Alachua County has been awarded $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help fund the design of its “Paths to Opportunity” project, a Complete Streets project along Southwest 20th Avenue.
The funds come in the form of a RAISE planning grant, which prioritizes investment in areas persistent with poverty and historically disadvantaged communities.
The project stretches 0.56 miles, from Southwest 61st Street to Southwest 62nd Boulevard, providing a link between the underserved SWAG area to the county’s largest employment opportunities at the University of Florida and UF Health Shands Hospital.
Anticipated project features include separated bike lanes, wide sidewalks, and additional motor vehicle lanes, which may be converted to dedicated transit lanes as the area and transit demand develop. Additional project features may include new pedestrian crossings, transit stop amenities, landscape enhancements, placemaking/community art features, and stormwater treatment. Lastly, the bridge substructure would be designed to accommodate future managed lanes on Interstate 75.
“Numerous community members have shared that people, including caregivers pushing strollers and wheelchairs, are routinely seen traveling along the shoulder of this roadway, including at night, in dark conditions,” said Alachua County Transportation Planning Manager Alison Moss. “This is work borne out by staff observations and research. Residents of this neighborhood depend on transit, biking, and walking, and so for them traffic-separated pedestrian and bicycle facilities – such as those proposed by this project – are critical to the safety and well-being of the SWAG community.”
Funds will be used to address deficiencies impacting the Southwest 20th Avenue corridor, including the existing bridge, which lacks safe facilities for those walking or biking. Over the years, numerous people dependent on walking or biking for transportation have been struck by moving automobiles while traveling along this road, resulting in severe or fatal crashes.
The Paths to Opportunity project will engage the community to transform the road, with anticipated features to include separated bike lanes, wide sidewalks, an additional vehicle lane, a pedestrian crossing, landscape enhancements and more.
“These critical improvements will make our community safer and allow our local leaders to connect this area to other corridors that have undergone or will undergo their own Complete Streets transformations,” said Dorothy Benson, chair of the Southwest Advocacy Group.
For more information about the project, contact Alison Moss at 352-491-4574 or amoss@alachuacounty.us.
