FDOT’s Public Meeting Draws Big Crowd; Questions Remain

The Florida Department of Transportation public meeting at East Hill Baptist Church was well attended with approximately 125 people gathering information and asking questions related to a Thomasville Rd. project. While the meeting helped provide more context for the project, one question persists: how will this project affect small businesses along the stretch of Thomasville Road in Midtown?

The ‘open house’ style of the meeting meant that there was no formal presentation or Q&A section, but FDOT members walked around discussing the project and referencing informational posters.

Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Ian Satter says plans to resurface the road have been in the works for several years. The other proposed changes come from the city of Tallahassee and the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, he says.

“During the course of the past several years, we’ve been approached by the city of Tallahassee in a partnership for them to be able to do some utility work during the resurfacing,” Satter said. “And a proposal also came to us from Blueprint to add sidewalks along the corridor and remove that center turn lane. So, tonight’s meeting, we’re presenting two different options: One is to resurface the roadway and it would remain in its current existing state. Or we have another option where Blueprint has proposed adding those sidewalks and reducing that turn lane.”

The project would also include stormwater sewer improvements and reconstruction of several traffic signals.

The cost of all three projects totals $10 million and will take just over one and a half years. FDOT’s project will cost around $1.8 million. The City’s project will cost nearly $3 million, and Blueprint’s project will cost around $5.5 million.

One concern members had going into the meeting was traffic. Blueprint’s plan introduces bigger sidewalks onto Thomasville Rd. starting after the 6th Ave. intersection. This means that the left turn lane will be eliminated. Many residents feared this would create additional traffic in that corridor. However, the left turn lane on Thomasville Rd. southbound will still be there, which will help.

Other concerns were voiced by business owners. The project will take over one and a half years, and the construction will close all northbound traffic on Thomasville Rd. This has the potential to hurt the businesses along this road as many of them rely on their street view and foot traffic to generate more traction with customers.

Sally Bradshaw owns a bookstore on Thomasville Road, the Midtown Reader. She says she’s concerned about all the businesses in in the area, not just hers.

“We’re working really hard to build a sense of community in Midtown. And I think even though the idea of expanded sidewalks is well-intentioned, the way this proposal is attempting to fix the problem is actually going to create more problems for businesses. If the center turn lane is eliminated, there will be very limited access to businesses in Midtown.”

This part of the plan is proposed by Blueprint, and with no Blueprint representative at the meeting, questions went unanswered.

While FDOT’s plan to conduct road re-pavements is a moving forward as planned, it appears the City of Tallahassee’s utility project and Blueprint’s sidewalk installation are still subject to debate.

The Department of Transportation is still accepting comments until March 14th.