Abstract Manager

It’s no secret that planners, engineers, and citizens all bring different perspectives to infrastructure solutions. This presentation highlights how collaboration early and often can set up complete street projects for successful implementation.

Learn how partners quickly came together over 15-months to analyze alternatives and develop multimodal concept plans for 7-miles of roadway in the University Avenue and 13^th Street Corridor Study. The study area traverses through the City of Gainesville, Florida’s most vulnerable residential districts, through the lively downtown and creative innovation districts, along the University of Florida campus, and beside a major hospital.

The main goal of this Florida Department of Transportation study was to prioritize people, reduce vehicle speeds, and reduce deaths on these existing 4-lane roadways. However, the method to do that was up for debate. Through a combination of lane-repurposing (road dieting), cycle track installation, intersection improvements, and enhanced transit stations, the plans fully accommodate all modes. More importantly, the plans ultimately landed support from the local agency, state department of transportation, citizen activist groups, and elected officials.

The case study will demonstrate how the planning vision, geometric design, traffic and safety analysis, and public outreach can be woven together simultaneously in a small budget and timeframe. Despite different perspectives, this example highlights how planners, engineers, and community members leverage the shared goal of safety for all users to arrive at a technical consensus.