- October 25, 2024
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The stretch of Whiteview Parkway between Wood Aspen Lane and Rolling Sands Drive ranks in the top 10 in the city for crash severity. Palm Coast has a new plan to make the road safer.
"It has been consistently one of the most dangerous portions of road in the greater Flagler-Volusia County area for some time now, and the accident rate reflects that."
— NICK KLUFAS
Rather than reducing the almost mile-long four-lane section of the roadway to two lanes in order to add turn lanes and a multi-use path — a plan that generated pushback from residents when city staff first proposed it in 2017 — the city will keep all four lanes and add turn lanes at 12 locations. Street lights and a multi-use path would also be added, and vegetation that reduces visibility will be removed.
"I think the overwhelming public voice is that we need to keep this as four lanes, instead of individual lanes with turn lanes," Councilman Nick Klufas said at a City Council workshop on March 8. "... The individual turn lanes could potentially save lives, and definitely reduce traffic injuries."
The four-lane version of the proposal will cost about half a million dollars more than the two-lane version that had been proposed in 2017, but the city expects to receive Florida Department of Transportation grant money to fund the work.
To be eligible for the money, council members must approve a work order for the design and engineering so that the construction plans can be submitted to FDOT for approval. The city expects that FDOT would make its decision in July.
Although the entire project area is about 3.5 miles — from U.S. 1 to Pritchard Drive — it can be broken into two segments, said Matt Maggiore, executive president of England-Thims & Miller, a consulting firm that performed a feasibility study on the proposed roadway improvements for the city government.
There's the 0.85-mile stretch of roadway between U.S. 1 and White Mill, where the roadway is four lanes — two each way, divided by a median, with no pathways or sidewalks — and then there's the 2.65-mile segment between White Mill and Pritchard, which has one lane each way, with no median, and with a footpath to the south of the roadway.
The four-lane area can stay four lanes, Maggiore said, though there will be three spots without turn lanes, and the added multi-use path will be closer to the road than it would have been if the road were narrowed to two lanes.
"I'm in favor of keeping the pavement four lanes," Councilman Ed Danko said. "I think you've come up with a great solution for that."
Mayor David Alfin and Councilman Eddie Branquinho agreed, and urged city staff to move forward with the four-lane option.
