Philips Highway: Safety Improvement or Death Trap?

[Metro Jacksonville]

Philips Highway: Safety Improvement or Death Trap?



Ever wonder why Jacksonville and the rest of Florida's major cities lead the nation in pedestrian and bicycle deaths?  Look no further than the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT) current Philips Highway project.


Full Article
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2012-nov-philips-highway-safety-improvement-or-death-trap

[Adam W]

...and they wonder why people don't ride the bus.

Things like this are designed by people who've never had to (or wanted to or bothered to) ride a bus. They put these things out there because they think "we need to have bus stops" but the thought process stops there.

[Noone]

MJ, Thanks for posting this update. I've noticed this along Philips and I was hoping there is more to this than just a slab. I remember a few years back listening to the Andy Johnson radio show and it was in the summer time and the conversation was about bus stops and it was pouring out. I was traveling up Philips and the timing for the topic couldn't have been better.
Was there a garbage can? Was there a seat? And was it sheltered?
It was gut wrenching to witness this traveling for miles up this corridor and the customers just being soaked, standing in mud. With no options. Garbage just laying everywhere. Will they be sheltered?
Aren't we just stoked beyond belief that we just awarded a golden parachute to the outgoing JTA director by a Board.
So many othe examples of abuse.
Just destroy the Public Trust.
Monuments for everyone.

[Bill Hoff]

Mind boggling.

[gedo3]

Thank you for noticing and alerting people to this.  Sadly, many times you are the only voice "in the wilderness" to warn people.  I'm hoping this isn't yet another of those times!

[Overstreet]

AND they are technically not installed correctly for a pedestrian slab. It violates everything ADA. The slope is wrong.  They have a high crown in the middle of a short run. Just look at how some of the benches sit at an angle. The forming and reinforcing is slack.......read not very  professional. It's too close to the road. Some are too close to the ditch without bulkheading or foundation(undermining errosion)  or hand rails (fall) . 

[mbwright]

I guess they never got around to building the new shelters, that were to be paid for with advertising.  something about visual blight?  But it is OK to completely wrap a bus? 
I think your assessment of those that are doing the designing never actually using the product.  It's obvious there is no oversight, or review.  It will be much cheaper to do it correctly, than payout for an ADA lawsuit.

[Ocklawaha]

...and they wonder why people don't ride the bus.

Things like this are designed by people who've never had to (or wanted to or bothered to) ride a bus. They put these things out there because they think "we need to have bus stops" but the thought process stops there.

Sorry to disagree with you Adam W. but historically "they" don't "think," at least not in Jacksonville.

I've been looking at the BRT score card site and find it interesting that a couple of the items that increase the score of a BRT system are:

(The obvious) sidewalks
(The easily done) a pedestrian and bicycle trail the length of the project
(The low scorer) do nothing at all

From this we can get a pretty good idea of what BRT is going to look like in Jacksonville.

[Josh]

How embarrassing.

[cline]

So during design did someone from FDOT think to themselves "This will be a great idea, we're going to make Philips Hwy pedestrian friendly!" or was this simply an afterthought.  It's pretty sad.  I would imagine it is a joint JTA-FDOT idea?  I would also like to know how much having sidewalks installed would cost in relation to the total cost of the project?  Better yet, what would that cost be in relation to the Overland Bridge project? 

[tufsu1]

FDOT has interpreted some new Federal rules on transit as such....if you have a transit stop with just a sign, you can get away with nothing more...if you have amenities of any form (be it a bench, trash can, bike rack, shelter) than the stop must be ADA accessible.....but here's the catch...only the stop itself has to be....so notice that one could access each concrete pad by riding the wheelchair along the shoulder of the road.

I'm guessing that's the motivation behind this awesome effort!

[thelakelander]

Is the shoulder going to be considered a bike lane once the resurfacing is done, like it is further south on Philips?  If so, what happens when the cyclist and 70-year-old lady with a walker meet?

[tufsu1]

Is the shoulder going to be considered a bike lane once the resurfacing is done, like it is further south on Philips?  If so, what happens when the cyclist and 70-year-old lady with a walker meet?

not sure....but FDOT directive now is to consider signing shoulders as bike lanes wherever feasible

[jcjohnpaint]

Now those are some very attractive bus stops

[Bridges]

Are you guys kidding me?  Them some real fancy bus stops!  Heck, they even have a slab of concrete and all.  Just imagine catching the bus on Roosevelt just south of Timuquana. 

50 mph, no sidewalk, and NO slab.  Hope it didn't even rain the day before. 

http://goo.gl/maps/28Z9U