ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – The city of Atlantic Beach is asking for residents feedback to help shape its Safety Action Plan, a project aimed at tackling traffic concerns across the city.
One area of concern is Rose Street, where fast drivers have caused anxiety for long-time resident Willie Hillman.
“Cars come up from down the street like it’s the Indy 500,” Hillman said.
Hillman, who has lived in Atlantic Beach for nearly 30 years, says he has been advocating for traffic-calming measures for decades.
“I’ve been trying to get it fixed for 25 years,” Hillman said. “I just don’t want to see an accident happen before they slow that traffic down.”
The city recently received a $200,000 grant to develop a Safety Action Plan. The initiative includes analyzing crash data and seeking resident input to identify problem areas not fully captured in police reports.
Amanda Askew, the city’s director of planning, community development, and building, said feedback from an open house on Tuesday night was an important part of the process.
“The purpose of this open house is to drill down with the neighbors to find out what the data is not telling us,” Askew said. “We need to understand where these street-by-street conflicts are occurring.”
Residents highlighted areas where improvements are needed, including Rose Street. Hillman suggested a three-way stop and speed bumps to deter speeding.
Matthew Schrader and his family attended the open house to advocate for pedestrian and bike trails on the west side of the island.
“We go between Tide Views and Dutton island a lot. You have to use Main Street, and generally it’s kind of safe,” he said. “But as we’re biking, you know, cars are driving by pretty close. There’s not really a separation of us from the traffic.”
The area near his home doesn’t have sidewalks. He says even with posted speed limit signs, walking next to traffic can be nerve wracking.
“People might be going the speed limit, but when you’re walking on the street with your daughter and a car goes by at 20 miles an hour, it’s like, wow, that’s kind of fast,” he said. “So really, the best way to do it is to separate the people from the traffic.”
Askew said the Safety Action Plan will create a prioritized list of projects, divided into those requiring Department of Transportation (DOT) involvement and those the city can address locally.
“What we envision this plan doing is giving us a list of projects, and then we’ll incorporate that into the budget,” Askew said. “The time frame depends on how expensive the projects are.”
Schrader hopes by sharing his feedback that it will help shape the city’s future plans.
“We need to get more involved in doing this type of thing, because we can sit around and complain that things aren’t happening,” he said. “But if we’re not showing up to this and giving our input, then things won’t happen.”
For Hillman, the improvements can’t come soon enough.
“They don’t want an accident to happen before they crack down and fix it,” he said. “And I don’t want it to happen either.”
Residents who missed the meeting can still provide feedback online.
Additionally, the DOT will host a meeting on Mayport Road improvements on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. at Atlantic Beach City Hall.