- October 11, 2024
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Wider sidewalks. A landscape buffer. A separate bike lane.
These are the changes to Nova Road between Granada Boulevard and north of Wilmette Avenue in Ormond Beach that were presented by the Florida Department of Transportation during a meeting held Tuesday, July 11, at The Casements.
FDOT is proposing two alternatives to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety for the half-mile corridor, which often sees pedestrians and bicyclists crossing mid-block.
The first alternative, according to the FDOT presentation, would replace the center turn lane with a landscaped median, with openings and turn lanes at certain access points, as well as widen sidewalks to 8 feet on each side of Nova Road.
It would also add landscaped buffers to separate the sidewalks from the road.
For the second alternative, FDOT proposed adding a bicycle lane on each side of the road instead of an additional landscaped buffer. Both options would add pedestrian hybrid beacon traffic devices to help people cross Nova Road.
Because both alternatives incorporate repurposing a lane, the corridor would decrease from six travel lanes to four.
“FDOT’s lane repurposing process provides local and regional agencies the opportunity to repurpose parts of state roadways where appropriate,” the presentation stated. “These lanes can therefore be repurposed to improve safety by slowing vehicular traffic and providing additional facilities and a safer environment for pedestrians, bicyclists and at-risk populations.”
Since 2015, there have been 11 crashes involving a bicyclist or pedestrian in the corridor. There have also been five fatal crashes, two of which involved motorcycles and one involving a pedestrian.
“This crash history supports the need for improvements to address safety, and bicyclist and pedestrian mobility in the focus area,” the presentation stated.
The improvements to the corridor are part of an FDOT roadway resurfacing project for a 3.91-mile stretch of Nova Road, from Flomich Street to U.S. 1. According to FDOT, a Nova Road Coalition was formed to identify safety improvement solutions that could be incorporated into the project.
The next Ormond Beach City Commission meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18 at City Hall, located at 30 S. Beach St.
Prior to the meeting, the commission will hold a workshop at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
The deadline to submit entries to Ormond Beach’s new Young Adult Photography Contest, created in memory of late city photographer David Pizzo, is Friday, July 14.
The contest is open to children ages 12-17, and the theme is “Ormond Beach parks, nature and green spaces.” It is open to all children residing in Volusia County.
Those interested may submit up to three high-resolution photos (in a JPEG format) to the city and complete the entry form at bit.ly/3JHzKas.
Prizes will be awarded on Aug. 5 to the third, second, first and best-in-show recipients.
Photo entries will be displayed at The Casements in August.
A 57-year-old Ormond Beach man was transported to the hospital on Friday, July 7, after he was struck by a pickup truck while riding his bike on Granada Boulevard.
The victim was traveling east within the designated bike lane when the pickup truck driver struck him as the driver, who was going westbound, attempted to make a left turn on South Forty Trail, according to a crash report. The driver told Ormond Beach Police that he had not seen the victim due to the stopped traffic in the street.
The victim is recovering from the crash, police report.
The Volusia County ECHO Advisory Committee will review the 2024 Environmental, Cultural, Historical and Outdoor Recreation calendar and discuss ADA playground criteria at its meeting at 9 a.m. Thursday, July 13.
The meeting will take place in the County Council Chambers of the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center, located at 123 W. Indiana Ave. in DeLand.
