On Monday, September 13th at 1:00 p.m., the Capital Regional Transportation Planning Agency (CRTPA) will get an update on the Thomasville Road Multi-Use Path (MUP) feasibility study.
The intent of the feasibility study is to evaluate the multimodal connectivity of the Thomasville Road corridor from the Market District to Midtown and to what extent, considering costs and impacts, can a multi-use path be accommodated along the corridor from Betton Road to Maclay Road.
This agenda item is being presented to provide an update to the Board, including the alternatives, prior to the second round of public engagement which is scheduled to begin in mid-September and ending in mid-November.
A Facebook page has been created for the project.
The Project
In 2019, the CRTPA was engaged in the development of the Connections 2045 Regional Mobility Plan(RMP) and the Tallahassee-Leon County Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan (BPMP). In both of these projects the Thomasville Road Multi-Use Path (Thomasville Road MUP) was incorporated due to its regional and local connections, as well as the corridor being highly ranked project by the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency through the Greenways Master Plan.
Based on the analysis, from a regional perspective, the Thomasville Road MUP is critical to linking several regional trail networks together. Such connections include projects evaluating shared-use paths along Maclay Road to Meridian Road and along Meridian Road to the Town of Havana via the Orchard Pond Greenway in Leon County and Iron Bridge Road in Gadsden County. To the south, the Cascades Park Trail leads to smaller Neighborhood Network (identified in the BPMP) projects and links to Midtown including a proposed multi-use trail on Thomasville Road south of Betton Road as identified in the Midtown Area Transportation Plan.
From a local perspective, the Thomasville Road MUP provides a linkage from the Market District to Midtown as Thomasville Road serves as a commuter and recreational route for many pedestrians and bicyclists. These linkages also lead into subdivisions, schools, parks, businesses, and other trails such as the Goose Pond Trail.
The following seven (7) goals were developed for the Thomasville Road MUP:
• Safety – provide safe connections between destinations along Thomasville Road, and beyond.
• Accessibility – create a facility that is accessible to a variety of user types and is appropriate for at least three of the four bicycle comfort levels.
• Network Connectivity -grow network connectivity by providing opportunities to access destinations along and beyond Thomasville Road.
• Positive Network Experience – ensure positive network experience by incorporating natural features, creative design, and ADA compliance.
• Equitable – make the facility available to people with disabilities, low-income areas, aging populations and areas of low vehicle ownership.
• Multimodal – accommodate a variety of modes on the facility.
• Health and Recreation provide opportunities for extended trips to recreate and exercise.
Citizen Input
There has been considerable citizen input via a multi-faceted approach that used social media, virtual meetings with the citizens, businesses and other city and county organizations. As mentioned above, there will be a second round of public engagement which is scheduled to begin in mid-September and ending in mid-November.
In general, the opposed comments revolved around both traffic on Thomasville Road and the path. The Thomasville Road comments were related to the drivers’ speed, traffic noise and air pollution. The comments related to the path referred to conflicts with bike and pedestrians using the same space and at different speeds, and safety for those such as the elderly, children and pets. Others spoke to difficulty accessing and exiting driveways with traffic on Thomasville Road being heavy and fast combined with a higher number of bikes and pedestrians on the path. Lastly, any tree removal was a concern.
The supporting comments related to improving connections to neighborhoods and activity centers. From a safety perspective, others saw the traffic issues on Thomasville Road as being a barrier to the use of the current facility (and current condition of sidewalk) and a path being a better multimodal option for commuting and recreation.
Provided below is a timeline for the project.
CRPTA to Hear Update on Thomasville Road Multi-Use Path Project added by Steve Stewart on
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How does this serve the NE area as a whole? It doesn’t. It is costly at 1 million $$ per mile! it’s dangerous with 44 cutz along the proposed route. It is already hard enough for those of us living off one of the cutz to safely turn into Thomasville Road. A better and much less costly solution would be to fix the existing sidewalks that are located on both sides of Thomasville Road.
You were also talking about creating a Park at the Holding Pond there at the corner of MaClay Blvd. & MaClay Commerce Dr………is that part of this as well?
They make “network connectivity” and doing a good job at “network connectivity” separate bullet points. These people are morons, they are children with jobs they don’t know how to do, so they add an extra bullet point…
There are multiple neighborhoods along this stretch of Thomasville Road that already ARE destinations. The destination is their homes. Anything added to Thomasville Road must meet their needs and certainly not make their use of the road home less safe than it already is. A weekend shuttle that would take them to other areas to shop and enjoy amenities would be one such enhancement.
You are talking Late 2021 / Early 2022 JUST for the Design Phase. Have you already secured ALL of the Property you will need for this?
When Businesses go up for sell, I will see Car Counters counting the Cars driving by the Business so they can include the Car Count in their Sells Pitch, “137 Cars Daily Pass by this Business”. Has there been a Bike Count on these Bike Trails / Paths to see if it is even worth spending the $Millions of Dollars in these areas? You built a nice paved Bike / Walking Trail from Doak Stadium to Capital Circle to connect to the St. Marks Bike trail, complete with painted lines and signage and yet, I might see about 20 people a YEAR some where on that portion. For what you are wanting to do here and the Money you are planning to spend, I would need to see at least 1000 Bikes / People using it.
Exactly what does “equity” have to do with taking a walk or riding a bike?
It’s a way to spend tax $$$ under the guise of ‘stimulating’ the economy. As an ‘add on’, there are ZERO low income communities along the proposed route. So the ‘equity’ factor appears to be just the catch phrase of the moment.