesign of this area rely
heavily on making it pedestrian/bicycle/transit-friendly.
Second, we supported the Lehigh Community's package of
complete streets projects (approximately $2.1 million), several of which were
added to the county's proposed budget.
Planning funds for two Lehigh activity centers ($556,800) were added to
the planning department budget. The BOCC
provided funding for the community’s primary CIP request, pulling $1.5 million
from ad valorem CIP funds to pay for the engineering phase for the
reconstruction of the one mile stretch of Homestead Rd. in the Downtown
Activity Center in FY 12/13 to be compatible with the recommendations included
in the downtown design study. This project is to include both the
landscaped median and additional streetscape such as covered swales and road
construction improvements. The Lehigh
roundabout (Beth Stacey Blvd/Business Way Loop), already in the 2012 budget for
$750,000, will come to the Board soon in a blue sheet for vote on implementing.
BikeWalkLee recommended to the Board that several
bike/ped/complete streets projects scheduled for later years to be moved up to
next year--specifically, the Fiddlesticks Blvd. shared use path project
($850 K) and the Heritage Palms shared use path gap on the new 6 Mile
Cypress widening project ($150 k). However, the Board did not approve this
request, which would have required a shifting of funds around in the CIP to
allow for these projects to be moved up.
Attachment:
Lee County's Approved
Transportation Capital Improvement Plan (CIP): 2013-2018
(detailed project funding list) (as
approved by the Board 9/19/12)
Report by Darla
Letourneau
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