Atlantic Avenue Project Parking Loss Draws Pushback as $5 Million FDOT Launch Nears
By Mike Lednovich/Editor
FERNANDINA BEACH — On-street parking will disappear along portions of Atlantic Avenue as the Florida Department of Transportation adds bike lanes and striped paved shoulders to a $5 million resurfacing and drainage project scheduled to begin next month.
The parking changes drew objections Thursday from residents who said spaces along Atlantic Avenue are heavily used during bicycle races, running events and other activities near Main Beach. Concerns also were raised about the effect on residents and kayakers who use Egans Creek Park.
About three dozen people attended the two-hour construction open house Sept. 24 at the Atlantic Recreation Center. There was no formal presentation. FDOT, city and project representatives stood at displays showing the construction plans and answered questions from residents, business owners and other attendees.
FDOT lists the overall 1.62-mile project limits as Centre Street to South Fletcher Avenue. The more substantial roadway and drainage construction discussed at the meeting begins in the area of Ninth Street and continues east toward Fletcher Avenue.
MAER Construction is the contractor for the project. The contractor is expected to begin mobilizing equipment around Oct. 5, FDOT spokesman Hampton Ray said. Residents may initially see equipment arriving, with heavier construction beginning about a week later. The project is expected to be completed in late 2027, weather and unforeseen conditions permitting.
One of the biggest changes residents will see is along the edges of Atlantic Avenue.
FDOT plans designated eastbound and westbound bicycle lanes from 15th Street to Jean LaFitte Boulevard. Where Atlantic Avenue is too narrow for a designated bicycle lane, FDOT plans to stripe paved shoulders.
Project designer Dan McCranie, P.E., of Fernandina Beach-based M&A, a Baxter & Woodman company, said a bicycle lane must be at least 5 feet wide to be designated as a bike lane. McCranie is Baxter & Woodman's Florida Transportation Group Leader. M&A, formerly McCranie & Associates, has provided roadway, drainage and transportation engineering services in Northeast Florida and has worked on numerous FDOT projects.
The roadway varies considerably in width. McCranie said at one point the pavement narrows from about 41 feet to roughly 36 feet, leaving insufficient room for a 5-foot bicycle lane while maintaining the other lanes.
The paved shoulders will be separated from vehicle lanes by a white stripe, but sections narrower than 5 feet will not carry bicycle symbols identifying them as bike lanes.
McCranie said the striping also should make vehicle travel lanes appear narrower, which can cause motorists to slow down.
Parking now permitted along portions of Atlantic Avenue will be eliminated to make room for the bicycle lanes and paved shoulders.
That brought objections from residents who said Atlantic Avenue serves as overflow parking during events and festivals.
Linda Johnson, who lives along the corridor, said bicycle and running events can fill the roadside with parked vehicles.
“People come and there’ll be 50 cars here while they ride around the island on their bicycles,” Johnson said.
Karen Feltham, who identified herself as an avid cyclist and Atlantic Avenue resident, said she supports bicycle facilities but not at the expense of the existing parking.
“If we could have both, I’d be for it,” Feltham said. “But since we can only choose one, I choose the parking.”
Another Atlantic Avenue resident, Melissa Townsend, said she has three parking spaces in front of her home that will disappear under the project.
"During events like the Shrimp Festival, people drive all the way down Atlantic to park. Now where will they park? It really irritates me to lose those spaces," she said.
The loss of parking also prompted questions about access to the kayak launch at Egans Creek Park.
April Still raised concerns about how kayakers will unload their boats and reach the launch after roadside parking is removed.
“If you want to unload your kayak, where do you unload it?” Still asked.
Still said the area is a popular put-in location and carrying kayaks from the more distant parking lot could be difficult for some users.
McCranie suggested kayakers could unload their boats and equipment near the launch and then move their vehicles to another parking area.
Still questioned whether that arrangement would make the city-provided kayak access less convenient and discourage some people from using it.
The discussion illustrated the tradeoff along Atlantic Avenue: roadside space now used for parking will instead be dedicated to bicycle lanes and paved shoulders.
A 10-foot multiuse path along the corridor had been considered several years ago, according to discussion at the meeting, but funding was not available.
The project involves considerably more than resurfacing and bicycle facilities.
McCranie said sections of the underground drainage system have failed, including pipes more than 50 years old. Problem areas include the vicinity of the water treatment plant and sections between roughly 11th and 13th streets and farther east toward the Eagle Street outfall.
Some drainage pipes are as deep as 22 feet. McCranie said FDOT plans to replace pipes where practical and use cured-in-place pipe lining, known as CIPP, in some of the deeper sections.
The work should repair deteriorated pipes and failing stormwater inlets, but McCranie cautioned that it will not solve the area's broader flooding problems.
When asked whether the drainage work would alleviate flooding, McCranie said, “No, it will not.”
Instead, he said, the work will repair deteriorated pipes and stormwater inlets that are failing at several intersections.
Construction also raised concerns among businesses near Main Beach.
Ben Tanner, who oversees the Courtyard by Marriott Amelia Island, SpringHill Suites by Marriott Amelia Island, Surf and Sand and Seaside hotels, told FDOT that construction noise was his primary concern.
Tanner said 105 hotel rooms face Atlantic Avenue.
“Our primary concerns are mostly just noise,” Tanner said.
He said the hotels also are concerned about construction interfering with guests entering and leaving the properties and about the timing of work during busy event and banquet periods.
Ray said the contractor plans to work during daytime hours and FDOT will try to minimize overnight impacts. The agency also plans to coordinate with the city around major events.
“We're really trying to stay within quiet hours,” Ray said. “The contractors indicated that they're going to work during the daytime and really minimize the impact to overnight.”
Access to properties along Atlantic Avenue generally will remain open during construction, Ray said. A driveway may have to close temporarily while crews are working directly in front of it, but he said such closures should typically last less than an hour.
Ray said newly placed asphalt can be driven on within about 15 minutes, allowing driveways and lanes to reopen relatively quickly.
FDOT had not determined at the meeting exactly where the contractor will begin work or whether construction will proceed from west to east or in separate sections. Ray said he would have to confirm the construction sequence with another member of the project team.
That timing matters to Tanner, who said construction will overlap with one of the hotels' busiest banquet periods and events around Main Beach.
The contractor is expected to mobilize Oct. 5, but Ray cautioned that does not mean major excavation will begin that day.
“You may first just start seeing equipment, and then you really start seeing dirt move maybe like a week after that,” Ray said.
FDOT says construction generally will occur during daylight hours. Lane closures will not be permitted between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Temporary traffic detours are expected at North 11th Street, North 13th Street, South 16th through South 20th streets, Citrona Drive and Wolff Street. Temporary pedestrian detours also are expected at locations along the project.
The work is expected to continue through the fall of 2027.
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