Speeding on Park Street, the main thoroughfare that runs through Atlantic Beach is not a new problem, but in recent years the problem has become more pronounced and has prompted around 70 residents to hold a rally at the intersection. from Albany Boulevard and Park Street, the gateway to the village, in November.

Although the speed limit has been lowered from 30 mph to 25 on the 1.5 mile two-way four-lane stretch of Park Street from the Atlantic Beach Bridge in Long Beach, speeding is still common.

“What is negative is the absence of any visible initiative to calm traffic on Park Street, despite our fairly large rally last November,” said Kevin Kelly in an email.

Atlantic beach Mayor George Pappas acknowledged that “nothing has happened” since the November rally, he said. “We’re trying to get speedometers, permanent indicators from the county freeway division, and temporary indicators through Denise Ford’s office,” Pappas said.

Ford, the lawmaker for the county whose district includes Atlantic Beach, said Atlantic Beach would get the speedometers temporarily, then permanent, noting that the speed problem could possibly be alleviated by properly synchronizing the traffic lights along the park. Street and by installing preemptors that signal when the vehicle is at a traffic light.

She also pointed to the planned Park Street redesign that would narrow the pavement with a two-way cycle lane and add a traffic light by Capri Drive near the Water Club homes in East Atlantic Beach and include additional drainage to reduce the flooding that was part of it. of the original storm recovery plan. It could be in the fall, Ford mentionned.

In an effort to improve safety for cyclists – a male cyclist was seriously injured after being hit by a car on the Atlantic Beach Bridge last August – and there have been other incidents, Kelly and others proposed to devote space on the six lanes of the bridge to bicycles. , scooters and roller skaters.

The idea is to place cones or other barriers along the path closest to the existing walkway as protection along the gap. Three lanes could be designated simultaneously using signs or traffic lights for vehicles traveling south in the morning and north in the late afternoon and evening, Kelly said. “This would still leave two lanes for motor vehicles traveling in opposite directions and would not lead to increased congestion,” he said in a letter to Vincent Grasso, executive director of the Nassau County Bridge Authority. The space is offered from May to October.

“We were told the walkway was too narrow to legally allow cycling – although many more cyclists currently use their bikes along the walkway rather than obeying the posted order to walk a bike,” wrote Kelly in her letter.

Proposals have been put forward for cycle paths, said Grasso. “According to our engineers, given the width of the bridge from 10 lanes to six lanes, it is not safe enough for bicycle lanes,” he said, adding that lawyers for the authority of bridge, applying the advice of engineers, agreed.

Grasso noted that the design of the bridge grid could cause bike tire control issues. An arm on either side of the toll booths has been shortened to accommodate cyclists, he said. Cyclists must cross the bridge by bicycle.

Got an Atlantic Beach Road Safety Opinion? Send a letter to [email protected]