Yahoo Autos New stoplight, four yellow-flashing crosswalks coming to Fifth Avenue in Indialantic
A new traffic signal and four pedestrian-activated, yellow-flashing crosswalks are coming to the ⅔-mile stretch of Fifth Avenue through downtown Indialantic.
A new twist: These Indialantic raised crosswalks will feature yellow "in-road" lights embedded in the asphalt that will flash when pedestrians activate the signal.
"I think that the great thing about projects like this is. This shows a culture shift. This is a resurfacing project that has become a safety project," said Kim Smith, Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization education and safety coordinator.
"Anything you can do to elevate the status of those vulnerable road users is positive," Smith said.
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The Florida Department of Transportation will install the new Fifth Avenue traffic signal at Palm Avenue, which lies within a school zone next to Djon's Village Market.
The mid-block crosswalks with pedestrian-activated yellow flashing beacons will be similar to those dotting State Road A1A from Indialantic to Satellite Beach. Locations along Fifth Avenue:
East of Riverside Drive.
East of Ramona Avenue.
In front of Indialantic Town Hall.
East of Shannon Avenue.
FDOT will install the equipment while repaving Fifth Avenue from Riverside Drive to S.R. A1A. Design work is projected to cost $544,000, and the $1.8 million construction project should kick off in mid- to late-summer, said Bill Hartland, consulting engineer.
Construction should take about 250 days, Hartland said.
FDOT officials showcased the Indialantic Fifth Avenue project during a Tuesday night open house at Azan Shriners Center in Melbourne.
The project also is designed to enhance pedestrian lighting, modify stormwater drainage, and add Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps and driveways.
In 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted travel patterns, 22,650 daily motorists traversed Fifth Avenue in Indialantic on an average day, Space Coast TPO records show.
Initially, FDOT planned to install Brevard County's first red-light crosswalk at the Palm Avenue intersection.
This overhead "pedestrian hybrid beacon" would have started to flash yellow after someone pushed a pole-mounted button. The flashing sequence would have been followed by a steady yellow, then a steady red signal.
FDOT dropped the idea within the past month, and decided to install a full traffic signal instead, Hartland said.
"I inquired about how the light would be triggered, and was told they would be conducting a traffic study (to determine) if it would be by loop or timing mechanism," Indialantic Town Manager Michael Casey said in an email last week to Town Council members.
"As more information is obtained, I will update everyone," Casey said in the email.
In 2019-20, FDOT installed yellow flashing beacons at 16 S.R. A1A mid-block crosswalks from Indialantic to Satellite Beach. The department also reduced the speed limit from 45 mph to 35 mph in May 2020.
This week, work crews are installed in-road yellow lights at the crosswalk between Jackson and Grant avenues in Satellite Beach, near Mavericks 321 and Salty Bagel & Grill.
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Fifth Avenue in Indialantic gets FDOT yellow flashing crosswalks
