- April 20, 2024
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County Administrator Jerry Cameron wants a traffic signal installed on State Road 100 near the entrance to the Government Services Building and the Justice Center “as soon as possible,” and the Florida Department of Transportation has approved it, Cameron told the County Commission on May 3.
Traffic volumes from the Government Center are about 20% higher today than 2019, according to FDOT.
There is currently no funding, but Cameron said he was confident County Engineer Faith Alkhatib would be successful in securing FDOT funding for the signal.
“Before too long, we’ll have a traffic signal out there,” he said.
FDOT gave three alternatives that are being evaluated: a full traffic signal, a signalized restricted crossing U-turn, and a two-lane roundabout.
“Once a preferred alternative is identified, funding can be programmed,” FDOT reported. The costs will likely be around $500,000. FDOT did not commit to a quick turnaround, however, projecting three to five years before a signal could be built.
Alkhatib said, in an email to the Palm Coast Observer, that the funds and schedule are still to be determined.
In other county news …
The Flagler County Public Library applied for a $500,000 grant from the state again this year, but the grant dollars were not included in the state budget, Cameron reported May 3.
However, he added, “there are some other grants on the horizon for the library.”
Cameron proposed that the county proceed with design on library construction.
County attorney Al Hadeed reported May 3 that the state recently passed legislation to stop governments from declaring a local state of emergency and then renewing it ad infinitum. Instead, local governments can only declare emergencies for 42 days.
State lawmakers “were responding to what they perceived as excesses by local governments relative to the pandemic,” Hadeed said. What they didn’t account for was the utility of emergency declarations relative to hurricanes and wildfires, the effects of which can take years to address. For example, Flagler County continues to use its emergency declaration authority to facilitate work on dune restoration from past hurricanes.
Hadeed, along with Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord and others, requested that weather events be excluded from the restrictions, and lawmakers were persuaded.
“I’m very pleased to tell you that those efforts were successful,” Hadeed said, meaning that the county's dune restoration efforts would not be hampered by the new legislation.
