Highway to become scenic drive -- Input sought for State Road 13 improvements

Highway to become scenic drive -- Input sought for State Road 13 improvements

By KATIE SANDERS
t.katie.sanders@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/24/09

Naturalist or not, you're invited.

The William Bartram Scenic & Historic Highway Corridor Management Council will host a workshop today to collect public opinion on plans for beautifying the 17-mile stretch of State Road 13.

The highway curves along the northwest portion of the county, edging the St. Johns River and cutting through Orangedale, Switzerland and Julington Creek. The section stretches from the St. Johns-Duval county line south to the intersection of State Roads 13 and 16.

Management council members hope new signs and logos will serve as an informational tour of the area, enticing drivers to pull over their cars and become pedestrians-turned-explorers.

Back in January, the citizen-led council, St. Johns County and Glatting Jackson held a design workshop to solicit ideas from the public about the highway.

This follow-up design workshop allows the public to review the master plan, discuss logo and signage ideas and bring any new ideas to the table, said Albert Abbatiello, chairman of the Corridor Management Council.

The workshop consists of four sessions examining corridor architecture, Shands Pier developments, logo and signage design and plans for a newsletter and brochure.

Other areas up for discussion include improvements at Alpine Groves Park, Bartram Trails Library, Beluthahatchee Park and Trout Creek Park.

The William Bartram Scenic & Historic Highway was designated as a Florida Scenic Highway in 2005. The highway received a National Scenic Byways grant of $600,000 in 2006 to complete its master plan.

The plan requires approval by the St. Johns County Commission, he said.

Once finalized -- hopefully by early October -- the council will begin to prioritize projects and then try to locate grants, said Debrah Miller, Florida Department of Transportation's District 2 scenic highway coordinator.

"The master plan is really just a big picture over a big time frame of what could be accomplished," she said.

Abbatiello estimates the council will be ready to go forward with some projects by mid-2010. The library is one of the priorities, he said.

The most ambitious project, he said, is the restoration of a community center near Alpine Groves Park, which would cost around $300,000 to $400,000.

Abbatiello said several projects should be completed by 2015 -- the year of St. Augustine's 450th birthday -- to allow international tourists to "tap into another experience" while in town.

"We would like to tie in all the things that we're doing as a scenic byway," he said.

Interest in the corridor project has been "spotty" for several years, he said, but has picked up with the influx of advertising associated with developing a master plan.

Sarah Bailey, a management council member, said ensuring safety for travelers on S.R. 13 is important, especially given recent fatal accidents on the road.

Glatting Jackson consultants have proposed adding several roundabouts as "traffic calming" measures, but more discussion is needed as they may not meet FDOT standards in certain areas, Abbatiello said.

Officials want the corridor to be accessible to visitors traveling by cars, bicycles, boats, horseback or on foot.

Another member of the council, Frank Baltes, said he hopes the bicycle lanes will be widened from about 3 feet to 6 feet to accommodate more cyclists and give them space from passing cars.

Councilman Don Beattie said interest in preserving the scenic highway started about 15 years ago, when fear of strip malls being developed along the road spurred several residents in the northwest region of St. Johns County to protect the region from commercial development.

"The whole point was to keep State Road 13 as close to original as we could," Beattie said.


Click here to return to story:
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/062409/news_062409_060.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record