Interested in the Future of Transportation in Columbia County? The Fort White Community Center Is the Place to be Tonight at 6:30 pm
Food (free) is again being provided by Horsepower Kitchen food truck.
November 8, 2023 02:00 am | 4 min read | Part II: Part I | Part II | Part III
Alachua County Commissioner Marihelen
Wheeler discusses transportation issues with
Fort White Mayor Ronnie Frazier during the
first meeting. In the background, Doug
Jipson weighs in with his transportation
ideas. |
Columbia County Observer photo & graphic
(Fort White, Oct. 26, 2023)
COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – The FSU-FDOT Rural Transportation Team, following up on its October 26 success in Fort White, will return to town tonight, 6:30-8:30 pm, at the Fort White Community Center. The Team is inviting everyone to Fort White to contribute more new ideas and, with the community’s help, will rank and rate the projects that have been suggested.
Background
The Florida State University Dept. of Urban and Regional Planning’s Graduate Studio, the “Team,” is reviewing 218 surveys and additional ones as they come in.
The project is funded by a grant from the US government, which means your neighbors across America are financing the project. The Florida Department of Transportation funnels the money to FSU and others.
The significant areas of research, FDOT calls them pillars – others call them pillows, are Economic Development, i.e., the impact that transportation has on the local economy.
Team Project Manager Eliza Chase explains the
transportation program goals. (Fort White, Oct.
26, 2023)
Mobility: the ability to get around easily, such as providing high-quality walking, bicycling, or vehicle pathways that allow you to get to your destination in a timely and safely.
Safety: Safety is defined as your ability to use the transportation network without fear of harm to yourself or your property. Examples are fixing unclear signage, encouraging transportation education, enforcing the rules of the road, or lowering speed limits.
Transportation Design: Transportation design is defined as the feel of the roads and how well they work to provide a safe, convenient transportation network. An example would be a street that needs protected bicycle lanes instead of painted arrows.
As you can see, some of the areas overlap, which makes your input and explanations valuable to the Team.
If you haven't filled out a survey, you can do it here. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the arrow in the right corner to get to the survey.
Other than your zip code, all answers are optional.
What has happened between meetings?
And why you need to attend.
South End utility representative Carl King
speaks with County Commissioner Everett Phillips
and Terri Thorton. (Fort White, Oct. 26, 2023)
The last meeting in Fort White, which began as an afterthought, was successful, and the reason for the follow-up meeting today, which also began as an afterthought, was approved by FDOT based on the success of the first Fort White meeting.
Fort White and the South End of the County are poised for future growth.
Its residents are engaged and concerned about the environment, drinking water, speed limits, traffic around the schools and SR 20 (US 27), and bicycle and pedestrian mobility. Folks came out for the last meeting to weigh in on the future of the South End and Columbia County transportation planning.
Anyone from Columbia County or anywhere else can also come to Fort White today and give their opinions on the future of transportation needs in Fort White and the rest of Columbia County.
FSU Team member Peyton Russo listens to Bud
Kyuzyk, who before picking up a Horsepower
Kitchen plate, told you reporter, "Nobody wants
to listen to me." (Fort White, Oct. 26,
2023)
Those in attendance will be able to weigh in on the ranking and rating of future projects in the Fort White area, as well as those in and around Lake City. These rankings will go to FDOT for consideration and inclusion in future transportation plans.
You will be able to meet and speak with the Mayor and Council members of the Fort White Town Council, members of the High Springs City Commission, Alachua County Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler, South Columbia County Utility representative Carl King, and others. (Some folk may have scheduling conflicts).
The cross-county bottleneck in High Springs, due to the north-south traffic on US 27 into and out of Columbia County, is reaching critical proportions. You can weigh in on this.
(Background) Merrillee and Bill Basta of Our
Santa Fe River look over the Lake City map while
(foreground) Commissioner Wheeler explains the
US 27 issues with Team member Willow Michie.
(Fort White, Oct. 26, 2023)
If you are interested in bicycle paths, particularly a path from High Springs to Fort White, you should be at this meeting. Columbia County put the kibosh on this improvement once before. Now is your chance to speak up if this is the kind of project you think is important.
FSU’s Team of graduate student planners want to know what you think and care about what you think.
Once again, food (free) is provided by Horsepower Kitchen, a premier food truck vendor. Their area famous wraps, vegetarian, buffalo blue, and gladiator, are on the menu, along with healthy fresh fruit.
For those who don't want to drive to Fort White, an overlapping meeting is being held in Lake City at the Westside Community Center, from 5:30-7:30. The last meeting in Lake City was a bust. Some of the "Powers That Be" refused to move and combine tonight’s Lake City meeting to Fort White, and for the first time that we know of, FDOT is sponsoring two concurrent meetings at the same time about the same thing in the same community.
The Fort White Community Center is located at 17579 FL-47, Fort White, FL 32038. If you haven’t been there before, the Community Center is next to the tennis courts at the County Fort White Sports Complex.
The meeting begins at 6:30 pm. Bring your ideas and your appetite, and let your voice be heard about the future of Transportation in Columbia County.
