Streets for People / City to Begin Work On Making It Easy to Bike to Lower Keys Shuttle and Enhancing Bus Stops from Marathon to Key West

Posted on November 4, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on November 4, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

July 24, 2023 – As the City is now making steady progress on installing these facilities you can track that progress here: http://bit.ly/kwracks or on the project page: http://bit.ly/finalmi

Imagine you live on Big Pine, Summerland, Cudjoe, Sugarloaf or any of the Lower Keys between Marathon and Key West. You’d like to grab the Lower Keys Shuttle into town for work or an event. But you live a mile from the bus stop on U.S. 1. You aren’t up for the walk to the stop and research says most people will only walk a quarter mile or two to three blocks to reach transit. Perhaps you could ride your bike but there’s no place to park it when you get there. There’s no map and schedule information at the stop, no way to hail the bus when it comes by and no other amenities at the stop that indicate customers are valued. So, like most people, you just drive. Well, at its Tuesday meeting, City Commissioners adopted a series of construction and engineering contracts and an additional new funding grant with FDOT to help remedy this problem. 

Starting in a few weeks, construction will begin on a $1.4 million “Final Mile” project that will install bicycle racks and bike lockers, map and schedule information, hail or flagging devices, trash and recycle bins, lights, and even some bicycle fix-it-stations at 74 bus stops, including all of the Lower Keys Shuttle stops, and some of the most used Duval Loop and Key West Transit stops. 28 of the bus stops are in Key West and Stock Island and the other 46 are in the Lower Keys up to the end point of the Lower Keys Shuttle route in Marathon. Once started, the entire project should take six months to complete. Wow! All of this is part of an ambitious effort by the Mayor and other leaders, backed up in the Strategic Plan, to make using public transit easier, relieve congestion on our increasingly clogged Overseas Highway and help our beleaguered workforce deal with the high costs of owning and operating a car to get around. Mayor Teri Johnston said this investment in public transit is “progress!”

City Snags Federal and State Monies to Do Good Things

In a story last year, City to Make It Easier to Bike to Lower Keys Shuttle, August 20, 2021, we discussed how Alison Higgins, the Sustainability Coordinator wrote an application where the City received a $510,000 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) grant via the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) for this Final Mile project. The City started the planning process and KCI Technologies completed the designs which were then put out to bid for a construction contract. The lowest “responsible and responsive” bid received was for $992,268 from Coral Construction Company. That’s $400,000 over what was available to construct the project.

Given the City’s distance from the mainland, another BID proffer wasn’t likely to bring in lower cost vendors. So, Transportation Coordinator, Ryan Stachurski wrote a supplemental grant for the difference of $437,268 to FDOT. Mr. Stachurski was quick to credit Kelly M. Crowe, P.E., Engineering Department, Carolyn Sheldon, Senior Grants Manager, and his predecessor Tim Staub for helping him get the grants, planning and construction contracts done. FDOT came through with the money and the City Commission just accepted FDOT’s additional funding Tuesday. At the same meeting they gave a contract for $992,268 to Coral Construction Company to commence work. As part of the agreement with FHWA and FDOT the City needed to hire a firm to do construction engineering and inspection (CEI) and that $198,142 contact was awarded to RS&H, Inc. on Tuesday also. The funds for this part of the work were allocated from the City’s Transportation Alternative Fund – where monies come from a small portion of parking revenues. Altogether the project totals $1,410,951. Of that, two thirds of the money is Federal/State and one third City. We commend City staff for leveraging local money for larger pots of State and Federal dollars and gaining a much more impactful project.

Ryan says of the project:

“This is great news both for people who live and for people who work in Key West. This is a big investment in facilities that help to provide a transportation alternative for commuters who are unable or choose not to pay for the high cost of car ownership.”

The First and Final Mile Problem

The grant and project are named, for what in transportation planning circles is called the First and Last or Final Mile problem. It is about the difficulty of getting to the bus stop in the first place, when one lives beyond the usual quarter mile walking shed. Conversely, it is also about traversing the last or final mile when the bus lets you off at your destination. From Marathon to Big Pine and all the islands in-between, including Stock island, many of our homes are well beyond a two or three block walk. Putting bicycle racks and lockers at all the stops, increases the potential radius each stop can serve.

Bike to and From the Bus: Space for 292 Bicycles in Racks and Lockers

As the Lower Keys Shuttle is popular, the two bicycle racks mounted to the front of the buses are often full early on in the run, leaving people who hop on outside of Marathon with no place to put their bike. Fights have been known to break out for the coveted spots. Installing bicycle racks and lockers at the stops will address this and allow more people to access the shuttle bus. 60 stops are getting 121 Inverted U bicycle racks that can accommodate 242 bikes. A dozen more stops are getting 24 bicycle lockers that can accommodate 56 bicycles. That’s 292 bike parking spaces in total or 292 potential additional customers per day.

Hail Lights or Flagging Devices at 43 Stops

Many stops along the Lower Keys Shuttle that have enough right-of-way have standard bus shelters. The newer ones, installed in the last couple of years, have solar powered lighting so they can be seen at night by the bus driver and customers. On parts of U.S. Route 1 it can be dark. With this in mind, 43 stops that are in the darkness are slated to receive bright LED “hail lights” or “flagging devices.” A customer presses a button on the pole and a solar powered light on the top, shines to alert the bus driver someone is waiting at the stop.

Map and Schedule Information At All Stops

The bus stop is an opportunity for passersby or people that live nearby to see map and schedule information at the stop and then they may be more included to use the service if they need it. We’ve written in the past (The Sorry State of Key West Bus Stops – We Just Don’t Care, April 2, 2021) about how Key West Transit has failed to provide easy to read map and schedule information about where the bus goes and when it is coming next on all its routes. This project will remedy this oversight.

Trash and Recycle Bins At All Remaining Stops

Many of the bus stops along the Lower Keys Shuttle route already have trash and recycle bins. Those that don’t will be slated to get them. 

Bicycle Fix-It Stations Near 17 Stops

Nothing is more frustrating to a bicyclist than a flat tire, loose gears or a basket that is falling off. Or just a tire that needs a little more air. While Key West and Stock Island have a bunch of wonderful bike shops, that isn’t necessarily so for the entire Lower Keys. So having a convenient place to fix one’s bicycle helps keep people going. A fix-it station includes all the tools necessary to perform basic bike repairs and maintenance, from adding more air to the tire, changing a flat to adjusting brakes, bells, and accessories. The tools are securely attached to the stand with stainless steel cables and tamper-proof fasteners. Project leaders explain that the 17 fix-it stations will go in public areas near bus stops but not directly on U.S. Route 1 for safety reasons.

City and County Must Double Down on this Good Project and Invest in Increasing Frequency on the Lower Keys Shuttle

More of us living in the Lower Keys and ever more visitors mean our mostly two-lane Overseas Highway is increasingly clogged. Getting more people to use the Lower Keys Shuttle helps all of us. The Final Mile project is a good investment in getting more people to use public transit. The bicycle racks broaden the reach of the service. The simple amenities of lights, a place to sit, trash and recycle bins and map and schedule information, go a long way towards telling existing and potential customers that they are valued, and increased ridership can be a result. City staff should be commended for foresight and follow through in making this happen. And especially in leveraging City dollars to get Federal and State monies.

But City and County leaders need to double down on this worthy project with an even bigger investment in increasing the frequency of the Lower Keys Shuttle buses. Currently there are only 10 trips inbound and 10 trips outbound daily, averaging between one and a half and two full hours between each trip. The City and County should make the commitment that next year that frequency should be hourly and a year after that every 30 minutes. That kind of reliable frequency coupled with the new bus stop amenities could actually move the needle on more people using the system. That will help fight congestion and more importantly save working people money. If people can depend upon the service maybe some households can get rid of one car and really save some cash. This will help make our islands healthier and happier.

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You can find all the KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Progress on Five Historic District Projects Means More Life, Locals, Prosperity, and Resiliency for Our Downtown 

Posted on October 21, 2022     1 Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on October 21, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the City’s Strategic Plan spurring a lot of stuff getting done this year on affordable housing and sea level rise. But what’s really caught our attention are a series of five long talked about but little advanced downtown projects that Planning Director Katie Halloran, with help from the Mayor, City Manager and Strategic Plan Coordinator, have quietly been pushing forward. Key West citizens have long discussed and tried to grapple with refurbishing Mallory Square, revitalizing Duval Street, renovating the historic Diesel Plant, building housing on the 3.2-acre Bahama Village site, and cleaning up Clinton Square for years, if not a decade or more. The recent history of each is strewn with false promises, hopeful beginnings, and dashed dreams. 

And yet now, because of the accountability built into the Strategic Plan, all five of these are finally progressing. These actions, all happening in quick and overlapping succession, with plenty of resident focused community input, are giving us a synergy to bolster our entire historic downtown commercial district. That’s win, win, win. More prosperity for our downtown Mom-and-Pop shops, a more locals focused destination for residents, and enhanced experiences for visitors too. Let’s take a look at where we are on all five of these, hear from some downtown locals and discuss why each of these projects are important for our future.

Residents Put Downtown Projects in Strategic Plan. Strategic Plan Accountability Spurs Action on Projects

In developing the City’s Strategic Plan last year about 4,000 residents were surveyed. Locals said they want the City to address affordable housing and sea level rise as their top two priorities. But they also wanted more pedestrian friendly streets and named Duval Street (#1), Mallory Square (#3), and the Diesel Plant (#7) as top of the list projects they want to get done. These three projects along with the 3.2 Acre Housing Development (The Lofts at Bahama Village) (#8) and Clinton Square (#13) are all top 15 projects in the Plan. Including it in the Strategic Plan is ensuring that there’s been accountability to get these projects started and moving forward after years and years of nothing but talk. 

The accountability starts with Mayor Teri Johnston’s earnestness in getting these projects in the Strategic Plan and her tenacity in getting a Plan done. It rests with City Manager Patti McLaughlin’s ability to lead an unwieldy City Hall bureaucracy to action. But it also includes the fact that Teri and Patti hired Elisa Levy to not only write the Plan but to help implement it over the long-term. For more on the specific mechanisms for accountability in the Strategic Plan read: “The Mayors’ Strategic Plan is Helping the City Bureaucracy Get Stuff Done,” September 16, 2022. 

Here’s what we know about the five projects:

1 – Clinton Park Square

At the August 16 City Commission meeting, project Albie Balliu presented a history and plans (video of her presentation and PowerPoint slides) for the triangle park in front of the Customs House next to Mallory Square. The obelisk monument at its center was erected in 1866 by the Navy to honor those fallen in the Civil War. The area has long been neglected and had off and on parking and drive through issues as no one seems to know if it is okay to drive onto or not. Park or not. It’s even become a waiting area for Uber pickups. There’s no seating, little lighting, you can barely see the monument through the foliage and well it really isn’t much of park.  That’s all going to change very soon as the City will create an historic park area with bench seating for sitting and gathering, poinciana trees for shade, lighting, historic markers, wayfinding and more. 

The project has received all of its approvals from the Tree, Parks and Recreation and HARC commissions, engineering drawings are almost complete, as are bids for construction. Building is expected to get underway before the end of 2022.

2 – Mallory Square

Mallory has long been the center of Key West maritime history. From anti-piracy operations in the 1820’s to hub for the wrecking industry soon after and then a long period as a place for storage of goods being transferred via ships at the port. In 1961, the City and the Old Island Restoration Foundation (OIRF) restored and repurposed the little used area as a center for community gatherings. The spot became famous in the 1970’s for the now iconic Sunset Celebration. The current windswept brick pavers and drab landscaping were put in during the late 1980’s. For the last decade plus people have talked about improving the area because it looks run down and neglected and is only really used a few hours every day. At the Mayor’s direction, last year the Planning Department held public workshops with tenants and residents and conducted a survey to get input on how to improve the Square and surrounding area. 

What they heard and shared via a compact Vision Plan was: 

• Create a program/vision to keep people in the square throughout the day, 
• Build connectivity to surround properties, 
• Improve lighting and safety, and
• Provide seating, shade, landscaping, and signage.

With this in mind, the City hired the world renown Boston based planning and urban design firm Sasaki – “Better design, together” – in March to develop a Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square Master Plan for the entire Mallory Square district including Meson De Pepe, Historic Tours of America, the Waterfront Playhouse, the Cultural Preservation Society and the Key West Art Center. Here’s how the City’s Planning Director, Katie Halloran describes the progress: 

“The Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square Master Plan is in full swing, and Sasaki is the City’s consultant leading the project, including the public engagement work. The first online survey has just closed but the website will be live throughout the project for the public to check on progress and provide feedback https://mallorysquare.engage.sasaki.com/. Now, Phase 1 public input will guide the consultants as they develop two design concepts for the public to review. On December 9 Sasaki and City staff will be at the Christmas Bazaar at the Customs House and at Sunset Celebration on December 10, to gather input on conceptual master plan features. The second survey (not yet released) will provide a virtual opportunity for the public to provide feedback on the two conceptual master plan concepts.”

The best summary of this process and most thoughtful recommendations on what we’d agree that we’d like to see as a result is Linda Grist Cunningham’s excellent article: “Key West’s Mallory Square | What Happens When History, Nostalgia and Cash Collide?” September, 24, 2022, on her Key West Island News blog. Give it a read.

3 – Keys Diesel Plant

The former Keys Energy Diesel Plant, a complex of five decaying buildings in Bahama Village near the entrance to the Truman Waterfront was built in the 1880’s. Keys Energy owned it and ceased operations in the 1970’s but did nothing with the property, letting the buildings deteriorate. They gave it to the City for free in 2016. In February 2019, after an RFP process, the Key West Art and Historical Society (KWAHS) won a bid from the City to stabilize and redevelop the buildings into a multi-use cultural facility. That fell through during COVID as KWAHS was dealing with just keeping their other properties afloat. 

Last summer (2021) the Rams Head group, who manage the Key West Theatre, Coffee Butler Amphitheater and Rams Head Southernmost restaurant, provided an unsolicited proposal to redevelop the property. They proposed a microbrewery, multi-use flex space, walking museum, outdoor courtyard & playground, culinary & brewing programs, and a coffee shop. Their presentation was so well received that Commissioners Lopez and Weekley voted to accept it. But the rest of the Commission said a new RFP should be put out so there would be some competition. However, there were no responses to that RFP that was broadcast in May and due in July. That’s how we got to today.

Gary Volenec, City Engineer/Interim Director who heads this project says it will be the spring before a new RFP hits the street soliciting a potential developer. But in the meantime, the City will endeavor to demolish buildings 3B and 5 and begin some preliminary stabilization as soon as possible in advance of, and to help facilitate, construction of The Lofts at Bahama Village (the 3.2-acre site). The 3.2-acre site is immediately adjacent to the Diesel Plant property. And in redoing the RFP the City hopes to find ways to garner more interest from potential developers. Doing some of this initial work, should help.

4 – The Lofts at Bahama Village

The 3.2 acres of City-owned land in Bahama Village has been talked about since the 1980’s when the U.S. Government gave it and the land that is the Truman Waterfront Park to the City. It’s complicated and sad history that after many fits and starts is finally heading in the right direction. Late last year the non-profit A.H. Monroe won an RFP process to develop a much-needed affordable housing project on the site. On January 18 of this year Key West citizens agreed to lease the land to A.H. Monroe for 99 years, making them eligible for various grants to help offset project costs. 

According to the Planning Director “The project has been to the Development Review Committee and the Tree Commission and will be on the Planning Board agenda next on its way through the City of Key West review and approval process.” When I contacted A.H. Monroe’s Executive Director Scott Pridgen this week he said:

“Currently The Lofts are going through the Planning Department process and should be ready for permitting to start construction by April 2023 and opening by October 2024. The project will give Bahama Village residents more housing opportunities downtown.”

Everyone agrees we need more affordable housing for workers. Putting 126 units and 300+ residents smack dab in the middle of downtown is even better. More full-time people living downtown helps create a more local focused vibe that’s good for our historic district. And because it is downtown the new residents will be able to walk, bike and take transit to get around. *

Says Paul J. Menta of Key West First Legal Rum Distillery and head of the Shop Mom and Pop Key West group: 

“Keeping locals living locally in Key West has many advantages such as it keeps the local economy going as they buy at Mom-and-Pop type places, they have options to bike or bus to work and they add to the ambiance of Key West by having locals walking around with tourists. Sounds funny but when you travel you want to shop and eat where the locals are!” 

Exactly!!!

*We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that although we’re fans of more downtown housing for local workers, we’re flummoxed by the City allowing a mainland building style and insisting on an overabundance of surface car parking at the expense of landscaping and amenities for the new residents. Especially when there is so much empty parking on adjacent properties. We hope the City fixes this and recommend the article: “Too Much Surface Parking at the Lofts Is a Wasteful Use of Valuable Downtown Land,” February 3, 2022. 

5 – Duval Street

Mayor Johnston ran on a platform of revitalizing Duval Street in 2018. She initiated the Mall on Duval pilot project in 2019 and the discussion about the pros and cons of that led to the release of a Duval Street Revitalization Plan RFQ in late 2019. At the time Mayor Johnston said:

“We all love our main street and want to see it prosper and bring our community together. Mall on Duval brought locals downtown who haven’t been there in years, promoting a conversation about what improvements need to be made, including widening sidewalks – they range from 8 to 18 feet – and adding planters and benches, shade, and water fountains.”

 After a long selection process a vendor was selected and a contract signed in November of 2020. And then the selected vendor ran into some trouble with their principles quitting. Rather than simply select another firm from the qualified list the Planning Department chose to take additional time to put out a whole new RFP because in the interim they’d learned that if the RFP and subsequent contract followed some State procurement procedures the City would be eligible for Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) funding for the project. And low and behold, staff secured a $500,000 DEO grant to pay for the effort. So, putting off hiring a vendor was worth the wait. Of the new revised RFP, the Planning Director said in late 2021:

“The scope of work for the Duval RFQ includes mobility planning, civil engineering, historic preservation, landscape architecture, and public facilitation. One major goal of the plan is to revitalize the corridor in a way that promises resilience to climate related risks, particularly to sea level rise. This may also include working with local businesses to assist with economic resilience. This revised RFQ ensures we are meeting our DEO grant requirements, and is more directly tied to resilience, in addition to revitalization – making the street even nicer to look at and more comfortable for pedestrians.”

The new Duval Street Economic Corridor Resiliency and Revitalization Plan was broadcast this past March, proposals were due in June and a Duval Steering Committee after review, ranked the firms on October 4, 2022. Katie Halloran says, “The next step will be for the City Commission to review the finalists and approve the City’s partner firm before the end of the year. Once the finalist has been chosen the City works to negotiate the contract with the firm and the project begins.”

I asked local Truman Annex resident and community volunteer Ray Warren what his thoughts were on the Duval Street project:

“Duval Street desperately needs shade, seating, and green space. Other than the somewhat neglected, and highly commercialized, pocket park at the far end, there are no such spaces along the entire length of the street. Even Manhattan has parks, and in many places, park benches.

More locals would venture downtown, and support downtown, if it were seen as a place to gather, people watch, meet friends, or socialize, instead of merely being a utilitarian way to go indoors and be cut off from the street.

I know that property along Duval is extremely expensive. But, in addition to little parklets that might be obtained by reducing on street parking, the City should actively be on the lookout for lots that might be attainable for a fair price. Ideally not by condemnation, but by simple negotiation. 

Yes, many of the buildings are historic and protected. But not all of them really contribute to the historic nature of downtown. Imagine something like Duval Square, but instead of being a purely private commercial space, imagine it was a shady oasis open to the main street. 

One burned out business has remained in ruins for basically 5 years or so. An opportunity like that should be grabbed for green space. I don’t think it’s going to be built back and its original form.”

The upcoming community process on Duval Street will give voice to Mr. Warren’s thoughtful ideas and provide all residents and the business community an opportunity to share ideas and contribute.

Past articles on this project include:

• Duval Street Revitalization Moves Forward, June 10, 2020
• Duval Street Revitalization Help Sought Via RFQ, December 10, 2020
• Duval Street Revitalization Project Brings Hope to Downtown, December 28, 2020
• The Week Donkey, Whataboutism, Bathwater and Duval Street’s Future, February 19, 2021
• Eight Things We Can Do to Pedestrianize Duval and Still Allow Cars, March 6, 2021
• With Duval Street Revitalization Plan Way Behind Schedule, Here’s 3 Quick Wins for Pedestrianizing Duval Street Now, July 16, 2021
• Duval Street Revitalization Back on Track, October 1, 2021

Why Proactive Planning Is Needed

We mentioned the survey and Strategic Plan above because every time we start to talk about these projects, the leave-it-aloners, naysayers, whatabouters and stop-trying-to-change-Key-Westers whine that nothing needs to be done. On the contrary, time and time again, the majority of residents have said otherwise. Change happens whether you plan for it or not. Proactive planning means the people, not just moneyed land interests and big corporations get a say in that future. So, we encourage everyone to keep participating in these planning processes.

Why the Convergence of These 5 Projects Is Good for Downtown

Clinton Square Park starts construction this year. The planning process for the Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square Master Plan is well underway and will be complete in May of 2023. Then building out that vision will begin to take place. Interim work on demolishing structures that can’t be used and shoring up structures that will be used for future redevelopment of the Diesel Plant will start in the coming months and then a solicitation for a developer will take place next spring. The Lofts at Bahama Village are expected to start construction in the spring of 2023 and be open for residents 18 months later. After a decade+ of talk, THAT’S a lot of progress that City Hall should be proud of because it will strengthen our downtown.

Here’s what our Mayor, Teri Johnston said a while back about these projects:

“I’m anxious to get the Duval Street revitalization project moving and want it to address sea level rise. Our City Planning Director Katie Halloran has such an incredible long-term vision for our community including the connectivity between Mallory Square, Clinton Square and our three unique environments of Duval Street, Petronia Street, and our Diesel Plant. Our plans will address the needs of generations to come.” 

I asked downtown small business advocate Paul J. Menta what all these projects mean for downtown. Here’s his response:

What does it mean and why is this important for downtown/the City that all of these projects are finally starting to gel? 

“It means we have a Mayor and commission who are working with departments to see all these things through. It’s good to see all on the same page preserving history but also making use of areas for our visitors and locals. It’s adjusting to the future. 

We have areas like Duval Street and downtown that could be better used for all. Keeping it more green and more accessible is better for visitors and keeps a look and feel of downtown. I wish they would bring the electric trolly back! Looking at our history, Duval has changed serval times in the last 150 years, this is one of those times. Clinton square needs to be cleaned up so people can use it and see the history. The future is to keep our historic island look and if HARC’s rules are followed on improvements, that’s what it will be…improvement.”

Anything you are particularly excited about?

“I am excited to see more space available for small mom and pop future entrepreneurs. 1 or 2 people being able to start up a small business in order to be able to afford to live here is really important. Example, using Mallory during the day for “lunch at Mallory Square” would enable people to use the space for lunch (not getting in the way of sunset celebration ever!) and this could be a new business area for locals to have carts and all have different foods and some gifts to sell. You could do this 10 am – 2 pm with limited carts and local business vendors and they could still work and evening job if desired to have the income needed to afford to live here.

We need to make places as well for future businesspeople to offer services we send out to the mainland or buy online in city spaces that people can do a startup business with and make money. The future is our residents to work and make an income to be able to live here, no answer on housing being so expensive, but making enough money to afford it doesn’t hurt!”

These five projects are important for our future. They’ll make downtown nicer to look at, more comfortable for people and resilient in the face of climate change. As Paul’s pointed out it is an opportunity to bring more locals downtown, emphasize our history and help our local Mom-and-Pop businesses. But we’ll let the Mayor have the final word as she sums it up best:

“We are enhancing our public spaces for our residents and guests alike so that we can continue to be a quality community and a world class destination.”

Amen.

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You can find two years’ worth of KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Improving Lazy Way As a Great “Shared Street” Can Set the Stage for More of the Same Around Our Historic Downtown

Posted on October 14, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on October 14, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

On Tuesday night I walked in one minute late for a 5:30 public workshop about improving Lazy Way expecting to find a few people outnumbered by City staff and instead couldn’t find a chair in a standing room only meeting that had maybe 60+ people crammed around tables of appetizers and water (I was really hoping for beer) and sitting in plastic chairs surrounding a makeshift rostrum set atop a pool table on the second floor of Schooner Wharf. Despite the absence of beer, this was not your average City Hall meeting venue.

 A who’s who of top-level City staff attended including the City Manager and Police Chief, along with Commissioner Jimmy Weekley, and representatives of most of the Key West Historic Seaport businesses and a few nearby residents too. Why were all these people here to talk about Lazy Way – that iconic little one-way street that runs between William and Elizabeth Streets and parallel to the Harbor Walk? Well, because someone had made the daring suggestion, although no one will admit it anymore, that Lazy Way might be a good candidate to be a car-free or mostly car-free street. And we know if there’s one thing in Key West that will draw an audience, it’s talk of change. Especially if it involves our God-given right to drive our cars anywhere, we want. 

But any notion that Lazy Way would become car-free was quickly put to bed by Commissioner Weekley, City Manager Patti McLaughlin, Transportation Coordinator Ryan Stachurski and Strategic Plan consultant Elisa Levy. Each echoed the other saying Lazy Way is a “shared street” that includes vehicles today and that was NOT going to change in the future. Rather, the meeting was about hearing ideas on how to make Lazy Way safer, especially for pedestrians, function better and maybe even more beautiful, not about banning cars. This seemed to take the air out of most of the audience, who came prepared with arguments against any sort of car-free nonsense – although that didn’t stop them from taking up lots of time saying so anyway. 

Mr. Stachurski gave a very informative presentation on what exactly shared streets are and provided a bunch of examples on what it takes to make a good, shared street. Ms. Levy then commanded the people in the room, who really just wanted to talk about how much they needed vehicle access along Lazy Way, and actually wrangled a least a dozen good ideas from a wide variety of participants on how to make this little street even better. The audience seemed to nod their head in agreement in liking many of them. The Fire Department representative and Police Chief said they saw no problems with the ideas. And lo and behold, it seemed as if mostly everyone was on the same page and was talking about how we make Lazy Way more pedestrian friendly, while allowing cars. This is important because getting it right here can set the stage for making more pedestrian friendly shared streets or shared street blocks or segments throughout our historic downtown. We’ll spend a little time below discussing what shared streets are, some of the ideas that came out of this workshop and tell you about next steps.

What’s a Shared Street?

A shared street is a street that is shared by pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars as equals. Although cars are allowed, they are restricted to walking speeds, say 5 mph, with the onus of responsibility for safety on the car driver. Calming features let vehicles know they are guests. People on bicycles cede the right of way to people that are walking. Instead of dividing a street with barriers like curbs, sidewalks, and bike lanes – where each user has their own space, everyone uses the street simultaneously and cars are forced to drive slowly. 

There are examples of this all over the world, especially in Europe. One of the best examples many of us know about is Commercial Street in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Mr. Stachurski suggested in his presentation that some of the calming features or furniture could include art, bike racks, benches, planters, tables, and chairs and treating the road with pavers or bricks or even painting it the with fun colors or art. All these things signify to cars that they are someplace different and although welcome that they are the guest and need to cede the right of way.

Why a Shared Street Rather Than a Car-Free Street Is Okay

Many citizens have said they want some car-free streets around downtown. A survey of residents for the City’s Strategic Plan backs this up. But we’ve been talking about car-free streets in Key West for decades and nothing gets done because of the all or nothing approach. Let’s think about how we accommodate:

• Access for delivery vehicles
• Access for vehicles for seniors, people with mobility or ADA issues that need to be dropped off at the door
• Taxis, Ubers and Lyfts
• Hotels, inns, and business with access off the street
• Police, fire, and emergency vehicles

The majority of those who attended the meeting were from the business community and most of them said their customers needed vehicle access to the street for all of the reasons above. And they were adamant that they’d vigorously oppose any regular closing of the street. A shared street allows vehicles for these uses. You might say these are “authorized vehicles.” But because on a shared street the speed limit is 5 mph and because pedestrians and bicycles are in the middle of the street, it discourages through traffic that doesn’t have a purpose to be there and it helps pedestrianize the street.

On the other hand, Sue Huffaker, a resident who lives nearby told me after the meeting:

“My main theme is: NO CARS!  It’s such a narrow little lane, no room for sidewalks, with a pleasing, restful, old-fashioned atmosphere to it.  Make it even more beautiful and playful and fun—which means, no vehicles! I love the idea of prettying it up with strings of lights, planters, artworks, etc.  and even benches. “ 

So, shared streets are a great compromise between these positions.

More about shared streets from the Urban Street Design Guide by the National Association of City Transportation Officials and from the Global Designing Cities Initiative. 

And here’s an article we did on the subject a while ago: Eight Things We Can Do to Pedestrianize Duval and Still Allow Cars; March 5, 2021.

Some Ideas from the Lazy Way Workshop

Lazy Way is already a good shared street. Not a lot of vehicles use it and those that do seem to sense they are guests and need to be extra cautious. But the question put to the audience of mostly adjacent business owners is can we make it better and safer. Ideas included:

• Wayfinding signage showing how to get to the Harbor Walk
• “Authorized Vehicles Only” signs
• Better signage/paint in street indicating it is a one-way street
• Signs saying slow down or indicating the speed limit is 3 mph
• More and better organized bicycle and scooter parking
• Pavers or imprinted asphalt that looks like brick rather than black road
• String lights over the street as it is dark at night
• Painting the street in a design or with art
• More benches, tables, and chairs

All of these are good ideas that would make Lazy Way safer, function better and more beautiful. Win, win, win.

Next Steps On Lazy Way

At the meeting Elisa asked participants to take their sticky dots and put them next to the ideas they really liked. Everyone got up to 3 dots. Blue dots in the pictures are from people representing businesses and all the other colors are residents. It looks like signage, string lights, organized bike/scooter parking and painting the street were the most favored ideas. City staff is going to take these and follow-up with the Director of Engineering, Ryan, Patti, likely Police and Fire and possibly Commissioner Weekley to verify the initiatives to put forward for Lazy Way. They’ll create a timeline for an action plan to get these things accomplished in the coming months.

Here’s what Ryan Stachurski the City’s Multi-Modal Transportation Coordinator said after the meeting:

“A lot of people are very passionate about Lazy Way and really want the best for their community! Many tenants voiced their concerns about regular street closings, but did like some ideas such as improved signage, improved bike and scooter parking, and cafe / string lights to brighten the area at nighttime. I hope we can deploy some of these shared-street ideas and bring them to other areas of Key West as well.”

Key West Residents Want More Pedestrian Friendly Streets

In the 2021 survey of Key West residents that led the City’s Strategic Plan, “traffic and pedestrian friendliness” ranked 16 out of 18 City services. It was the third most complained about topic after housing and road repair and in 3 focus groups of teachers, parents, and workers, the #1 request was more pedestrian friendly streets. Addressing Lazy Way is just the first step in giving the residents what they want.

Getting Lazy Way Right Can Lead to More Shared Streets Around Downtown

Pedestrian and bicycle friendly streets bring more customers to our small Mom and Pop shops. They are better for our environment and our health. They are more equitable in using our community’s resource – the street itself – for everyone, not just private car owners’ convenience. Residents want more of them. They are one of the reasons tourists come to love the places they visit because they can get car-dependent places on the mainland. Shared streets or blocks may be the best way to compromise between the all or nothing approach of car-free streets. By getting Lazy Way right, by making it more pedestrian friendly, safer, functional and beautiful we can set an example for other places downtown, like parts of Petronia Street, Duval Street and perhaps Fleming or Southard to name a few. 

What the meeting on Tuesday night at Schooner Wharf showed us is that we here in Key West CAN come together and reasonably agree to move forward on a project if we agree to listen, learn, and not talk past each other. Here’s looking to a more walkable and bikeable downtown – that would benefit all of us.

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You can find two years’ worth of KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Ian’s Lesson: Key West Infrastructure Needs to Be as Resilient as Its People

Posted on October 7, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. Featured picture by Ryan Stachurski. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on October 7, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

Last week Hurricane Ian seemed to surprise some of us. Especially those who weren’t here 17 years ago during Hurricane Wilma when 60 percent of Key West homes took on water. As evidenced by my Facebook feed, many folks were startled as heavy rains, King tides and a 3–5-foot storm surge combined to bring rising water into their yards and homes from Bahama Village, Casa Marina, Midtown to New Town. But the shock was quickly shrugged off as Key Westers realized people were in need and responded promptly by helping their neighbors with water, food, and shelter and just a day after with clean-up, demolition, and rebuilding. 

The generous and resilient spirit of our Key West community is unrivaled and unlikely to ever fail us. It’s in our DNA. It’s embodied by One Human Family. But we need to double down on making our infrastructure and homes just as resilient. Fortunately, the City’s Strategic Plan addresses Sea Level Rise front and center. And the County is even further ahead addressing Climate Change and sea level rise in a big and comprehensive way with multiple plans to achieve resiliency. Rhonda Haag, the County’s Chief Resilience Officer tells people, “We can extend our stay on this island chain. But only if we act!” But to act, we all need to be willing to chip in a little more money to leverage State, Federal and private dollars and get stuff done. Now that most of us have dodged another bullet, it is not the time to deny the problem, push it down the road or selfishly leave it to another day and future generation to fix. 

We’re fortunate that we’ve got an able team of people at the County and City who have already started the hard work of collecting the data, doing the engineering work, and putting plans in place to save our home on these islands. We’re further ahead than most other communities in Florida. But we need to trust the science, pony up some money and political will and get to work. Let’s explore what’s happened, what the plans are and why it’s important we act now. Ian just reminded us we can’t wait.

Facebook Explodes With Surprise

We rented a car and decamped Key West the Monday morning before the storm to head to Port Charlotte on Florida’s SW coast to be with my in-laws during the hurricane. The eye of Hurricane Ian passed directly over their house on Wednesday. Although the winds were downright scary pounding against the shutters, luckily, they live far enough inland, so we didn’t have to deal with storm surge or rising waters. They had no damage other than downed trees and no electricity for almost 10 days. Everyone is safe. Many of the neighbors in their community didn’t fare so well. I only bring this up to tell you that I didn’t get to witness any of what went down in Key West firsthand as we didn’t get home till Saturday night. I learned it all via Facebook. At least when we could get cell service on our phones. Just a small sample of what I saw online:

Tue Sept 27 8:07 pm JD “Welp, there we go. Just lost power in Midtown.

Tue Sept 27 9:45 pm ED “Oh boy.” (referencing picture below)

Tues Sept 27 10:03 pm RW “Key West was sort of blindsided by the ferocity of the storm. Near hurricane winds for six hours.”

Tue Sept 27 11:01 pm JSP “We are evacuating Riviera Dr as the water is up to our door. Be safe everyone.”

Wed Sept 28 12:17 am CM on Laird St. “Our house is flooding. F You iAN. But we are all ok”

Wed Sept 28 12:26 am JL on Staples Ave. “Well. I’m fucked. Could use a hand.”

• LB “As are we. Flooded.”
• EW “Flooded”
• CLM “We’re flooded on Riviera. Bailing has become futile”
• WT “Flooded on Riviera”
• MG “Flooded here in Smurf Village

Wed Sept 28 12:44 am KL “Flooding over here at Virginia and Amelia. It’s almost up to the houses. There are at least seven cars that have water all the way up to the windows. Not looking good for some people.”

Facebook and Local Media Explode With Locals Helping Locals

What struck me as soon as the shock wore off that we got more than we bargained for with Hurricane Ian was how quickly Facebook exploded with locals helping locals. Key West is a generous and resilient bunch! Here’s a tiny sampling:

Wed Sept 28 9:55 am CM “Eric, Harper and I are safe. We got some water in the house, but we went to a friend’s house who have power and are higher up. I learned a lot from this storm.”

Wed Sept 28 3:40 pm RM “Please if anyone needs help with anything please let me know. I am ready and able to help.”

• FS “That is the Key West Way!!”

Thu Sept 29 8:35 am Jack Norris “Recovering from the storm? Walk in clinic for community tomorrow, September 30, 2022. If you cannot pay me, don’t. Details in video. We are a community. We stand as One Human Family.”

Thu Sept 29 10:04 am CM “Big should out to the City workers out here getting the streets cleaned up get back to business.”

Thu Sept 29 1:45 pm JR “This is an open post for anyone to post what they NEED and what you HAVE. Let’s band together and to what this island does best and help each other. Clothes? Sheets? Furniture? How can we help?” 

• KKB “I’d love to volunteer to help anyway I can. I’ll have 2 kids in town but can help deliver food, organize, etc.
• LNA “A few sets of queen size sheets. Pillow shams. Dog bed.
  • JS “Can I have the queen sheet? Thank you, JS,”
  • LNA “Yes, I’m in Midtown. I’ll pm my address.
• …198 comments total

Thu Sept 29 6:36 pm JL “Lord. You people deliver when asked for a hand. Beyond grateful for the myriad of help today. I’m humbled. I couldn’t find everyone to tag, but know I love the hell out of you.”

Sat Oct 1 12:52 pm PJM “A lot of people are looking for a way to help out with the people who were flooded, especially in the Bahamas Village area that was really put underwater and other areas of the island, here’s a way you can help out. FEMA and the state might have forgotten about us but we’re going to take care of each other. Links to Bahama Village & Key West Family Flood Relief GoFundMe page.

Sun Oct 2 7:53 pm JDA “They’ve already started gathering supplies over at Off the Hook in advance of their big collection event on Tuesday to help those displaced by the Flagler fire. They are looking for clothes, towels, etc.”

Mon Oct 3 5:33 JW “If you need a free meal today, tomorrow and Wednesday stop by the Fredrick Douglas Community Center gym 3-6.”

And the Keys Citizen on September 30 highlighted locals helping locals: saying “…Key West City Commissioner Clayton Lopez, who represents Dist. VI wasn’t waiting for help. Thanks to assistance from the SOS Callahan Community Kitchen, the MLK Scholarship TrustGlad Tidings, Key West Housing Authority and Pual Menta of Key West Legal Rum Distillery, Commissioner Clayton Lopez started assisting his constituents with hot food and water at the Douglas Gym. First meal 7 am Thursday where the team prepared enough food for 400 people.” The story goes on to discuss Paul J. Menta’s efforts to help via the GoFundMe pagehe set up.

Our One Human Family Is As Resilient As Ever

Here’s how Mayor Teri Johnston put it:

“Key West weather events bring out the best and the worst in our Community.  I am going to focus on the majority of our community who put their needs aside to rush to the aide of those less fortunate. The outpouring of assistance to our Bahama Village Community was heartwarming. 93 homes managed by our Key West Housing Authority suffered significant storm surge impacting many of our most vulnerable residents. Paul Menta, United Way of the Florida Keys and Collier County, the Tom Callahan SOS kitchen and City staff were on site providing resources needed to sustain and recover. Key West Housing Authority Executive Director Randy Sterling and team worked tirelessly coordinating new appliances, mattresses, and repairs to get his residents back into a livable home.  

Homes In New Town, Midtown and Old Town took on first floor storm surge flooding of their homes. Sigsbee and JIATF have reported storm damage. The City deployed our emergency debris removal trucks and damage assessment teams, both on the ground and via drones, while our firefighters battled 5 local fires that gutted another 17 housing units. An emergency damage assessment hotline was set up to gather data for recovery.

My phone rang constantly from generous residents asking where and how they could help. Federal and State elected officials reached out to help.

Yes, One Human Family lives on in Key West.”

So, we know the Key West spirit is strong, but what about our infrastructure?

Resilient Infrastructure: We’ve Got a Plan for That – City of Key West Strategic Plan

Just a few weeks ago we discussed how the City is making great progress on implementing its Strategic Plan (The Mayor’s Strategic Plan is Helping the City Bureaucracy Get Stuff Done, September 16, 2022). Number 2, just after Workforce Housing is addressing Sea Level Rise because residents told the City this was a top priority. I asked Elisa Levy, who led the effort to write and is also tasked with implementing the City’s Strategic Plan, what’s happening regarding Sea Level Rise and here’s what she said:

“Major initiatives ongoing and planned for resiliency in Key West:

1 – Long Term Climate Change Plan and Vulnerability Assessment: This is the most impactful measure we could do long term both on nuisance flooding and Sea Level Rise. We have received a grant from Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and have prepared the RFP for the Vulnerability Assessment. We’re just waiting for FDEP to complete their side of the paperwork/approval, and we are ready to go. 

The Vulnerability Assessment will take about 6 months, and that will lead us to a long-term Climate Change Plan. The plan provides us with major CIP (Capital Improvement Program), road elevation, structural elevation, and hardening efforts in order of importance and urgency. It involves much more than that in terms of “green” (natural) and “gray” (industrial) measures we can use to live with the water (move the water through the island more quickly and where we can harden).

2 – Hardening & Utilities: We are making significant improvements in flood zones throughout the islands. If you look back at the video (and memos) from the Utilities Director at the last Commission meeting, you’ll see several specific projects mentioned along with the number of homes that will be helped through these efforts.

3 – Roads: We are beginning a Preventative Maintenance program on our roads this fiscal year. I believe the damage from the salt water/flooding plays a significant role in road degradation.”

Resilient Homes: We’ve Got a Plan for That – City of Key West Comprehensive Adaptation and Resilience Implementation Plan

The City’s Sustainability Coordinator Alison Higgins gave an “Adaptation Update: Resources for Residents: Wind, Flood, Energy” presentation to the City Commission on Thursday, October 6. The presentation is chock full of good information for homeowners. Take a look. Better yet, go to the City’s website and check out the video of her presentation by clicking Agenda and Minutes and clicking on the video for Item 3 in Presentations of October 6.

Resilient Infrastructure and Homes: We’ve Got a Plan for That – Monroe County Addresses Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

We did a story this winter (We Can Adapt and Save the Florida Keys from Rising Seas, March 5, 2022) on the absolutely amazing efforts that Monroe County has been embarked on for almost a decade regarding making the Florida Keys more resilient in the face of Climate Change and sea level rise. I say amazing because Monroe County is further along in addressing these issues than any place in Florida and most places in the U.S.A. I asked Rhonda Haag, the County’s Chief Resilience Officer some questions this week and here’s her generous and thoughtful response:

1 – How has the Plan progressed since we last chatted in February? 

“The County’s Roads Adaptation Plan was finalized and presented to the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners in June 2022. Half of the County’s roads are vulnerable by sea level rise by the year 2045. The estimated price tag to adapt and elevate those roads to mitigate the effects of rising waters to the year 2045 is $1.8 Billion. That does not include road adaptation efforts required in the City of any of the Keys other municipalities, they are now completing their own road adaptation planning efforts. In August 2022 the County submitted 15 grant applications for road elevations to the State under its Resilient Florida program with a price tag of $380 Million. The top 3 of those projects totaled $87 Million and included a 50% match of $43 Million. The County is soon to break ground on its two pilot road elevation programs in Twin Lakes in Key Largo and the Sands neighborhood in Big Pine Key.”

2 – What lessons should our local leaders at the City and County take away from this past week’s experience with Ian? 

“As catastrophic and tragic as the effects were from Ian in Florida, imagine how even more catastrophic and tragic it could be when future storms hit when the levels of the sea are even higher. The projections from the SE Florida Climate Compact call for up to an additional foot of sea level rise by the year 2045. That means there could be higher levels of storm surge and even stronger wave impacts from storms.  That’s why it’s so important for the City and County to move forward with implementation of their various resilience plans and not wait. Not only can the effects of storms be mitigated, but the daily lives of residents will be enhanced as they will be able to go to and from their homes and businesses without suffering the effects of the rising seas, they are already experiencing on many area roads during the King Tide season.”

3 – What can we as individuals do with our homes to be more resilient in the future?

“If someone is looking to buy a home, a home located on a higher ground elevation area will be more resilient than one in a low-lying area. Second, if a resident owns a ground level home, it can be elevated to protect against flooding. The County and cities throughout Monroe County are participating in multiple mitigation grant programs to assist homeowners with elevating or reconstructing their homes, including the FEMA flood mitigation grant program.  Also, the Florida Keys Coastal Storm Risk Project is a partnership between the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the County and municipalities and contains plans for potential elevation of more than 4600 ground level homes throughout the Keys at a cost of $2.3 Billion. If funded, this project would provide 65% federal funding of those home elevations, with 35% coming from the homeowners themselves and other local sources. Third, follow the regulations, they exist for a reason. If a resident owns an elevated home, and the ground floor is required to have breakaway walls, don’t fortify those walls. If a storm surge comes through those walls they are meant to break away, allowing the support columns to continue supporting the home above. If the lower walls don’t break away, the surge and wave action puts stress on the walls and those support columns, potentially causing partial or full collapse of the columns.”

4 – Anything else you’d like to add?  

“The County and City are well ahead of the rest of the State in planning for sea level rise, and all of the other Keys’ municipalities are undergoing similar resilience planning work. County and Municipal officials have generously helped lay the pathway for this work, supporting it and authorizing staff to complete plans for long term resilience. What’s needed now is implementation of those plans, recognizing the fact that sea levels continue to rise. Implementation is expensive and there aren’t enough grants to fund all of the work. Everyone will need to contribute, including residents and business owners and even our visitors. Also, County and City leaders and officials working together hand in hand with state and federal officials to maximize assistance and resources will be key. Private resilience efforts are just as important. Only then will the Keys be better protected from the effects of climate change, including future hurricanes.”

We Can Adapt Our Infrastructure and Homes to Be As Resilient as the Key West Spirit and Extend Our Stay on This Island Chain. But Only If We Act. Now!

Hurricane Ian has brought home an important lesson that we’re likely to be dealing with similar weather events more frequently from here on out. We are a generous and resilient people, where locals help locals. But we can’t rely on that alone in the face of Climate Change and rising sea levels. We need to make our infrastructure and homes as resilient as our One Human Family spirit. 

We have amazing teams of people at the County and City who are diving into data and best engineering practices and putting in place plans that can extend our time living on these islands. But it is up to us residents, our Key West business community and our City and County Commissioners to find the will to figure out how we raise billions of dollars over the next 25 years to make these plans a reality and thereby extend our stay in Paradise.

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Links to Resources

• Monroe County Green Keys! Website
• Monroe County Sustainability Action Plan – 5-Year Work Plan (2016)
• Monroe County 2013 Climate Action Plan
• Keys Roads Plan – Monroe County Roads Vulnerability Analysis website 
• Monroe County Sustainability Office, Rhonda Haag, Chief Resilience Officer
• Rhonda’s consultant team: HDR as the prime; Wood Engineering; Erin L. Deady
• Monroe County Roadway Vulnerability Analysis and Capital Plan PowerPoint presentation 
• Roadway Vulnerability Study and Capital Plan February 23, 2022, Public Workshop video (all County videos here)
• www.firmkeys.org
• www.floridarevenue/energystar
• https://www.keysenergy.com/keys-rebate-program/
• https://www.keysenergy.com/energy-surveys (Energy Audit Request)
• City of Key West Notify Me and subscribe to “Strategic Plan – Key West Forward, Sea Level Rise, Adaption
• U.N. IPCC Climate Change Report

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You can find two years’ worth of KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / The Mayor’s Strategic Plan is Helping the City Bureaucracy Get Stuff Done

Posted on September 16, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on September 16, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

Key West has a reputation for muddling along and well, let’s face it, not addressing the big things. Decades later we wonder how our problems got so bad. Think our lack of affordable workforce housing, our crumbling roads and sidewalks, traffic and parking congestion, our moribund transit system, and withering on the vine projects such as Duval Street, Mallory Square, and the Diesel Plant. Not to mention major vulnerabilities such as sea level rise and our degrading environment just to name a few items. When she first ran for Mayor, Teri Johnston called that out and said we can do better. So, she set out to develop a strategic plan to tackle our problems head on.

In 2020, just as the pieces were put in place to get a plan going, COVID happened. Her team pivoted and instead began with the Key West Recovers COVID Recovery Plan – a 17-point business and humanitarian plan for 2020-2021. This got the ball rolling and jump-started the help our local businesses and community needed to come out of the shutdown running. And boy did we. Next, after a huge resident survey, many stakeholder and community meetings and impressive participation from the City Commission and staff, on September 17, 2021, Key West Forward – The Strategic Plan for the City of Key West 2021-2024 was officially adopted. It was quite an achievement. For the Mayor especially. And then a very unlike Key West thing happened.

We actually started implementing the plan. No really! I see you snickering. It wasn’t put on a shelf in the finest Key West tradition as most plans seem to have been. Rather, this Strategic Plan includes mechanisms for ongoing accountability and implementation. It’s become a regular, couple times a week check in point between Mayor Johnston, City Manager Patti McLaughlin, and Strategic Plan consultant Elisa Levy, and lo and behold one year later, the City Hall bureaucracy has been roused and focused and lots of stuff has gotten done. All those problems mentioned at the top are being addressed – and that’s a formidable list. With the resulting momentum, the next couple of years look even more fruitful. That results in a better Key West and hopeful future for all of us. Let’s look at why this is important, what’s been accomplished and why the plan is succeeding where past plans have failed. And let’s celebrate some good government happening here because of three key leaders.

Elisa Levy – The Linchpin in Ensuring the Plan’s Implementation

In the summer of 2020, after a six-month RFP process, Elisa Levy Consulting was hired to guide the City with the development of a comprehensive strategic plan. She and her firm brought with her two decades of international conflict resolution and private business development with Fortune 500 companies, small hotel chains and restaurants. Ms. Levy’s selection was a stroke of good fortune that we should all be thankful for. 

In watching Ms. Levy conduct meetings with the community and business interests, give presentations to the City Commission and other organizations or observing the caring and patient nature she takes in encouraging City staff, one is taken with her charming and grounded presence and power to command a room. She has an ability to include and consider all voices at the table, and skill at keeping the ball moving forward. No small task when our Key West table is often a buffet full of naysayers, whatabouters, leave-it-aloners, and NIMBYS. Most of all one notices her passion for our little island and enthusiasm for its people and our future. THAT is why she is the linchpin that holds this entire project together. 

That, and the fact that the Mayor and Manager were smart enough to hire Ms. Levy not just to put the plan together, but to continue the journey as the project’s ongoing coordinator to help ensure it gets implemented.

Why Is a Strategic Plan Important? “If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, You Might Not Get There.”

A strategic plan is important because when it is done consistently and held to, year after year with the folks that matter up and down the line, it helps hold an organization accountable to get the right things done. I admit, I’m a fan of these and used them for 20+ years with great results. So, I admire the work done by Elisa Levy with the City of Key West. I asked her why this is important, here’s how she responded:

“Cities need a strategic plan in order to make sure they tackle their biggest priorities. Without one, we tend to get lost in the daily minutia without taking into account the greatest concerns like sea level rise, and housing. I often go back to the Yogi Berra quote “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might not get there.” I once heard a lecturer say, “many people know how to make a living, but they don’t know how to make a life.” I think that statement applies to a community as well as an individual. As a city, we to tend to put out fires daily and make “a living” but we mustn’t lose site of the big picture and the needs we have for the future. That’s what a strategic plan does. It looks beyond the daily “living” and addresses the “life.”

Says Mayor Teri Johnston in answer to the same question:

“Our Strategic Plan gives us all direction to most effectively utilize our resources both financial and human. Our plan requires that our Commission agree upon the entire community’s most important goals. This is sometimes challenging because each of our 6 Commissioners represent the competing interests of their individual districts. Our Strategic Plan encourages us to collectively support the most important projects for the greater good of our greater community.

Our 3-year Strategic Plan also provides a road map for our City Manager to most effectively utilize our 525 city employees who are also challenged to meet the competing needs of our community.”

What’s In the Plan?

The Key West Forward Strategic Plan is built on the back of a lot of listening to the community. A survey of almost 4,000 residents identified major issues of concern, prioritized capital improvement projects and showed which City services and amenities needed improvement. From this data six priorities emerged:

1. Workforce Housing
2. Sea Level Rise
3. Roads and Sidewalks
4. Environmental Protection
5. Cleanliness
6. Traffic & Pedestrian Friendliness

Focus groups were then conducted on each priority to seek solutions to the problems identified for each in the survey. Each priority is then broken down into goals and then a series of actions to meet each goal that includes a time frame for accomplishing the action, persons responsible for overseeing the action and funding and/or personnel needs for each action. As one scrolls through the document one comes away impressed at how simple, concise, and easy to follow the document is.

In addition to the goals and actions for each of the six priorities there’s a Major Projects section identifying 14 capital projects including Duval Street Revitalization, the Crosstown Greenway, Mallory Square, Bayview Park, KOTS, the Diesel Plant and more. There’s a Communications Plan to ensure ongoing updates are being shared with the community and an Internal Plan for the City Employees. 

The Engine of the Strategic Plan is the Master Calendar

The engine that makes the Strategic Plan work is the Master Calendar for Operational Plans. It is a year-long document that is broken down by month beginning with the first month of the fiscal year. Each major action or project from the Strategic Plan is broken down by month into bite size pieces that identifies the action to be taken, the date for the action, the person overseeing the action and a status that is updated as things happen. The overseer of the plan (Elisa Levy) meets with those identified as responsible regularly (weekly, monthly) to make sure things move forward according to the timeline. This is updated almost every month and is distributed to the Commission and staff.

A Lot Has Been Accomplished In Just One Year

I witnessed Elisa provide an update on the Strategic Plan at the Key West Business Guild’s luncheon on September 7. Her presentation was warmly received and showed much progress. Everyone came away impressed. For example, in the past year the City has accomplished:

Priority 1: Workforce Housing

• Started 304 units of REAL workforce housing (Garden View Apartments on College Road, The Lofts of Bahama Village, Poinciana Village)
• Started addressing vacation rentals and zoning
• Hired Demetria Simpson as the first ever Director of Housing & Community 
• Conducted Bahama Village Home Ownership Course 
• Held special election on referendum for use of 3.2 acres of City land for workforce housing
• Selected developer for 3.2 acres in Bahama Village (The Lofts of Bahama Village)

Priority 2: Sea Level Rise

• Road Elevation (LiDAR Data) contract approved to begin September 28 (explanation)
• A grant has been forwarded to Florida Department of Environmental Service (FDEP) and then an RFP can be let in October for a Climate Action Plan or vulnerability assessment

Priority 3: Roads and Sidewalks

• Designed a GIS interactive map of roads/streets for the City website
• Road Elevation (LiDAR Data) contract approved
• Allocated 10% of $3.5M for roads to go to preventative maintenance for the coming year

Priority 4: Environment:

• Completed a successful compost pilot
• Completed checklist for DRC on solar energy options
• Prepared a package via Waste Management to all residents on proper waste removal
• Updated Stormwater and Sewer Master Plan
• 3 City employees certified in LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design

Priority 5: Cleanliness

• Identified a leader, Marge Holtz for Keep Key West Beautiful Adopt a Spot and 30 organizations/people adopted spots (so far) to keep clean
• Mayor’s Beautification Committee started and meeting monthly
• Publicized City’s “Key West Connect” app and went from receiving 20 notifications from residents a day to 175 on trouble spots
• Hired 2 new Code Enforcement Officers to oversee proper disposal of waste

Priority 6: Traffic & Pedestrian Friendliness

• On-Demand Key West Transit Pilot vendor (Via Transportation, Inc.) selected 
• RFQ for Recreational E-Vehicles Study broadcast on 3/30/22. Proposals due 5/18/22 and now under evaluation
• 100 new or revitalized bike parking spaces have been created
• Wickers Trail segment of Crosstown Greenway plans have moved forward to the point where the project should happen in the next 12 months
• Interim Duval Loop signs installed with QR codes
• Final Mile Bike Parking Facilities RFP broadcast on 6/3/22. Proposals due 7/6/22 and now under review.

Capital Projects:

• On 5/25/22 broadcast RFP for Keys Diesel Plant Stabilization & Redevelopment. Proposals dues 7/13/22 and now under evaluation
• On 3/22/22 broadcast RFP for Duval Street Economic Corridor Resiliency and Revitalization Plan. Proposals due 6/8/22 and now under evaluation
• Awarded Sunset Celebration/Mallory Square Master Plan to Sasaki Associates, Inc. and process now underway 
• Selected developer for 3.2 acres in Bahama Village (The Lofts of Bahama Village0

If you follow us, you know that we’re particularly excited about the progress on the Traffic & Pedestrian Friendliness actions as well as on four projects that we wrote about at the beginning of the year: Mallory Square, Diesel Plan, Duval Street Revitalization and Bahama Village Housing Projects Create Synergy to Bolster Downtown; January 14 2022. As we said at the time:

“We’ve been grappling in fits and starts with Mallory Square, the Diesel Plant, Duval Street and Bahama Village housing projects for years. The recent history of each is strewn with false promises, hopeful beginnings, and dashed dreams.” And now, finally all four projects have vendors tasked with bringing them about. THAT’s great progress!

Why is the Strategic Plan Succeeding? 1. A Trio of Leaders Who Get Stuff Done

The easy, short answer to the question of why the Strategic Plan is succeeding is because of Teri Johnston, Elisa Levy and Patti McLaughlin. 

The Mayor deserves credit because she pushed back on the skepticism that embarking upon doing a strategic plan was a waste of time because past plans had never been implemented. She challenged that by saying this time there would be accountability and oversight. And she enlisted her fellow commissioners and a broad swath of residents and the business community so that it was a genuine team effort. So, it all starts with the Mayor’s groundbreaking vision and passion for the project that we’ve written about here and here.

When I asked Elisa why she thought the plan was succeeding she basically answered Teri and Patti, saying:

“a. Listening to the community… b. A person in charge of accountability and oversight and c. Leadership’s support. The first two points would be irrelevant without the support of key people in leadership. I work very closely with Patti on a weekly, even daily basis. She is apprised of everything we do. When I need to push something forward, or we get stuck on an issue, she is willing to go to bat for it. The same goes for the Mayor. She believes wholeheartedly in the plan and comes back to it time and again on and off the dais.” 

She went on to add:

“I am in touch with Patti probably more than she would like! We communicate many times per week depending on what we are working on according to the strategic plan’s calendar. She is so busy, but finds the time, even if it’s late in the evening or on the weekends (which is often the case!) As per our city’s form of government and the Sunshine Laws, I try to be diligent about communicating with the entire Commission when need be (and not the Mayor alone.) I present to them quarterly and we have two workshops per year on the strategic plan. I send email updates when I feel there is something they might want to know. That said, the Mayor is such a big proponent of the plan, that she will sometimes reach out to me to ask questions about specific initiatives and offer help. She pays very close attention to the calendar and the budget. She and the City Manager are the plan’s greatest “Champions.”

When I asked the Mayor, she essentially said the answer was Elisa and Patti, expanding: 

“I have worked closely from the inception of our Strategic Plan, and I can tell you that our success to date is attributed to our Strategic Planning Consultant Elisa Levy who has been relentless (in a positive way) requiring that we are all accountable for the commitments that we all made towards achieving our plan. Elisa and our City Manager have worked tirelessly to fold in all our 525 employees to make sure that each of them understood the plan and how they individually contributed to the success of the plan.”

We talked about why Elisa Levy is a linchpin to the project above. But none of this happens without the ability to mobilize the City department heads and rouse the staff to action and that’s the doing of City Manager Patti McLaughlin. 

In a story we did last year on her promotion, civic leader and Parks and Rec Board Member Roger McVeigh said this:

“Having closely watched Patti in action in her most recent role as Acting City Manager for the last 90 days, it is difficult to ignore the new direction and substantial progress the City has made in seeking and planning solutions to many unfinished legacy City problems. Legacy problems such as workforce housing, sea level rise and climate change, homelessness and reconstituting KOTS, overall city cleanliness, completing Truman Waterfront Park, rethinking Mallory Square, Duval Revitalization, Key West Connect, Bayview Park revitalization and public transit and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure are all in various stages of being addressed in a meaningful way.”

A look at the above accomplishments’ in the last 12 months underscores Roger’s words. Patti gets stuff done. 

All three credit each other – that says a lot. 

Why is the Strategic Plan Succeeding? 2. Accountability

When I’ve discussed various projects with staff over the last year in writing stories for this column, they all mention that this or that project is in the Strategic Plan and that their boss is holding them accountable for moving the ball forward. It demonstrates that all staff are accountable for helping achieve the Strategic Plan goals and actions. 

Here’s how Elisa Levy answers the question of why it is working:

“Having a person in charge of accountability and oversight. Our city staff members are overloaded, and we too are suffering from a labor crisis. Strategic plans require a person not already mired in the daily work of their jobs to create a master calendar with a budget attached to EVERY item. The plan must be monitored on a weekly and even daily basis. That’s not because people in City Hall aren’t doing their jobs. It’s because they are! They are so busy with the day-to-day, that someone outside of their departments needs to manage the process. It’s true for us all in life. We tend to focus on what’s urgent, and we don’t always get to what’s important. 

My role is to be the city’s “accountability coach” (or pest?) and make sure that we stick to the calendar, line by line. It’s a daily job. I meet with each department head on the plan every other month to review what they need to do according to the calendar. I then communicate with them weekly and daily if we are working on an item on a deadline. Because we are short-staffed, I often take on some of the more logistical work that needs to get done. The staff is the “brains” of the plan, and Patti is in charge, but I can and help with the non-technical parts to push things along. I told them when we launched the plan that if I push them too hard, they should tell me, and I’ll try to back off a bit. So far, so good, I think. They are spinning many plates, but I think we have managed to stay on track with some of the most important priorities in the plan.”

After the trio of leaders, this I think is the crux and what makes the experience of this Strategic Plan different from the past. Everyone was smart enough to realize that they needed to keep Ms. Levy on the payroll and help implement the plan. And it’s working.

Why is the Strategic Plan Succeeding? 3. It’s the People’s Plan

Mayor Johnston told me one of the reasons for the Plan’s success is because “This is the people’s plan – developed directly from community input.” I like that. Elisa said something similar in citing the success saying it lies in “listening to the community.” She went on: “Many strategic plans are written by a small group of well-meaning people. The key to a good plan is community engagement. The survey we did in January 2020 to launch the plan had almost 4,000 responses. That effort was paramount but even that wasn’t enough. We followed up with focus groups on each priority to seek solutions to the problems identified in the survey. The plan, I hope, belongs to our community and therefore it matters to them.”

The Strategic Plan Is Making Our City Government Work Better

Elisa told me: “In times of status quo, a strategic plan is a good idea; in times of crisis, a strategic plan is essential. We are in crisis. We are on our knees with a new level of housing/labor shortages and increasing threats of sea level rise. We simply can’t afford to live without a plan.”

To her point about housing/labor, one of the items that stood out in reviewing the latest version of the Master Calendar was how often the status had a note that said, “We don’t have the staff to follow through right now.” The elephant in the room is that every department is short staffed. Which makes the Strategic Plan’s first year success, more noteworthy. And with fewer personnel, it helps to have them focused and on mission all the more.

There’s no question the Plan is concentrating the Manager, department heads, and staff on what’s essential – the six priorities that the people really want, and not just responding daily to the loudest complainers in a game of whack a mole as bureaucracies tend to do when they aren’t pointed in the right direction. As citizens, we should all acquaint ourselves with the Plan and hold our leaders to account for getting these things done. They’ve given you permission to say, it’s in our Plan, so we expect you to do it. That’s the beauty of the Plan and Master Calendar. It is a tool to make our little island government work better and keep us all on the same page. Here’s how the Mayor puts it: 

“Our plan provides measurable goals and timelines for our 6 strategic objectives which shine a light on our most effective, productive employees who are eager to take on more responsibilities. This is the peoples plan having been developed directly from community input. During our 2^nd year of implementation, I look forward to checking off accomplishments and keeping this plan a living, breathing document that reflects the needs of our community.”

Hear, hear! And because of all this the next year does look bright indeed. When you see our Mayor, City Manager or Elisa Levy, thank them for doing such a great job for all of us.

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You can find two years’ worth of KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Wreckers Cay and County Need to Do Better By New Residents Who Want to Ride Bikes Between Stock Island and Key West

Posted on September 2, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on September 2, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook, Twitter and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

With the first of 280 units at Wreckers Cay on Stock Island set to receive their initial residents on September 15, Monroe County, and management at Wreckers Cay, despite some good intentions, have let us down. The result? Expect more car traffic through the Triangle. The saying goes that we get the transportation behavior we build for. So, if we construct a housing development with ample and covered car parking that treats bicycles as little more than a cheap afterthought, how can we expect people to invest in decent bikes that can make the 5-mile trek to downtown and back every day? 

Research shows an optimal time to get people to try alternatives to driving are when they move into a new home. Planning officials and the developer should be laying out the red carpet for bicycles, e-bikes, and e-scooters to show residents that bicycling is a favored method of getting around. Instead, they’ve installed outdated and hard-to-use bicycle parking outside and exposed to the elements. Proper industry standard, resident bicycle parking should be placed under the building, protected from the weather. It should include security cages surrounding the bikes, especially for higher end bicycles. And ideally there should be electric outlets at the bike parking for recharging e-bikes and e-scooters. Rather, the entirety of the space under the first to be occupied buildings are striped for and include curb stops for only car parking. It’s so mainland, car-centric Florida values that don’t belong on our little islands.

If we hope that at least some of these new 600 or so residents will use a bike instead of driving a car across the Cheryl H. Cates Memorial Bridge to Key West for work, shopping and play we must treat bicycles as a priority and that starts with good parking at the home end. The developer and County still have some time to get this right. 

More Housing Means More Traffic Unless We Make the Options Better

The 280 homes at Wreckers Cay start occupancy in less than two weeks. That’s just the start of what will eventually be 667 new units coming online on Stock Island. There’s a lot of concern about traffic, especially along U.S. 1 because visitor traffic is increasing too. Public transit between the islands is awful and we don’t know when Key West Transit’s new on-demand transit will start or when it does if it will prove adequate to the task of being frequent and reliable enough for people to count on it as a commuting option. And while the County is discussing their own on-demand transit service with a private vendor, it is only in a conceptual phase. So, with the County and City behind the eight-ball on providing transit options in time, we really need some people to use their bikes.

To the Historic Seaport or the middle of Duval Street it is a 4.7-mile, 25-minute bike trip via the Promenade along N. Roosevelt Boulevard or a 5.3 mile, 30-minute bike ride via the safer Crosstown Greenway route through the middle of town. That’s doable for many. It could be done a little quicker and easier by electric bike, likely matching the 13 – 19 minutes Google Maps says it takes a car to go to the same places. And with e-bikes and e-scooters perhaps even more people would consider doing so.

A couple months ago we examined 10 Things to Make It Safer to Bike from Stock Island to Key West. While we discussed multiple needed infrastructure fixes along the routes, educating drivers to slow down, discounting e-bikes for new residents and putting more regular bike parking downtown, #1 on the list was convenient, covered and secure bicycle parking at the new Stock Island housing developments. That’s because people want a dependable ride. Leaving a bike outside and exposing it to the elements makes it more likely to break down or even get stolen. A well taken care of bike is more likely to get ridden. 

The Wreckers Cay Bicycle Parking Is Woefully Inadequate

According to the site plan for the 280 units there are 400 car parking spaces (252 in garages under the units and 148 in surface lots) and 102 surface scooter spaces. As bicycle parking isn’t shown on this version of the plan, Emily Schemper, Senior Director of Planning & Environmental Services for Monroe County told us there will be space for parking 328 bicycles on the property. On its face that seems like a lot of bicycle parking. And the project’s manager is said to be enthusiastic about what they are doing for bicycles. But these pictures show the bicycle parking recently installed in front of building #2, which is slated to have 35 units and 34 car parking spaces under the garage will have wave style bike racks out front. Ms. Schemper tells us this particular wave rack is supposed to accommodate 24 bikes. We’re doubtful.

Bicycle planners in places that are rated high for bicycle friendliness have for a couple decades now advised against installing these kind of wave racks. Experts don’t like comb or schoolyard racks either. The industry standard is the Inverted U rack which is a simple, sturdy design with each loop compactly providing parking for two bikes. The style is preferred because it can support a bike at two points to prevent it from falling over. They are easy to lock a bike to since the rack is at the center of the bike. When used side by side in a corral a single car parking space can easily hold 10 to 12 bicycles. The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) Essentials of Bike Parking: Selecting and Installing Bicycle Parking That Works guide says “Racks to Avoid” include the Wave – also called undulating or serpentine and Schoolyard – also called comb or grid racks and recommends the Inverted U – also called staple or loop rack.

Skeptical of what people in other cities or professional associations say? Then here’s what Key West’s own Ryan Stachurski, the City’s Transportation Coordinator said: 

“It’s unfortunate that even with new construction, some make the mistake to install wave racks or comb racks. I think people must feel they save money or save space on a project, but they really do neither.”

We asked Ms. Schemper about the use of Wave racks, how many bikes the wave in front of building #2 could hold and about placement outside instead of in the garage. Here’s what she told us:

“Per the site plan approved by the Planning Commission, that location was to accommodate 24 bicycles. Some buildings will have multiple banks of racks, and additional racks will be located in the pool area. Our current code does not require specifications for bicycle racks to the level of detail you have provided.”

Note: We reached out to management at Wreckers Cay. While their front office confirmed the September 15 move in date and told us the property manager would give us a call to discuss bikes because “they were very excited about all they were doing for bikes,” in the end we never received that call.

Examples of Good Multi-Family Residential Building Bicycle Parking

Progressive bicycle-friendly cities and smart developers across the country have realized the importance of convenient, secure, and dry bicycle parking in attracting more people to use bicycles for transportation. Many cities routinely provide guides and ongoing assistance throughout the building process to ensure bicycle parking is done correctly. And developers, knowing customers expect these amenities, are more than willing to go above and beyond what’s required and do the right thing because it helps their bottom line. None of this seems to be happening here at Wreckers Cay and it shows. 

Arlington County Virginia, where I use to work before moving to Key West in 2015, has for decades now both required great bicycle parking AND provided handholding to developers to get it correct. Here’s their guide. Here’s some more from Toronto, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles and little ol Provincetown. Yes, mostly big cities, but it isn’t hard to find some simple common denominators about bicycle parking for multifamily residential buildings doing a simple Google search. Even bike rack manufacturers, such as Madrax, have wonderful resources on bike storage. So, couldn’t the people at the County and Wreckers Cay do a little research?

Most places categorize parking by the amount of time the parking space is used. Short Term vs Long Term parking is one way to say it. Class 1 vs. Class 2 Parking is another. Long Term or Class 1 parking is designed for residents or employees who need overnight or all-day storage. Long term parking users are typically willing to trade a little convenience for weather protection and security. 

Short Term or Class 2 parking is usually for people going to a business or institution for a few hours. It should be easy to use and very close to the destination. It usually isn’t weather protected but is in a visible location nearby.

Examples In Key West – New Garden View Apartments; Beachside Marriott

If you’d like a decent example of what to do, let’s look at the Key West Housing Authority’s under construction 104-unit Garden View Apartments on College Road. They are putting parking for 77 bikes and 40 scooters in the garage under the units along with 61 car parking spaces. And another 58 car parking spaces outside. While it doesn’t look like the bike parking at Garden View will have bicycle cages or electric, putting them under cover and using proper Inverted U racks is a great improvement over the norm.

Also take a look at this picture of the bicycle parking Beachside Marriott has in its garage. Under cover. Check. Inverted U rack. Check. 

What Wreckers Cay Should Be Doing

Wreckers Cay, as a residential complex should have Long Term, Class 1 parking that is protected from the weather AND is secure. So proper, easy-to-use Inverted U bike racks should be installed in the garage under cover AND security provided via a locked room or cage. The room/cage could be as simple as erecting a chain link fence around the bike racks and only providing keys to those using the cage. With plenty of construction workers still on site, it should be easier to install the racks, cage, and even electric outlets for recharging now, rather than retrofitting them in later.

They should be able to fit 40 bike parking spaces if they take out 4 car parking spaces. The County should let them do this by waiving those presumably “required” car parking spaces in lieu of additional bike parking spaces.

Fix This and You Get a Better Project and Less Congestion and Parking Problems

City and County leaders have an interest in not making our traffic congestion and downtown parking problems worse by failing to provide good options and incentives for people to use public transit and bicycles with these new developments. Developers of the large-scale properties have a monetary incentive to build less space hogging car parking that also allows more room to put in residential amenities such as shade trees and landscaping, picnic tables, fire pits and grills, a playground, a bocce or pickle ball court and/or art. None of which fit now because of well, parking. The developer and County still have some time to get this right, especially as construction is still happening. But do any of the people involved, from County planning officials to Wreckers Cay management view bicycle transportation as real enough to fix it? Or will everyone default to car-centric, mainland Florida values that don’t belong on our little islands. The balls in their court and the citizens are watching.

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You can find two years’ worth of KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Staff Takes Bull By Horns and Upgrades Embarrassing Duval Loop Bus Stop Signs

Posted on August 20, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on August 20, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook, Twitter and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

Color us impressed. The City has just about completed a simple, inexpensive, and almost elegant revamp of the signage at the 18 Duval Loop bus stops downtown. Most of the bus stops now include a pink “topper” that says Duval Loop, new identifying signs that indicate the stop number, the slogan “Ride Free and Frequent” and a QR code that when scanned takes people directly to the Key West Transit live map so one can see where the bus goes and when the next bus is coming.

Research says good information at bus stops encourages ridership, improves the experience, and even makes the wait feel shorter. The new signage also communicates to thousands of daily visitors, residents, and workers downtown that the City cares, which wasn’t always the case, given the recent embarrassing condition of the signs. All because some City staff took the proverbial bull by the horns and said, enough. 

From Bad to Good In Just a Couple Months

It was just a few months ago on May 6, 2022 when we wrote this: 

“Last April 2, 2021, we began our story: “Experts say, the bus stop is one of the biggest signals, to everyone in the city, about a community’s attitude toward buses and their customers. What do Key West Transit’s bus stops say to residents, workers, and visitors? Judging by their quality and lack of information, one would have to answer: “We just done care!” Sadly, as we revisit these bus stops more than one year later, we find that absolutely nothing has changed on the ground.” 

We followed that up a month later with a June 6 article about the Duval Loop in particular sharing pictures of each disheveled stop. The mish mash of missing information and absent signage exhibited a total lack of care on the City’s part. There was no consistency. Seven of 15 stops were missing Duval Loop identification. Half the stops had orange tape over the word FREE from a time two years ago when the service tried charging a $1. Zero stops had any information about frequencies, maps or where the bus went. It was a disaster and an embarrassment. Some people inside City Hall noticed the mess and took it upon themselves to do something, now, rather than wait for a future fix.

With Big Fix Maybe Another Year or More Away, These Are Interim Signs

Last August 2021, we brought you the story of the City’s Sustainability Coordinator Alison Higgins crafting and receiving a $510,000 grant to upgrade the 62 Lower Keys Shuttle bus stops and 20 of the most used Key West stops with bike racks, map and schedule information, lights and trash and recycle cans. As part of the grant project the City is matching it with $465,500 for a total project of $975,500. This will enable them to redo all the Duval Loop and all other Key West stops not covered in the original application.  As the grant uses Federal and State funds a rigorous planning process for the stops must be adhered to. So, it took until June 3 of this year to get an RFP out for a contractor to do the work. We’ve heard all the BIDS that came in by the July 6 due date were over the budget set aside to do the project so staff will have to figure out how to proceed next. Even if the BIDS had come in within the funding available, officials tell us the project is slated to begin in Marathon and work its way down the Keys, so it could be a year, once construction and installation starts, until they get to Key West.

Knowing this Final Mile project has been coming for more than a year now, Key West Transit officials have been reluctant to spend any money on temporary signs. But as we’ve reported here and here, Key West bus stops have been dismal for a long time, and it is especially disconcerting, as reported here, on the City’s flagship route, the Duval Loop. So, Ryan Stachurski, the City’s Transportation Coordinator, got an idea to print some temporary signs when the City recently got a new sign printing machine. Here’s how Ryan explained it:

“With help from Community Services and working with Transit Operations Manager, Rogelio Hernandez, we were able to deploy a stop-gap Duval Loop sign refresh to help communicate the FREE service and get a virtual map into people’s hands. By scanning the QR code at the Duval Loop stops, riders see a live route map and can tell how long until the bus arrives. We already see 40 to 50 people a day using this feature.”

An Inexpensive, Simple, Even Elegant Interim Solution

We saw the signs coming off the printer in a late June Facebook post. Since then, the staff team from three departments has quickly installed new pink Duval Loop toppers (they had been ordered long ago), taken down the existing higgledy-piggledy (perhaps we’ve been watching too much The Great British Baking Show) signage and installed the newly printed simple signs with the QR code. Three of the eighteen stops aren’t being used right now because of construction downtown that should be complete in September. Of the remaining 15 stops, all have received the QR code sign and 13 of 15 have the pink topper. Here’s a link to the City’s spreadsheet tracking the progress of the refresh. Yay!

Here’s how Rogelio Hernandez, Transit Operations Manager put the project:

“The Duval Loop sign refresh was much needed, and it is just the beginning. Key West Transit believes bus schedule information should be at the palm of the riders’ hands, that’s where the QR code, which are placed on the Duval Loop stops come in to play. For those that aren’t tech savvy, Transit plans to place schedule information to include arrival times, hours of service and much more at each bus stops in the future. Special thanks to Ryan Stachurski, Multimodal Transportation Coordinator and Public work for their ongoing help with this project and future ones.”

This is what you’ll see when you scan the QR code with your phone. It is obviously working if about 50 people a day are already scanning it.

Final Mile Bus Stop or The Big Fix

When the Final Mile grant funded bus stop “big fix” does finally happen, officials hope to rebrand the stops so you know it is a Lower Keys Shuttle, Key West Transit or Duval Loop bus stop. Bike racks, trash and recycle cans, lights and even bicycle fix it stations in a few locations will be included. Each stop will also feature map, schedule, and user information on a sign(s), right on the pole, so users won’t have to use their phone. That’s the way it should be! And better yet, include the QR code for live tracking of the bus’s whereabouts.

Will New On-Demand Service Get Similar Temporary Signage?

Sometime later this calendar year Key West Transit North and South Line routes are scheduled to be replaced with a new on-demand, bus-stop-to-bus-stop service. The North and South Line stops currently have zero information or branding. Just a sign that says, “Bus Stop” and has a no parking symbol. With the big fix from the Final Mile grant more than a year off in the future, perhaps this team can crank up the new sign printing machine again, so people can get information on how to use the new service, right at the bus stop. Stay tuned.

More Ingenuity Like This Please

We applaud the staff for coming up with a nice interim solution now. Waiting another year or more for a big fix simply risked further deterioration of an already bad situation. Good for the staff on coming up with an inexpensive and innovative idea that didn’t need to be run up the flagpole so far that it got squashed by management or budget bean counters. Rather, it seems like a team of caring staff took some initiative and ran with it. We’d like to see more ingenuity and initiative to get something done like this on all kinds of little bike, walk, transit and streets for people issues around town. The drip, drip, drip of small wins will add up over time. So, let’s celebrate the little win on the Duval Loop signs. Nicely done City team!

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You can find two years’ worth of KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Key West Mayoral and District IV Candidates in Their Own Words on Bike, Walk and Transit Issues

Posted on August 5, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on August 5, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook, Twitter and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

How do we make it safer and easier for more of us to ride bikes? What can we do to fix our public transit system and make it more useful to our beleaguered workforce? Are there transportation solutions for all the new housing coming to Stock Island? Can we have a more fair and equitable allocation of the City’s right-of-way and replace some on-street parking spaces downtown to get some bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks, and pedestrian zones? Can we invest in some new (Smathers Beach and Salt Ponds) and existing (Crosstown Greenway/Wickers Field) bike trails to get people from New Town to downtown more quickly? What of e-scooters, Duval Street revitalization, and phasing out gas-powered rental scooters? If our City Hall leaders craft solutions to these questions it will help make our little island more healthy, green, sustainable, equitable, prosperous for local Mom and Pop shops, affordable, and happy. With this in mind, we put these questions to the Mayoral and District IV candidates running in the August 23 primary.

We want to thank all six candidates for City Office, Mayor Teri Johnston and former Commissioner Margaret Romero and District 4 Candidates Ryan Barwick, Lissette Cuervo Carey, Kim Highsmith, and Steven Nekhaila for generously taking the time to thoughtfully respond to our questions. 

Regular readers of our Streets for People column and followers on our Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown Facebook page know where we stand on these issues. Analysis of the answers shown here as “Column Notes” and recommendations for each office are made in the service of ensuring we have the votes on the City Hall dais in favor of bike, walk, transit and streets for people. We provide the candidate’s answers in full so you can decide for yourself. We’ll note early voting starts on Monday, August 8 at 530 Whitehead Street, #101 and runs through August 20.

The Questions:

1. Describe how you have and will demonstrate leadership in making it safer and easier for more people to bike more often? Why is this important?
2. According to the U.S. Census less than one percent of City residents use Key West Transit to get to work. What solutions do you have to improve public transit to make it useful to residents and workers? Any additional thoughts regarding serving residents of the new workforce housing complexes on Stock Island? Why is better transit important?
3. How would you align parking policy downtown with making the island a better place to walk, bike, take the bus and use some of our streets for people? For example, on-street parking spaces are often cited as a reason for not putting in bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks, or pedestrian zones. Are you willing to trade some on-street parking for these?
4. The City and County are discussing swapping ownership of Higgs Beach for a portion of the Hawks Missile site to assist the Airport Authority. One of two potential bicycle trails identified in the Bike/Ped Plan would connect the communities of Ocean Walk, Las Salinas and Seaside with a time-saving and safe bike trail behind the airport out to Government Road. Will you fight to ensure the building of these trails are part of any land swap?
5. Anything you’d like to add regarding transportation in Key West?

Lightening Round – Simply answer YES, NO, or DON’T KNOW. If you really need to expand upon any of these, please use question 5. 

• 6. Crosstown Greenway. Fan?  
• 7. Lama Electric Scooter Pilot. Fan? 
• 8. Duval Street Revitalization Plan. Fan?
• 9. Higher wages for Key West Transit drivers? 
• 10. Phase out gas-powered scooter and golf cart rentals in 5 years?
• 11. Wickers Bike Trail. City fund now or wait for FDOT funds in 2028?
• 12. Ask County to follow Bike Plan and put bike lanes on First/Bertha Streets?

Mayoral Race: Incumbent Mayor Teri Johnston and Former Commissioner Margaret Romero

1 – Describe how you have and will demonstrate leadership in making it safer and easier for more people to bike more often? Why is this important?

Mayor Teri Johnston:
“As Mayor, I will continue to prioritize dedicated bicycle lanes and complete streets on all new road construction in Key West. As we evaluate raising roads to mitigate sea level rise, every one of those streets provides us an opportunity to incorporate a complete street upgrade. As we provide safe 5’ wide community connected bicycle lanes, more locals and guests can traverse our entire island using an economically beneficial and healthy mode of transportation. This reduces parking demand, congestion, noise, and pollution levels and improves our quality of life. By providing city wide bicycle lanes, we also have an opportunity to move e-vehicles off of our narrow sidewalks improving pedestrian safety and enjoyment. “

Margaret Romero:
“a. I perceive three types of “bikers”: a) those getting to / from work b) recreational – local c) recreational – tourists. I think more education of self-bicycle safety is very important: things like no wearing of ear buds / headphones, stopping at stop signs and red lights, following the “rules of the roads & sidewalks”, not darting in front of vehicles that clearly are attempting to enter into traffic or back out of spaces. Those who bike have rights, also have the accompanying responsibilities.”
Why is this important?
“b. To prevent injuries and all of the ramifications that surround them.”

Column Note: Mayor Teri Johnston, like most national bicycling and street safety organizations, emphasizes engineering and design and a safe connected network of 5 feet wide bike lanes and adds this help get e-vehicles off our sidewalks. Ms. Romero puts the onus on educating people riding bikes to be visible and follow the rules of the road to keep themselves safe. She doesn’t mention educating drivers about slowing down and watching for bikes and pedestrians though. Nor does she mention any infrastructure fixes.

2 – According to the U.S. Census less than one percent of City residents use Key West Transit to get to work. What solutions do you have to improve public transit to make it useful to residents and workers? Any additional thoughts regarding serving residents of the new workforce housing complexes on Stock Island? Why is better transit important?

Mayor Teri Johnston:
”The solution is to provide a free, frequent and reliable public transportation system. We attempted to get this approved during our last budget cycle but due to conflicting priorities like bringing our city staff to an equitable pay level for our community we could not make it work without placing a financial strain on our taxpayers. We are combating the shortage of qualified CDL drivers by piloting an “on-demand“ public transportation system. We are working collaboratively with the County to provide public transportation for the 280 units opening at Wreckers Cay and the 103 units coming on line on College Road in 2023.”

Margaret Romero:
“a. Our transportation department is constantly collecting data and opinions to enhance their routes and times of availability. I will rely on their expertise and advice. Unfortunately, many people do not like waiting a short time for anything – and that includes public transit. Public transit is not free uber.
Any additional thoughts regarding serving residents of the new workforce housing complexes on Stock Island? Why is better transit important?
“b. Our transportation department is already looking ahead to the opening of that facility. As people take residence, I expect that their needs and requests will be taken into consideration. However, some folks just want to come and go as they please.”

Column Note: Mayor Teri Johnston rightly cites a solution as free, frequent, and reliable public transit, acknowledges the shortage of CDL drivers and provides a solution in trying on-demand transit. She also says they are working with the County to provide solutions on Stock Island. Ms. Romero seems to be saying people aren’t patient enough in waiting for the bus (and at 80-95 minutes between buses that’s a lot of patience) and that people “just want to come and go as they please.” Hmmm… we think that’s the whole point of public transit – the ability to get to work and play as needed. The kicker is scolding the public that “transit is not free Uber.”

3 – How would you align parking policy downtown with making the island a better place to walk, bike, take the bus and use some of our streets for people? For example, on-street parking spaces are often cited as a reason for not putting in bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks, or pedestrian zones. Are you willing to trade some on-street parking for these?

Mayor Teri Johnston:
“Yes, it is important to keep moving forward towards a pedestrian/bike focused downtown. Noise, congestion, and pollution would all decrease increasing our enjoyment of our downtown area. Our Duval Street revitalization is not only going to prioritize a number of mitigation projects to keep our streets dry and our storefronts from flooding, but also on creating a flexible street that can accommodate vehicular traffic and emergency vehicles when desired and the flexibility to convert to a pedestrian only corridor with wide, walkable sidewalks, seating areas, shade, underground electric and landscaping. The cafe program could certainly be enhanced for our downtown if we could utilize some evening “on street” parking spots for outdoor dining. Dedicated bicycle lanes are a must and need to be connected throughout Key West. Our visitors have been incredible opting for a bicycle, scooter, golf cart or walking over their car.”

Margaret Romero:
“a. I will make decisions based on the good of the entire community. We have to remember that streets are already for people, people who live there, do business there, as well as people who bike and walk there. I am not in favor of closing streets – whether downtown or in single family neighborhoods. Closing streets usually just results in diverting the traffic other streets not always able to handle it.”
For example, on-street parking spaces are often cited…?
“b. I am always willing to evaluate things. Both the positive and negative impacts have to be considered and what is best for the overall community.”

Column Note: The responses to this question are as stark as night and day. Mayor Teri Johnston provides a concise vision for a better downtown and Duval Street that is revitalized, resilient, flexible, and people oriented. Ms. Romero reminds us that our shared community asset, our streets, should be for cars and not equitably shared with other uses like wider sidewalks, café’s, shade and seating as Mayor Johnston mentions.

4 – The City and County are discussing swapping ownership of Higgs Beach for a portion of the Hawks Missile site to assist the Airport Authority. One of two potential bicycle trails identified in the Bike/Ped Plan would connect the communities of Ocean Walk, Las Salinas and Seaside with a time-saving and safe bike trail behind the airport out to Government Road. Will you fight to ensure the building of these trails are part of any land swap?

Mayor Teri Johnston:
“Yes, in fact that has been part of my discussions with our City Manager. We need to work closely with our County Commissioners to build the bicycle trail as proposed and utilize the land at Hawk Missile site for passive recreational uses.”

Margaret Romero:
“There are many things that need to be discussed regarding the potential swap – including what neighborhoods are affected and how, as well as the costs associated with taking over any responsibilities inherent in the swap. Bike paths will be a part of the discussion.”

Column Note: Mayor Teri Johnston says she wants to build the trail. Ms. Romero says the bike paths should be part of the discussion. That’s good.

5 – Anything you’d like to add regarding transportation in Key West?

Mayor Teri Johnston:
“Short term critical needs: 

1. Build the Key West Intermodal center on College Road to park vehicles of weekly visitors. We met with FDOT several years ago and they were very supportive and excited to move this project forward. 
2. Free and frequent (every 15 minutes) public transportation system to support our labor force in and out of Key West without a car. The current 80–95-minute routes are not effective for those trying to get to work on time. 
3. A complete network of dedicated bicycle lanes with our goal that every street in Key West should be a “complete” street to meet our multimodal needs.”

Margaret Romero:
“Yes – comments related to the YES / NO questions:
6. Crosstown Greenway – the City has already removed the “structures and features” placed as part of the pilot. So that says a lot. I don’t support planting trees on that path because it takes away parking spots in family neighborhoods that are already parking sparse,,, and it is more things for our overworked community services teams to have to maintain.
7. Appearances seem like special consideration was given to one company. Did not seem fair to others who came before them with similar ideas or a chance for a fair lottery of who might be given the opportunity of hosting the pilot.
8. Revitalization should come from the stakeholders – not the City who hires a consulting firm to change it to something the consulting firm thinks it should be. Clean up and spruce up – yes.  Duval St has its own unique character and characters. That’s why people go there.  We need to think long-term.
9. YES. as to be competitive in the marketplace and in fairness to other City employees.
10. NO what are you going to replace them with? What is the impact to all concerned?
11. DON’T KNOW – Let’s see what stays in this year’s budget planning process for capital projects, and in parks and recreation department. Then let’s evaluate based on community priorities.
12. I said DON’T KNOW because those projects appear to be relatively close to completion. Could be a case of being too late.”

Column Note: Mayor Teri Johnston nicely circles back to emphasize the need for more frequent and free transit to help our workforce and to completing a network of dedicated bicycle facilities. She also brings up moving forward on an often-discussed parking garage on Stock Island. Win. Win. Win. Ms. Romero disparages two projects we’re fond of – the Crosstown Greenway and the Lama Mobility (e-scooter) pilot project. Ms. Romero’s laissez faire approach on Duval Street Revitalization couldn’t be more out of touch with the need to invest in one of our city’s most important assets.

Lightening Round – Simply answer YES, NO, or DON’T KNOW. If you really need to expand upon any of these, please use question 5. 

	Johnston	Romero
6. Fan of Crosstown Greenway?	Yes	No*
7. Fan of Lama E-Scooter Pilot?	Yes	No*
8. Fan of Duval St. Revitalization Plan?	Yes	No*
9. Higher wages for KWT drivers?	Yes	Yes*
10. Phase out gas scooter/golf cart rentals in 5 yrs.?	Yes	No*
11. Fund Wickers Bike Trail now or wait to 2028 for FDOT $?	Yes	Don’t know*
12. Put bike lanes on First and Bertha Streets?		Don’t Know*

Who I’m Voting for Mayor – Teri Johnston

Based simply on the answers to these questions, in my estimation it must be to re-elect Mayor Teri Johnston. Add in a four-year record of steady, reliable, and visionary service and the choice is a slam dunk. Two years ago, we strongly endorsed Mayor Johnston saying: 

“The Mayor’s record and vision stands head and shoulders above her competitors… The Mayor’s vision on Duval Street and downtown, public transit, bicycle/pedestrian and parking strategies issues is as progressive, far-reaching and exciting as anything you’d see from better known “bike/walk/transit cities” that get it like Paris, Seattle, Portland, Boulder, Austin and other places we regularly showcase on the Friends of Car-Free Key West Facebook page. We hope you’ll take the time to read her responses in full because they show a breadth of understanding and a depth of knowledge not often seen by a public official who has so many other issues pressing on her at the moment.”

This is just as true today as it was two years ago. We give Mayor Johnston credit for saying the lack of bicycle facilities on S. Roosevelt and First and Bertha Streets were missed opportunities and vows not to let them happen again. And we remember that it was Ms. Romero who voted for no bicycle facilities and four through car lanes on S. Roosevelt in 2017. Ms. Johnston wasn’t even on the dais yet, so it isn’t on her. We also give Mayor Johnston credit for saying that one of the disappointments of 2021 was not being able to put more money into the transit system to get more frequency. The money went instead to $2.8M in additional salary for City workers. Towards that end she’s making sure that Key West Transit has the resources in the coming year to commence with on-demand transit and work with the County on transit innovations on Stock Island. 

It takes time to change our car-centric culture, especially as State and local engineering practice for decades has favored cars. But there are signs that things are turning around. Last November we discussed how people are thankful for a bike-friendly City. In December we made the case that 2021 was a good one for our issues, citing progress on the Crosstown Greenway, initial work on the Smathers Beach and Salt Ponds Trails, the Lama e-Scooter pilot, new City legislation on e-bikes restricting their use on sidewalks, Wickers Trail, a new and fantastic Transportation Coordinator, and developing a strategic plan that codifies a path forward on bike, walk, transit and streets for people. 

To top it off Mayor Johnston believes that Key West can be the #1 bicycling small city in the U.S.A. Here’s how she said it just last month:

“We are moving in the right direction but frustratingly slowly. As gas prices increase, this is a perfect time to offer our locals a cost-effective way to get to and from work and our guests a healthy alternative to driving which can reduce noise and congestion on our streets. I continue to be concerned about the number of our streets that are ranked “high stress” by the people who actually ride on them even after we have lowered our speed limits. Our guests are getting on bikes sometimes for the first time since they were teenagers, so it is important that we continue to improve bicycle safety throughout our island.

Having said that, we are awaiting the results from engineering on the feasibility of a one-way street grid that would accommodate a dedicated bicycle lane on each street to improve bicycle safety and reduce congestion. Unfortunately, we squandered an opportunity to incorporate “complete streets” to the long-awaited South Roosevelt Boulevard road construction project which could have taken bicycles off of the sidewalk and given them a safe, dedicated bicycle lane. Once again, we missed an opportunity to add bicycle lanes on First and Bertha. We cannot improve our bicycle safety unless bicycle lanes are prioritized at the beginning of every city infrastructure project.

The Commission voted unanimously to focus on advancing our Bicycle/Pedestrian Master Plan (circa 1996, 2010, 2019) via our Strategic operational plan by adding bike rack space for 128 bikes at bus stops via the Final Mile program by August and another 250 bikes by the end of this month, enhancing 10 intersections for bicycle safety starting in September and initiate a shared street pilot program by December of this year.

We have a perfect island to bike around. We have limited space to accommodate a great number of competing interests. We must use our space more efficiently and thoughtfully in the future.  I maintain high hopes that we are the #1 bicycling small community in the near future.”

Please join us in voting to re-elect Teri Johnston as Mayor!

Additional Information About the Candidates:

Mayor Teri Johnston:
https://www.teriformayor.com
https://www.facebook.com/TeriJohnstonKeyWestMayor

Former Commissioner Margaret Romero:
https://www.romeroformayor.com
https://www.facebook.com/romerokeywest

District IV Race: Ryan Barwick, Lissette Cuervo Carey, Kim Highsmith, and Steven Nekhaila

1 – Describe how you have and will demonstrate leadership in making it safer and easier for more people to bike more often? Why is this important?

Ryan Barwick: 
“The bicycle community is a big one in Key West. My wife and I love biking downtown and exploring the island. I believe in making it safer for more bicycles not only through infrastructure like the Wicker Trail in District 4, but through education as well. This is important to continue promoting pushing safe travel on bicycles and bringing the community together no matter what side of the isle you’re on.”

Lissette Cuervo Carey:
“In the cooler months, I walk and ride my bike to work. I also live on the bike path, so I have a real understanding of the daily challenges and use of the bike path. I have demonstrated leadership because I am leading by example and showing others it is a safe and convenient way of getting around the island, while also helping to preserve our environment. It is economical, which is most significant during a time where we are seeing extremely high costs for gas and energy. 

I would like to champion efforts to improve specific areas in my district like the parking lot and streets behind the former Kmart, improving pedestrian cross over paths for our seniors and other residents to have a safer transit to and from our shopping centers. I’d also like to consider the areas on Kennedy drive where the traffic patterns of parents dropping off their children, the workforce crossing Kennedy via the greenway as well as drivers getting to high density office buildings cause congestion and confusion at peak morning and afternoon hours. These areas can be improved and made safer. 

Lack of shade along the greenway/bike-path also needs addressing, perhaps by working with city staff to identify areas along the way that we can plant more shade trees.”

Kim Highsmith:
“My husband and I are bikers. We bike wherever we can whenever we can, despite the heat! It is rare that you will see my car downtown. District 4 is a mostly residential district. We have to make sure people can safely get from where they live to where they work downtown. I think it was a tragedy what happened to the South Roosevelt improvement plan. We could have easily added bike lanes, and green space, and yet all we did was accommodate more cars. Just sit out there during rush hour and you will notice that there aren’t that many cars that would necessitate a 2-lane road in both directions. We really missed an opportunity there and as a commissioner I won’t let that happen again.”

Steven Nekhaila:
“Currently Key West is a highly biked and walked pedestrian city by American standards, however, we also rank among the highest in pedestrian fatalities and accidents. There are several issues at hand, one is the lack of knowledge of road rules by pedestrians, the other is narrow and congested roadways shared with motor vehicles. As a motorcyclist myself, I understand just how little “cagers”, cars and trucks, see us smaller vehicles, it’s even worse on a self-propelled, quiet, and slow vehicle like a bicycle. I would be willing to work with City Management to find solutions to these safety issues including educational campaigns and infrastructure which make it safer to be a pedestrian.”

Column Note: All four candidates say things that sound friendly for better bicycle infrastructure. But Mr. Nekhaila puts the onus on pedestrians “lack of knowledge of road rules.” Mr. Barwick mentions Wickers Trail, infrastructure, and education. Ms. Highsmith bicycles herself, talks about making it safe for people in District IV to get to downtown safely and laments about the lack of bike lanes being added to South Roosevelt vowing to not let opportunities like this be missed again. Ms. Carey hits all the right notes, saying she often bikes to work, lives along the Crosstown Greenway, champions efforts to improve the pedestrian and bicycle access to the big shopping centers on N. Roosevelt and Kennedy drive – both very much needed and advocates for needed shade trees all while tying up the reasoning with economics, the environment and high gas prices.

2 – According to the U.S. Census less than one percent of City residents use Key West Transit to get to work. What solutions do you have to improve public transit to make it useful to residents and workers? Any additional thoughts regarding serving residents of the new workforce housing complexes on Stock Island? Why is better transit important?

Ryan Barwick:
“Improving public transit to ensure there are enough opportunities and stops to supply the residents and workers with a clean ride to work without the parking hassle, should encourage is use.”

Lissette Cuervo Carey:
“To improve public transit, I would like to explore ideas on decreasing the time public transit takes to get from one location to the next. The closer we can get public transit time to private vehicle drive time the more likely residents are to use public transit options. Also, more pick-ups, more often. Of course, the very first step to this is to ask the Transportation Director what ideas they have, discuss the funding needed to execute those ideas and look for as much grant funding as possible to support them. Then of course seek public feedback and opinion on the actual needs of our residents and workers for consideration. 

As to ideas on serving the residents of the workforce housing complexes on Stock island, I would like to explore programs that would allow and encourage multilevel parking garages for vehicles and bicycles featuring, electric scooter and bike rentals and a workforce specific, express bus route and even ferry services to our hotels, restaurants both in New Town and the downtown area. This could also potentially serve our tourism industry and take a lot of visitor’s vehicles out of the congestion on our island. 

Better transit is important because it ultimately improves the quality of life for residents and visitors.”

Kim Highsmith:
“People aren’t going to use transit that they don’t know about. They’re not going to use transit that is sporadic, and they’re not going to use transit if they have a car, and it is easier to drive than to take transit. We have an availability problem and a perception problem. When the additional workforce housing comes online on Stock Island, we absolutely must make it easy for those residents to get to and from their homes and to work.”

Steven Nekhaila:
“I would need to investigate the most highly traffic areas, traffic flows, peak times of transportation needs, and other data to make decisions on how to better help. We need a more data driven analysis of traffic flow to see who needs rides, where to, and at what hours.”

Column Note: It seems as if Mr. Barwick and Mr. Nekhaila haven’t given much thought to public transit. Not a good sign. Ms. Highsmith understands frequency and marketing are needed. Ms. Carey provides a thorough response and understands the need for frequency. Her ideas for a parking garage on Stock Island and electric scooters, an express service for workers and even ferries show some promise.

3 – How would you align parking policy downtown with making the island a better place to walk, bike, take the bus and use some of our streets for people? For example, on-street parking spaces are often cited as a reason for not putting in bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks, or pedestrian zones. Are you willing to trade some on-street parking for these?

Ryan Barwick:
“I believe there is a need for more bike racks downtown to promote more use of bicycles while providing a safe place to lock up bikes. As far as parking spaces go, I believe we do need the delivery zones for businesses on Duval. I would have to do more research into what spaces that aren’t delivery zone would be up for discussion.”

Lissette Cuervo Carey:
“Over the last five years we have sacrificed on street parking for better sidewalks, safer streets, etc. I don’t think we have much more available to sacrifice. Local families and groups of friends still enjoy going downtown together, however with less parking, it’s harder for an entire family who may not have the capability of all members able to bike or walk due to age (small children or elderly), those with mobility issues, special needs etc., to get from parking areas to commerce areas or through the streets of oldtown. They should have the ability to park and enjoy all areas of the island.  We need to consider the diversity of our island’s residents and try to serve them all.”

Kim Highsmith:
“There really is no reason to have any on-street parking on Duval Street. We should encourage Duval Street to be walkable, safe, and attractive. If people are on foot or on bike, they are more likely to visit stores and spend money in our local businesses.”

Steven Nekhaila:
“We need off street parking specifically for residents. Unfortunately, due to Key Wests design as a horse and buggy town, the streets are narrow, and parking has become a hot commodity for residents. HOWEVER, dedicated biking areas such as the Key West Greenway are great ideas that can be more accommodating to residents. Making them much more usable.”

Column Note: This question is revealing as the only candidate who seems to say they’d treat our streets more equitably and trade some downtown street parking for bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks or pedestrian zones is Ms. Highsmith who says she’d do it on Duval Street. Ms. Carey, who said many good things about bicycles makes the case for abundant parking on our community’s streets at the expense of wider sidewalks, bike lanes and people saying we don’t have available parking to “sacrifice” for these things. It seems Ms. Carey is trying to have her cake and eat it too in saying bike friendly things but not wanting to give up any parking in return. It isn’t surprising that uptown candidates would advocate for more parking downtown. Ms. Highsmith’s answer stands out for being brave in that respect and that’s why we asked the question. Now we know who’d make the tough decisions and who wouldn’t in favor of street amenities instead of cars.

 4 – The City and County are discussing swapping ownership of Higgs Beach for a portion of the Hawks Missile site to assist the Airport Authority. One of two potential bicycle trails identified in the Bike/Ped Plan would connect the communities of Ocean Walk, Las Salinas and Seaside with a time-saving and safe bike trail behind the airport out to Government Road. Will you fight to ensure the building of these trails are part of any land swap?

Ryan Barwick:
“I would need to do more research on this plan as it is the first time, I’ve heard of it.”

Lissette Cuervo Carey:
“I need to research the bike trail proposal more in depth and hear from the residents that this would affect most. Those at the Ocean Walk, Las Salinas and Seaside Communities as well as those in the Airport Blvd. Riviera Canal resident input, and Linda Avenue or any close or surrounding resident areas.”

Kim Highsmith
“I will absolutely fight to ensure the building of these trails is part of any land swap. The trails need to be environmentally friendly and not disturb the fragile ecosystem.”

Steven Nekhaila:
“Absolutely, government road is currently underutilized as a park and making it into a greenway for bikes and pedestrian traffic is a great way to utilize the space. Many residents live in Seaside and constructing a bikeway can help connect to the Greenway and encourage more bikes, and less vehicles on the road. This could also further development in the government road park area for recreational use for Seaside residents who make up a sizeable population.”

Column Note: Ms. Highsmith and Mr. Nekhaila both say they’d fight for the Salt Ponds Trail from Ocean Walk, Las Salinas sand Seaside behind the airport to Government Road and on to the Greenway. Ms. Carey said she needs to do more research and talk to residents and Mr. Barwick has never heard of it. 

5 – Anything you’d like to add regarding transportation in Key West?

Ryan Barwick:
“While we continue to navigate the transportation in Key West, which is ever changing. It’s on the people themselves to be responsible and respectful to each other no matter if you’re on a bicycle or in a car. We need to share the road and be mindful both ways to make the island a safer place.

Lissette Cuervo Carey:
“There are some needs that need attention and addressing, but there are a myriad of solutions, and our city employs an amazing and talented staff that have the ability to implement those solutions.”

Kim Highsmith:
“I’d like to expand on the Duval Loop, to include a Midtown Loop and a New Town Loop, and even a Stock Island Loop, making it convenient for all residents to get across the island and support our local businesses, and like the Duval Loop, this should be free. Perhaps the City could partner with HTA, which pays drivers $20/hour plus gratuities, so that we would have the drivers and vehicles to get this off the ground sooner rather than later. I also will fight to improve marketing for transit, because as I said people will not take transit if they do not know about it. 

Additionally, I’d like to see convex traffic mirrors installed at intersections where visibility is frequently blocked by parked cars, within neighborhoods and especially along Fifth Street, First Street, White Street, and Flagler Avenue.  

Regarding phasing out gas-powered scooter and golf cart rentals in five years, I am 100% in support of this! The technology and costs will be much better and lower in five years to actually make that happen. Imagine how quiet some of our streets would be if we didn’t have gas scooter and golf cart rentals wheezing down our residential streets.”

Steven Nekhaila:
“Key West is a challenging City to retrofit for bicycle and pedestrian use, while it also a great candidate for smart urban planning. Many European cities are primarily pedestrian cities; however, Key West has evolved over the past century as a primarily vehicle dominated town. We need to ensure that safety is a priority as we are also the capitol of bicycle and scooter accidents, typically these are tourists. For residents, it’s a matter of getting to work and around town in an economically feasible way, while also enjoying the recreation of biking or walking. Another part of my plan to is to encourage mixed use recreational/commercial zoning for business areas such as the Sears town Plaza and K Mart Plaza where residents living above the area can simply walk to work and shop instead of driving across town. This will expand capacity while lowering traffic.”

Column Note: Ms. Highsmith and Mr. Nekhaila used the free question to provide more good ideas. Ms. Highsmith wants to expand on the Duval Loop with additional Loops in Midtown, New Town and Stock Island, wants to make transit free and to do better marketing. All great points. Convex traffic mirrors at problem intersections are a good idea. She also expands on why phasing out gas-powered rental vehicles is a good idea. Mr. Nekhaila’s idea for redeveloping Searstown and Kmart Plaza with residential so that more people can walk is a winner.

Lightening Round – Simply answer YES, NO, or DON’T KNOW. If you really need to expand upon any of these, please use question 5. 

Answers to Lightening Round Questions

	Barwick	Carey	Highsmith	Nekhaila
6. Fan of Greenway?	Yes	Yes, mostly	Yes	Yes
7. Fan of Lama e-scooters?	No	Don’t know	Yes	Not Sure
8. Fan of Duval Revitalization?	No	Needs work	Yes	Not Sure
9. Higher wages for KWT drivers	Yes	Yes, or incentives	Yes	Not Sure
10. Phase out gas scooter rentals in 5 years?	No	No	Yes	No
11. Fund Wicker Bike Trail now?	Yes	Don’t know	Yes	Not Sure
12. Put Bike Lanes on First/Bertha	Yes	Don’t know	Yes	Not Sure

Who I’d Vote for If I Lived in District IV – Kim Highsmith

I live downtown in Commissioner Weekley’s District. I consider myself lucky to have Mr. Weekely ably representing us. When we did an analysis of Commissioner’s in 2020, Mr. Weekley rated very highly on bike, walk, transit and streets for people issues. As did Mr. Kaufman. And Ms. Hoover has shown real leadership on these issues of late. The hope is that someone joins them on the dais that can support Mayor Johnston’s excellent vision for a bike, walk, transit and streets for people friendly city. Based upon the answers here I think that person is Kim Highsmith narrowly over Lissette Cuervo Carey. And we do like Mr. Nekhaila’s stance on adding more housing density. 

Ms. Highsmith’s campaign literature advocated for more sidewalks, bike paths and green spaces before we’d asked any of these questions. She favors all our lightening round projects across the board too. While Ms. Carey had some thoughtful stands on biking and transit, in the end not being able to say she’d treat our community’s streets more equitably and trade some parking spaces for wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and street amenities is a non-starter because so many of the failures in the past on getting better people-friendly infrastructure are because commissioners wouldn’t sacrifice a few parking spaces. 

So please vote for Kim Highsmith.

A Concurring Opinion

Bike advocates Tom “The Bike Man” Theisen and Roger McVeigh helped me with the questions. Tom provided an additional concurring opinion that he said I could share:

“I don’t know any of the commissioner candidates personally and it’s great to have a choice! I concur with your selections. Highsmith seems to be the most active and aware commission candidate of the bunch. The comment about not worrying about biking in the heat and leaving the car at home cinched it for me. A commissioner that actually bikes to work would be fantastic. Hopefully the winner will jump on fixing Jr. College road. At some 1.5 miles long with a college, elementary school, hospital, retirement community, SPCA, golf course community, botanical gardens, jail, marina, marina development, KW D.O.T., homeless shelter, new affordable housing project, Florida Keys aqueduct facility and no place to safely bike, infuriating.”

Additional Information About the Candidates:

Ryan Barwick:
Ryan said he had no campaign website or Facebook page but said we could share his phone number and email: 352-870-2939; barwick.ryan@gmai.com. 

Lissette Cuervo Carey:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082416438955 

Kim Highsmith:
https://www.kimhighsmith.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082316841583

Steven Nekhaila:
http://stevenforkeywest.com/ 
https://www.facebook.com/snkwccd4 

# # #

You can find a year’s plus KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Freebee On-Demand Ride-Hailing-to-Transit Might Provide Stock Island Residents With Reason to Leave Their Cars at Home 

Posted on July 22, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on July 22, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook, Twitter and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

With the additional traffic that 667 new housing units on Stock Island are expected to bring over the coming few years, the County is exploring a partnership with the South Florida based private company called Freebee to provide its on-demand ride hailing service to residents to help mitigate congestion on U.S. 1. On May 18 they approved budgeting up to $425,000 towards a 50/50 match of a FDOT grant to fund a potential $850,000 project. They’ve also started discussions with City of Key West officials on collaborating in the endeavor. 

We’ve made the argument that the City and County need to invest in improving the awful transit options that currently exist between the two islands to alleviate some of the resulting traffic from these new housing developments. The general idea proposed by the County to date is to utilize on-demand (think Uber) micro-transit (small electric cars or golf cart-like vehicles) to get people from their home to one central transit hub on Stock Island, where a Key West Transit shuttle would then whisk them directly downtown. The one central stop would make it easier for the transit agency because the buses wouldn’t have to circulate all over the island but rather to just to one point. This might be the kind of service that could help some Stock Island residents leave their cars at home. Let’s explore why something like this should be tried and how it could work.

New Housing Coming to Stock Island Means More Traffic

Construction has been moving along briskly at the 280-Unit Wreckers Cay at 6155 2^nd Street – adjacent to Boyd’s Campground. Tenants are expected to start moving in this September 2022, and officials say they’ll bring the eight new buildings online at about one a month or so with the project being fully occupied by this time next year. The Key West Housing Authority’s 104-unit Garden View Apartments on College Road is under construction and should come online in late 2023. 

A couple months ago we learned that Roy’s Trailer Park at 6500 Maloney Avenue gave their 108 owners notice they have six months to relocate because the property will be redeveloped from 108 trailers to 240 workforce apartments. That’s a net of 132 additional housing units at Roy’s bringing the total of new workforce housing units on the island to 516.  Add in the 148-transient condos and 3 workforce condos – total 151 – recently approved at the Key West Harbor Yacht Club, also on Maloney Avenue, and that’s 667 new units and a lot of potential new cars crossing Cow Key Bridge. There’s a lot of concern about traffic, especially along U.S. 1, because visitor traffic is increasing too. 

Transit Between the Islands is Currently Awful

The likelihood that all these new residents will use transit instead of driving is almost nil. At least with today’s transit system. Census data shows less than 1% of current residents use the bus to get to work. Buses come along every 95 – 120 minutes on the Lower Keys Shuttle and every 80 – 95 minutes on the North and South Line routes that serve Stock Island. Current statistics prove that kind of infrequent service isn’t going to entice many people out of their cars. 

What’s Freebee? Business Development? First/Last Mile Solution?

The Freebee on-demand micro-transit company operates in about 24 South Florida municipalities. Usually at the request of a local government or a local business improvement district (BID). The service is free and subsidized by the local government, business community and advertising on the vehicles and app. It works like Uber and Lyft using an app and takes people door-to-door, usually within a confined business area. In some cities they can also be hailed like a taxi. 

They use small electric cars, vans and golf-cart like vehicles called GEMs (global electric motorcars). Advertising predominates on the outside of the vehicles, they are referred to as “moving billboards,” and they are co-branded between Freebee and the local community/business district. In nearly all cases the idea for setting up the services is to help support local businesses. Drivers act as tour guides and promote local establishments that contribute. Advertising on the inside and outside of the vehicle and the app do the same. 

Think of it sort of like our Duval Loop, but on-demand and more direct. Perhaps its niche is between traditional transit and Uber. The Miami Beaches Freebee page describes it this way:

“As a transportation service, we are changing the way that people move around Miami. No longer is there a need to worry about the stress of driving and parking. With our new smart mobile app, Miamians can hail a Freebee right from their phones. Our drivers will play their choice of music, engage in friendly conversation, and get them safely to their destination. We know that people have the option of taking a taxi, Uber, Lyft, limo, bus, trolley, etc. We strive to transform transportation into an experience.”

The Freebee service in Islamorada has expanded to included trips for medical services outside of Islamorada to three specific locations if the trip begins in the municipality. So, it seems like Islamorada is also using the service as a substitute for traditional transit. 

The other way Freebee is used, is as a first/last-mile solution. The Tri-Rail Cypress Creek Station in Fort Lauderdale recently partnered with Freebee to provide their customers with a free ride to and from the station within a couple miles. In much of the country, this kind of micro-transit is indeed used as a first/last mile solution connecting people to larger fixed route transit. Remember this example as we discuss Stock Island.

See Freebee in St. Pete Beach, the Miami Beaches, Aventura, Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Cypress Creek Tri-Rail, FIU (Florida International University), Del Ray Beach Business District, Florida City, Virginia Beach and for a complete list go here.

How the County Envisions Freebee to Work on Stock Island

At its May 18^th meeting a Freebee executive described how the system works in other cities and said Freebee on Stock Island could take residents directly downtown, seven days a week, for whatever span of hours the County wanted. (Link – Click video: details begin at 2:04 or 11:17 timestamp)  County Mayor David Rice asked if this would take cars off the road were Freebee taking one or two people downtown. Especially when the vehicles would return empty. Good question. This sparked a thoughtful discussion between all the Board members and in the end, they seemed to agree with Commissioner Cates that this only made sense to use on Stock Island. So, the idea would be to use Freebee to get people from the home to a central hub on the island where they would meet a shared vehicle that would take them downtown. When we recently corresponded with Ms. Mathews at the County, she said this was still the direction they were going. 

What the City Is Saying

We asked Key West Transit if they’d had further discussions with the County/Freebee since May 18, what was up with that and how they envisioned Key West Transit’s participation and how their new on-demand service came into play. Transportation Director Rod Delostrinos was kind enough to give us the following answer:

“The City of Key West- Key West Transit is continuously seeking approaches to improve community public transit. Multi-modal transportation is a great way to approach the community’s needs. Making our community more bike friendly and walkable is just the beginning. Introducing other modes contribute to ease of getting folks where they want to go. On-demand transit has the potential to improve the transit service delivery. Micromibility solutions certainly have a place in adding to these travel options. The advantage of everything that is being done to improve mobility is the flexibility it gives the people depending on where they are going, what they are doing, and how they want to get there.” 

We’d surmise by the response, that the City is being tight-lipped, for now, on any specifics about working with the County and Freebee, so let’s continue with hypotheticals…

A Central Transit Hub on Stock Island

The idea of a Central Transit Station or Hub isn’t new. It has been talked about for years in a different context though. People have discussed building a parking garage for visitors to the island and then busing them in, to not have everyone fighting for parking downtown. The City’s 10-Year Transit Development Plan calls this the “Key West Intermodal Center (KWIC) and would place it where the current transit facility is next to Mount Trashmore. 

The Freebee service is primarily for our residents and workers. And most of them and all the new housing are on the other (County) side of the island. So, if one is to establish a hub, it should likely go on the County side. Perhaps the biggest generator of traffic will be the 280-unit Wreckers Cay and it should go there or maybe right next door at the CVS. Another central spot is Bernstein Park. Maybe Dion’s. Where would you put the hub?

Wherever the station goes, it will be much easier for Key West Transit to service one-stop, rather than meandering all over the island. The time saving may allow Key West Transit the ability to serve the hub with much more frequent service than the current 80-95 minutes on the North and South Lines.

Walk To the Transit Hub

The planning standard for a walk to a transit stop is a couple blocks. And Stock Island is big, so walking to a central hub is likely out of the question for most people unless they happen to be next door. That’s why you’d want to put the transit hub next to the most populous and dense community – Wreckers Cay. But a free ride from one’s home to a central hub, IF the service is frequent and then direct, could work for all those people that are too far to walk.

Bike To the Transit Hub

We’ve discussed the need for the City and County to make it safer and easier to bike from Stock Island to downtown as some people are capable of going the about 25 – 30 minutes or 4.7 to 5.3 miles from Wreckers Cay to the Seaport. But a lot more people could bicycle the short and safer distance it would be from points across the Stock Island to the transit hub. So whatever station is built should include a lot of bicycle parking. And make it covered while you are at it. This would make it a true multi-modal station.

So, people within a couple blocks may walk to the hub. People that can bike, perhaps within a mile, may bike. For all those people who can’t do either, Freebee would be the other option. And these day’s it’s all about providing options.

Does the City’s Own On-Demand Project Negate the Need for Freebee or Work With It?

The City is progressing towards replacing North and South line fixed-routes with their own on-demand transit project, likely beginning this fall. So theoretically, as all the details haven’t yet been announced, the City’s service could cover all of Stock Island with their on-demand, bus stop-to-bus stop service that is also supposed to work like Uber. Perhaps negating the need for the County’s Freebee experiment. If this is the case, perhaps the County can contribute that $425,000 or the entire grant to Key West Transit to help offset costs.

Or does the County’s project with Freebee in getting everyone to a central hub or station relieve some of the burden on Key West Transit and make their job of serving Stock Island that much easier. 

It Seems There Are Three Main Options

While working with Freebee is a County idea and they specifically want to help the workforce on Stock Island, it is likely nothing can happen without the participation of Key West Transit. The three options may be:

1. Key West Transit can do as they have planned and replace the fixed North and South Line routes with their own on-demand transit coverage on both Key West and Stock Island. Then Freebee can be skipped, and the County could use that money to help pay for their share of coverage.
2. Key West Transit can provide their own on-demand transit coverage on the Island of Key West and provide a direct shuttle on a fixed, say every 30 minutes, schedule between Stock Island and downtown. Have Freebee get the bulk of people from their homes on Stock island to the hub.
3. If the Key West Transit on-demand system can talk to the Freebee on-demand system perhaps the Key West Transit shuttles can be timed to meet Freebee within say a 5-10-minute window. This is more in line with the agency’s wish to only put a bus on the street when needed.

If the systems can talk to each other and if people don’t have to wait more than 5-10 minutes for the direct shuttle downtown, then option 3 seems to be the most efficient AND customer friendly. If the systems do talk to each other, it would seem customers would only have to place one trip request for the initial Freebee ride and not also the subsequent shuttle downtown. If they don’t talk, then option 2 is needed. For folks that walk or bike to the hub, would they use the Freebee or Key West Transit app? All things we suppose need to be worked out, but the potential is exciting. 

Another advantage of having Freebee under contract may be that they can help supplement Key West Transit with a new pool of drivers. 

Let’s Encourage the County and City to Get Something Done

The City/Key West Transit and County need to work together to mitigate the negative traffic and parking impacts of all the new housing on Stock Island. A free and easy to use transit option would go a long way towards helping our beleaguered workforce deal with high gas prices. That and if people can depend on this service maybe some households can get rid of a car and that will really be some money savings. A well-executed project could: ease the burden on our Keys workforce; make our environment greener; take cars off our congested main road and reduce parking conflicts downtown; and assist our local Mom and Pop Shops. All of these would help make our little island paradise healthier and happier. 

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You can find a year’s plus KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.

Streets for People / Construction on First and Bertha Streets Doesn’t Follow the Bike Plan. Is It Too Late?

Posted on July 8, 2022     Leave a Comment

By Chris Hamilton. This story was written and and published by KONK Life newspaper on July 8, 2022 and is reprinted here with permission. Follow us at Friends of Car-Free Key West & Duval Street/Historic Downtown on Facebook, Twitter and check out all our Streets for People stories here.

Frustrated drivers know that the construction on the First and Bertha Streets corridor has been ongoing for more than a year and doesn’t seem like it will be completed anytime soon. Imagine if you will, this corridor, conveniently cutting across the island between Palm Avenue and North Roosevelt Boulevard on the Gulf and South Roosevelt Boulevard on the Atlantic, locked in time, in a permanent state of construction, rendering it largely impassable as it is today. Useless as a crosstown throughway. Doesn’t sound fun, does it?

And yet, for people on bicycles who want to cut across the island quickly and safely, this permanent state of impassability is their reality because the busy and fast-moving road (when it isn’t under construction) isn’t at all welcoming to bikes and won’t be when it’s finished. The City’s adopted Bike/Ped Plan indicates this corridor is highly stressful for bikes and as a result calls for protected bike lanes or a trail/multi-use path to be built from Palm Avenue connecting to the recently widened multi-use path on Bertha that’s between Atlantic and S. Roosevelt Boulevards.

But the County didn’t follow the Bike/Ped Plan and is putting the corridor back together largely the way it was prior to construction with little if any useful bicycle infrastructure. And City officials agreed with their approach. Why? In a word, parking. City engineers were afraid of losing a few little used private vehicle storage spaces and so, no bike lanes for you. The irony is that the construction has taken out the parking for more than a year and people found alternatives, proving the parking really isn’t needed. So, with the construction taking so long, and the final layer of asphalt and paint being months and months away in the future, we must ask one more time. Is it too late to put in some bike infrastructure or will we get useless sharrows? 

A healthy, green, and prosperous island needs a well-connected bicycle network as an alternative to the congestion and pollution the increasing number of cars brings to our paradise. And our beleaguered workforce needs a decent option to the spiraling costs of commuting by car. Let’s dive into what’s going on and discuss the possibilities of a last-minute reprieve for people on bicycles.

Bike/Ped Plan Calls for Trails and Protected Bike Lanes of First and Bertha

The Network Analysis Map shown here is updated annually using data from OpenStreetMapand was used in forging some of the recommendations in the City’s Bike/Ped Plan. The map clearly shows the First and Bertha Streets corridor as a bright red “High Stress” facility for bicycles. As this is a major crosstown corridor, the Bike/Ped Plan calls for a Bike Trail and/or Separated Bike Lanes to be installed for the entire length of the corridor. 

There has always been a multi-use path on Bertha between the multi-use paths on Atlantic Boulevard and the Promenade on S. Roosevelt Boulevard. As part of the recent construction project, they widened this path from between 8 and 9 feet wide to 10 feet wide and it makes all the difference in the world. It’s great. You may recall that the multi-use path on Atlantic Boulevard was resurfaced and given protections from cars in the fall of 2020. 

The idea should have been that the multi-use path on Bertha, instead of ending at Atlantic Boulevard like it does now, would have continued on, all the way to Flagler. And then should have crossed Flagler and picked up on First Street and continued all the way to N. Roosevelt where it would join with the Promenade or Multi-Use Path. THAT’S what the Bike/Ped Plan said to do. That would have provided a completer and more connected bicycle network. That would have provided bicycles with the same great quick access that cars have across the island.

The Perfect Time to Add Bike/Ped Facilities is When We Rebuild/Repave Our Streets

According to the Federal Highway Administration “The best time to create bicycle lanes is during regular street reconstruction, street resurfacing or at the time of original construction.” FDOT, County and City engineers will tell you the same thing too. As this is a County corridor, their engineers should have designed the rebuilt streets with this in mind. They didn’t. And when we asked about it, they told us the City engineers told them to keep the parking instead. For the full sad, he-said-she-said story of that decision visit our reporting on that here. 

This is what our Mayor, Teri Johnston said last week in discussing the City’s PeopleforBikes City Ratings Score:

“Unfortunately, we squandered an opportunity to incorporate “complete streets” to the long-awaited South Roosevelt Boulevard road construction project which could have taken bicycles off of the sidewalk and given them a safe, dedicated bicycle lane. Once again, we missed an opportunity to add bicycle lanes on First and Bertha. We cannot improve our bicycle safety unless bicycle lanes are prioritized at the beginning of every city infrastructure project.”

Amen!

With Reconstruction So Far Along, Perhaps the Only Hope Is to Change the Paint on Top of the Asphalt

The result of both the County and City Engineers failing to follow the Bike/Ped Plan is that a full-blown, grade separated multi-use path, like on Bertha between Atlantic and S. Roosevelt, likely can’t be done at this point because the curbs would need to be constructed further into the road to accommodate a 10-foot-wide or wider multi-use path. And for most of the corridor, it seems this part of the construction – the curb and gutter – is mostly completed.

The sad irony here is that the sidewalk on the westbound side of Bertha between Atlantic and Flagler is 7 feet wide – and 5 feet on the other side. Had they simply added 3 feet to that sidewalk it would have mirrored the Multi-Use Path width shown here. And viola’! But no one was thinking, were they?

Since the First and Bertha are still torn up and the final layer of asphalt doesn’t get laid until the entire corridor’s construction is complete, is it too late to redesign the paint that goes on top of the new asphalt? The painting could be 6 months to a year away. Isn’t that time to change the designs of the paint? That’s the big question. 

Here’s 3 things we can do with paint:

1 – Remove Parking on First and Put in a Two-Way Bike Lane

Parking on either side of First street is supposed to go in for the entire stretch between N. Roosevelt and Flagler. Although a major connector, First Street is largely residential. All the single-family homes have driveways and many of them face the side streets rather than first. The George Allen Apartments have their own huge parking lot. The parking spaces on either side of the street weren’t full to begin with. During the over year’s long construction, there’s been no parking for the entire stretch. So, people have obviously found alternatives. The construction proves the parking isn’t needed. 

When we asked local bicycle advocate and bike rental company owner, Tom “The Bike Man” Theisen about this last year he said: “First Street is a disaster (referring to the project). Why keep those few parking spaces and lose a full-on bike lane and corner visibility? They need to remove all parking on both sides and create safe bike lanes. Their plan does nothing for us.” We agree, so…

If there is room for two lanes of parking, then there is room for a two-way bicycle lane on one side of the road that can connect to the Multi-Use Path on N. Roosevelt instead. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) says the “desirable two-way cycle track width is 12 feet and that it should include a 3 feet buffer. That’s 15 feet total. In constrained conditions NACTO says you can use 8 and 3 feet or 11 feet total. A typical Key West City parking space is about 7 and ½ feet wide. Multiply that by both sides of the street and you have 15 feet to work with. The Multi-Use Path on Bertha between S. Roosevelt and Atlantic is now 10 feet wide and works perfectly well, so if 12 + 3 feet isn’t available, 10 + 3 feet works too. So…

Get rid of the parking and paint in a new two-way bicycle facility.

NOTE: We realize the County has so far installed a couple of bump outs that don’t look like they are going to hold trees. These will need to be removed. 

2 – Ditch the Half a Loaf on Bertha Between Atlantic and Flagler

Bertha has a bit more commercial uses closer to Flagler, but these all have parking lots. Like First Street the rest of Bertha is residential single-family with driveways. But plans call to put in parking on one side of the street and bike lane going west-bound – away from the beach. Why half a loaf? As it isn’t much needed, get rid of the parking on the east-bound side and get rid of the one-off disconnected piece of a bike lane going in the west-bound direction. That gives you the room to continue a painted, two-way bicycle path from the Bertha Multi-Use path, where the parking is on the east-bound side. Isn’t it logical that the Bertha path simply continue all the way to Flagler? YES!

3 – Fix the First/Flagler/Bertha Intersection and NOW You Have a Bike Corridor

The intersection where Bertha Street, Flagler Avenue and First Street all meet is a difficult one because First and Bertha aren’t directly across from each other. Intersections are always where the most crashes occur, especially for bikes. The engineers need to come up with a way to connect the new two-way bike paths on First and Bertha through this intersection. This is likely the most complicated part of the project, but it is crucial because it make it a connected corridor.

If It Costs a Bit More Money to Redesign the Paint, Let’s Do It – County Commissioners Cates and Scholl – We’re Counting on YOU!

The City had a chance to make changes with FDOT on putting in bicycle infrastructure on S. Roosevelt Boulevard last year. But the Commissioners who said they wanted to rectify an awful 2017 decision to leave the road with four through car lanes, hamstrung their decision by saying to only make the change in favor of bicycles if it didn’t cost any more money and didn’t hamper the timeline. Of course, the engineers came back and said it will cost a little more money and may hamper the timeline and so, no nothing will happen. No separated bicycle lanes for anyone. 

This time someone must have the guts to say, hey, if we can add some protected bike lanes with paint and bollards for the length of this corridor, including through the Flagler intersection, let’s do it. Even if it costs some more money and takes a few more months to do. 

Our leaders have lamented the squandered opportunities to incorporate safer “complete streets” into projects and said we have to prioritize bicycle safety at the beginning of road construction and repaving. That’s great! But how about somebody try to fix First and Bertha before it’s too late. County Commissioners Cates and Scholl we’re counting on you to get the ball rolling by asking your staff to work with the City staff to make it so. Everyone in Key West, especially our beleaguered workforce who need better commuting options to having to own a car, will be better for it.

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For more detail and analysis about the First and Bertha Streets Corridor project read: First and Bertha Streets Corridor Road Improvements Are Another Missed Opportunity to Make Bicycling Safer and Easier; June 4, 2021

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You can find a year’s plus KONK Life Streets for People column articles here.