STATEMENT OF ISSUE
At the regular City Commission meeting on December 10, 2003, the City Commission adopted Ordinance No. 03-O-38AA Vacating and Abandoning Road Right of Way for a portion of the northern terminus of Adams Street and a portion of the western terminus of First Avenue. As part of an approved motion to amend the ordinance to include a five-year reverter clause, staff was required to conduct a review of the closing of Adams Street in January 2009 for the purpose of reopening it if warranted.

RECOMMENDED ACTION
Option 1 Maintain unchanged the abandonment of Adams Street, north of Brevard Street, and the westerly 198.8 feet of First Avenue.

FISCAL IMPACT
The continued abandonment of Adams Street and First Avenue will have no fiscal impact on the City’s current budget. No review by the Budget Office or Procurement is necessary.

Gabriel P. Menendez, Director, Public Works Department

Anita Favors Thompson, City Manager

For information, please contact: E. Olu Sawyerr, Public Works Department, Traffic Engineering Division, (850) 891-8261

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL/ISSUE ANALYSIS
HISTORY/FACTS & ISSUES
Ordinance 03-O-38AA was adopted to abandon the westernmost 198.8.8 feet of First Avenue and a segment of Adams Street in order to address increasing security needs for the Governor’s Mansion complex. The Ordinance includes recommended conditions of approval to address the public access issues raised by the City Commission as follows:

1. Vehicular turnarounds shall be constructed at the entrances into the Governor’s Mansion Complex from both First Avenue and Adams Street for vehicles that are rejected access into and through the Complex. The Traffic Engineering Division shall approve the design and construction of the turnarounds. The City shall retain easements over the turnarounds. This has been completed.

2. A preliminary traffic analysis has been done due to the potential roadway impacts for motorists and bicyclists from the closure of the requested right-of-way, and the City has determined that a right-turn lane from North Monroe Street onto Brevard Street may be warranted by the closure. At the time of the next resurfacing of this portion of North Monroe Street, a traffic analysis shall be provided by the State of Florida to determine if a right-turn lane is warranted at this location. If so, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will work with the appropriate parties to address this matter. See comments and analysis below.

FACTS
FDOT has scheduled the resurfacing of North Monroe Street for 2010. A study commissioned by FDOT has determined that a right-turn lane is warranted from North Monroe Street to Brevard Street. This would, however, require the acquisition of 12 feet of additional right-of-way from three adjacent properties at an estimated cost of approximately $4 million. This was not deemed a cost effective project by the FDOT.

The volume of right-turn traffic from North Monroe Street to Brevard Street has more than doubled since 2003. See the summary below. Although the limited right-of-way on Monroe Street has militated against providing a right-turn lane, the increase in right-turn volumes has not adversely impacted the overall level of service at this intersection.

The Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan has established a peak hour level of service D (minor congestion) for Principal Arterials, like North Monroe Street, inside the Urban Services Area. The levels of service shown in the above table for this intersection exceed the requirements of the Comprehensive Plan. This table shows that even with the increased traffic volumes, the intersection is operating at a level of service B (free flow conditions) during the morning peak hour and at a level of service C (no congestion) during other peak hours. The increased turning movements onto Brevard Street and the lack of a right-turn lane have not exacerbated the levels of congestion at this intersection.

ISSUES
The City Commission directed staff to review this closure in 2009 as part of an amendment to the ordinance that was passed that included a reverter clause. The abandonment and closure of Adams Street and First Avenue in 2003 were based upon recommendations by the United States Secret Service through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the FDOT. The special agent in charge of security at the Governor’s Mansion complex has recently confirmed that the concerns are the same today as they were in 2003. The close proximity of the public thoroughfares of Adams Street and First Avenue to the Mansion proper is still a great security concern. The safety of thousands of visitors to the mansion annually, especially school children attending tours and events at the mansion, created a significant traffic safety hazard when Adams Street and First Avenue were open to uncontrolled public access.

CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS
Not applicable.

OPTIONS

1. Maintain unchanged the abandonment of Adams Street north of Brevard Street and the westerly 198.8 feet of First Avenue.

Pros:
a) This abandonment has not significantly impacted traffic flow.
b) The requirement of the United States Secret Service to secure critical infrastructure, including the Governor’s Mansion complex has not changed. Public access around this complex still needs to be controlled.
c) Will continue to promote goodwill between the State and the City.

Cons:
a) With time and the extra protection that the abandonment affords the Governor’s
Mansion complex it will become increasingly more difficult to revert the ownership of the streets back to the City.

2. Direct staff to proceed with reverting the abandoned sections of Adams Street and First Avenue back to the City.

Pros:
a) The return of property that was once the City’s.
b) Increases the City’s asset base.

Cons:
a) Should security concerns once more critical, it may again become necessary to abandon these roads.
b) The responsibility for the maintenance of these road segments will revert back to the City with the attendant maintenance cost.

3. Provide alternative direction to staff.

ATTACHMENTS/REFERENCES
None