No public support for closing a block of Centre Street to traffic

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
January 11, 2017 9:00 p.m.

Despite the best efforts of Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) and City Manager Dale Martin to frame downtown issues for public discussion during the first of two special meetings called to take public input, the overflow audience at the January 10, 2017 meeting made it abundantly clear that they had one message for their elected representatives: Keep Centre Street open.

Clearly billed as an information gathering session to assist the FBCC in making decisions about the future of the Amelia Riverfront, the intent of the session was to receive public input on many issues, including downtown flooding, parking, traffic, the marina, pedestrian access and key streets. But it was evident that the issue that loomed largest in the public’s mind was the FDOT concept to close Centre Street as a quid pro quo for opening Alachua Street to vehicular traffic.

Twenty-seven speakers took advantage of their three minutes of allotted time to express their displeasure at a concept FDOT presented this past fall that proposed closing Centre Street to vehicular traffic between 2^nd and Front Street as a prerequisite to allowing the city to reopen the Alachua railroad crossing. The proposed change included rerouting Centre Street traffic to Alachua and Ash Streets from Centre and making Front Street one-way south from Alachua to Ash. The concept would also have eliminated 17 or 18 parking spaces on Centre Street.

The FBCC has attempted to open the Alachua crossing over a period of years in order to improve downtown traffic flow and access to the waterfront. Throughout their discussions and deliberations on a coherent plan for the waterfront area, the suggestion to close Centre Street to traffic never arose. As recently as two years ago the railroad had approved reopening the Alachua crossing with no pre-conditions. However, when the permit to do so expired, the railroad backed off its position.

While FDOT agreed that the Alachua crossing should be opened for better downtown traffic flow in anticipation of waterfront development, CSX Railroad balked, citing safety concerns. The FDOT plan appeared to represent the only circumstance under which the railroad would go along with opening the Alachua crossing, to the consternation of the public, downtown businesses and city commissioners.

More than 100 people—native Fernandinians and newcomers–attended the special meeting. Three former commissioners—Ron Sapp, Charlie Corbett and Sarah Pelican—were in attendance. After seats were filled, some latecomers sat on the floor or stood at the back of City Commission Chambers. Others spilled into the hallway where they could hear the proceedings, or onto the front sidewalk.

Speakers sounded and reinforced common themes:

History. Fernandina was a planned community. The downtown was originally platted by the Florida Railroad Company in 1855-57. The major east-west arteries, prime among which was Centre Street, ran unfettered to the waterfront, despite the presence of a railroad.  Resident Alan Mills spoke to growing up downtown in the 1980’s when people crossed the tracks at Alachua and Broome getting back and forth from home to work.

Uniqueness. Centre Street connects the Amelia River to the Atlantic Ocean, enabling people to travel a short distance on the same road to see sunrises and sunsets at each end of the artery.

Tradition. Speakers native to Fernandina spoke to the long held tradition of “driving the circle,” “driving the loop,” or “dragging the main.”   This involved driving up and down Centre Street/Atlantic Avenue in a continuous loop as a form of entertainment or just to check out local happenings.

Undocumented railroad safety concerns. Speakers pointed to the lack of any concrete data supporting existing safety concerns or past records of accidents or personal injury.  Former Mayor/Commissioner Ron Sapp cited his 24 years of service on the FBCC during the decades from the 1970’s to the 2000’s.  He said, “FDOT never voiced any safety concerns during many meetings. Safety was not brought up once. Working with CSX is like pulling teeth. They are very difficult to work with. But over time they improved the Centre Street crossing. To me you have to have a compelling interest to open Alachua crossing. I haven’t heard one.  The interest appears to be economic with increasing downtown density, adding a hotel. It’s less about safety than it is about economics. Costs are a concern.”

Other speakers suggested that the railroad’s concerns for safety were a smokescreen for their lack of interest in re=opening the Alachua rail crossing, that appears to have been closed for unknown reasons in the 1980’s.

Responsibility/liability issues. Speakers asked why, if the railroad was concerned about public safety, had they not erected barriers to keep people off the tracks or install better signaling. They questioned why it was the city’s responsibility to do so, when the liability officially lay with the railroad.

Legal rights. Speaker Chip Ross cited an 1886 easement that the city had granted to the railroad. In return for an easement on Front Street, the agreement obligated the railroad to construct, maintain and pay for suitable street crossings, should the City Commission deem them necessary.

Residents vs. economic interests. Many speakers pleaded with commissioners to keep the desires of their constituents foremost in their minds when considering the issues. Some felt that tourism or economic investors were driving this issue and other similar issues throughout the city to the detriment of the quality of life of those who lived in the city.

Questionable benefits of the Community Redevelopment Area. Speakers suggested that this tool for addressing waterfront blight should be reexamined in light of changing economic circumstances.

Although Mayor Robin Lentz tried to maintain order in the chamber, many audience members ignored her repeated pleas and gavelings. People continued to applaud speakers and conduct loud side conversations. Following public comment, Lentz asked for input from city commissioners.

Vice Mayor Len Kreger was the first to comment. He said, “I’ve got more comments and calls on this issue than on any other issue since I became commissioner. I will not support the closing of Centre Street. All of our commission discussions have been about opening Alachua Street. We need to send this idea back [to FDOT and the railroad] and say it is unacceptable. We are looking at safety, but I’d like to know just what FDOT is talking about. Railroad crossings are inherently dangerous, just like cars and streets. But [closing Centre Street] is just a bad idea. Audience members have brought up other issues that we should be looking at, like water on Front Street. If we want to pursue Alachua, that’s a separate issue.”

Commissioner Roy Smith agreed. “I’ve talked to a lot of people on this,” he said. “I’ve told everyone I’ve talked to that if we would be forced to close Centre Street in order to open Alachua Street, I will not vote for it. The reason I moved here was for the historic downtown. The beach is nice, but I don’t go there. I go downtown. I haven’t had one Centre Street shop owner tell me that the closing is a great idea—or even a good idea. Closing Centre Street to me is a no go.”

Commissioner John Miller said, “[The idea of closing Centre Street] is one of those side effects that we didn’t anticipate.” Miller asked that a verbatim transcript of FDOT representative Laura Regalado’s remarks on the subject of Front Street rail crossings be put on the city’s website, so that everyone can read her reasons for making the suggestion to close Centre Street. “Based upon hearing the will of the people tonight,” Miller continued, “if Centre Street must close to open Alachua, the Alachua crossing will not be opened.” He stressed the importance of opening Alachua to insure the restoration of the Standard Marine Building. “I’m doing everything I can to save that building. But I did not know that opening Alachua would close Centre Street. I agree with the previous commissioners. As it is I cannot support this.”

Miller added that regardless of who is liable for safety concerns, he does feel that the city has an moral responsibility to try to make the downtown as safe as possible. “Our number one responsibility to the citizens is public safety.”

Smith challenged Miller on this point, maintaining that the railroad owns the safety issues. “If they choose to maintain an attractive nuisance, that is not the city’s problem,” he said.

Poynter tried to refocus the discussion on the bigger problem: the absence of a coherent, integrated plan for the downtown area. “It all comes down to our visioning meeting [in December] and what we were trying to accomplish there: to look at an overall plan for the downtown, the waterfront, the marina,” he said. “This commission bought property to the north of the marina [to solve the expensive problem of needing to dredge the marina every few years]. We are trying to be proactive on some of these things. No one up here is suggesting that we open or close all these things up without a plan. All we’re trying to do here—and this is the start of many more meetings—is to look at an overall plan. To do absolutely nothing and say ‘everything is fixed, nothing is broken,’ is not accurate.”

Kreger supported Poynter’s approach to planning and future workshops. “What we’ve looked at tonight is something that came up, which was a stupid idea, and it sounds to me like it’s out of the picture. And the good thing about that stupid idea is that we’ve had lots of public involvement, which we hope will continue into other aspects of the downtown problems.”

Kreger echoed Poynter’s observations on the need for transparency, adding that when concepts such as closing Centre Street are put forward by agencies like FDOT, they need a full public discussion. The discussion does not imply FBCC endorsement or that a decision has been made.

Mayor Lentz spoke last. “When this concept was proposed by FDOT, I was very surprised,” she said. She went on to say that when she and fellow CRA Advisory Board member Andy Curtin had met with railroad representatives previously with a request to create a quiet zone, they were informed that while there had not been serious accidents, “there are very close calls all the time.” So when the idea of closing part of Centre Street was suggested, Lentz started investigating pedestrian malls that had been created under similar conditions in commercial corridors. Lentz said that she has always supported redevelopment over new development, where possible to save buildings and trees.

Lentz said, “Another thing I’m all about is creating public spaces for all to access. Let’s just say we closed Centre Street—I’m just visualizing this, because I’m a visual person. That space would be used for pedestrians, for everyone sitting in this room. We do it all the time and we love it for activities like Sounds on Centre, Dickens on Centre and the New Year’s Eve Shrimp Drop. I saw this new space as an attraction and a draw for businesses like the Marina Restaurant that could have outside tables for dining on Centre Street. It doesn’t have to be blocked off by a wall. It could be blocked by beautiful planters and trees. I saw this as a different kind of public space, not just the closing of a street. I also saw it as a way to redirect the traffic. I don’t know the answers. But in my mind, I didn’t want to close the door on it.”

Lentz acknowledged lack of support for her position from other commissioners. “But I think we should maybe move forward and see what our opportunities are …”

She was interrupted by loud shouts of “NO!” from the audience. She tried to continue her thoughts, but in light of disorder in the chamber, she adjourned the meeting.

The second meeting to gather public input for planning the future of downtown Fernandina Beach is scheduled for January 24, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in Commission Chambers at Fernandina Beach City Hall.

Editor’s Note: Suanne Z. Thamm is a native of Chautauqua County, NY, who moved to Fernandina Beach from Alexandria,VA, in 1994. As a long time city resident and city watcher, she provides interesting insight into the many issues that impact our city. We are grateful for Suanne’s many contributions to the Fernandina Observer.