- April 25, 2024
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The Beachside Redevelopment Committee arrived to its meeting on Monday, Jan. 8, with a checklist regarding improvements for every state road in each of the three involved cities' beachsides.
The committee had to decide which of the listed improvements, which Committee Director Clay Ervin called "a laundry list" of items all the cities wish to have, were the top priorities for each city and road. The list included projects like crosswalks, underground utilities and improved lighting.
For E. Granada Boulevard in Ormond Beach, City Commissioner Troy Kent, who serves on the Beachside Redevelopment Committee, said the city's three priorities should be hardscapes, updated crosswalks and lighting, the latter of which the city has been trying to improve on the bridge specifically but has met with some resistance from the Florida Department of Transportation.
Since it is a state road, the city would be responsible for going after state funding for these projects.
“This will create a to-do list for the city of Ormond Beach," said Maryam Ghyabi, CEO of Ghyabi & Associates.
At least for lighting, this is something city officials have been working on already. Kent informed the committee about their struggle to improve lighting on the Granada bridge, which revolves around FDOT not requiring lights on the bridge, but if the city chooses to have them, it needs to follow certain guidelines that would force Ormond Beach specifically to move the existing lighting poles at their own cost if the city decides to have decorative poles.
In order to fix the issue, Ghyabi suggested perhaps making an offer to FDOT for the city to match their funding so the bridge's lighting can be improved using the decorative poles FDOT won't pay for.
As for updated crosswalks, Ghyabi said this would help improve walkability in Ormond's beachside and increase safety, a statement Kent agreed with.
“As far as safety goes, that is something that we certainly welcome in Ormond Beach and we hope that that carries not only down Granada, but also down A1A as well," Kent said.
