BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
JACKSONVILLE— Keystone Heights City Manager Lynn Rutkowski has been appointed chair of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization’s Technical Advisory Committee.
The planning organization is the independent, regional transportation planning agency for Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
The 15-member TPO board is comprised of elected officials from the four-county region. Clay County Commissioner Wayne Bolla is the board’s vice chair and Clay Commissioner Kristen Burke serves on the board.
In order to receive federal highway funds, cities with populations of over 50,000 must establish an independent planning organization to prioritize transportation funding.
The primary work product of the TPO is its transportation improvement program. The list prioritizes road, transit, airport, seaport, bicycle and pedestrian projects over the subsequent five years.
Rutkowski’s panel is one of three committees that advise the board about transportation projects. The others are the Citizen’s Advisory Committee and the Disadvantaged Coordinating Board.
“We go through all the studies and make recommendations for the actual TPO,” Rutkowski said of her group.
Roundabouts and walkability
Rutkowski added that over the last year, much of the TPO’s work has focused on improvements in the St. Augustine Beach area.
Rutkowski said she sees two trends emerging in transportation: roundabouts and walkability.
“Roundabouts seem to be the go-to answer for any Department of Transportation project,” she said. “FDOT is really behind them.”
She added that the state road agency completed a major roundabout on U.S. 1 in Bunnell a couple of years ago and is now looking at a similar project on A1A near St. Augustine’s amphitheater.
“Roundabouts are not necessarily a welcomed solution for the City of Keystone Heights,” she said, “but they are definitely a solution we are seeing across the nation and within our district.”
Rutkowski said walkability projects are also being funded at an increasing rate.
“It’s not just about traffic flow anymore,” she said of local transportation planning. “It’s how do we get pedestrians around who are choosing not to drive?”
She added that the increasing focus on trails, including the Palatka-to-Lake Butler State Trail in Keystone Heights is a reflection of transportation planners’ emphasis on pedestrian projects.
Keystone Heights projects
Rutkowski said the City of Keystone Heights is seeking TPO approval and funding for two projects: improvements to the intersection of Walker Drive (State Road 100) and Lawrence Boulevard (State Road 21) and upgrades to Airport Road.
Improvements to the intersection would include the installation of mast traffic signals and a realignment of the northbound Lawrence Avenue lanes to improve traffic flow.
Rutkowski said that now, the two northbound lanes at the intersection: a left turn lane and a right turn or straight-ahead lane confuses some drivers.
The right-turn-straight-ahead lane is aligned with street parking in front of Keystone Gifts and Guns.
Rutkowski said she has even gotten confused at the crossing.
“I’ll admit it,” she said. “I’ve sat behind parked cars trying to go through that intersection.”
The city is also hoping to land funding for upgrades to Airport Road. In 2020, a TPO-funded study recommended several options for improving the road leading to the airport, ranging from $2.2 million for minimal improvements to $11.8 million for a complete realignment and rebuild with sidewalks and trails.
Photo: Rutkowski
