Modular Median Creates More Parking in Small Florida Beach Town

Project Profile: More parking spaces found in Neptune Beach with the help of the Modular Median
Tax Base: 3400 home-sites
County: Duval, Florida
Total Project Cost: $4600
Location: Neptune Beach, Florida
Date: February 2018
Concerns: Parking availability
Product Solution Used: RediPave Modular Median, ORCA post

The Problem
Located along the Atlantic Ocean is the small beach town called Neptune Beach. It’s a popular suburb of the 12th largest city in the US, Jacksonville, Florida. Located where the highly travelled Atlantic Boulevard dead ends to the town center, the locals call it “the corner.” It’s here you can meet friends for a drink, enjoy some frozen yogurt with your kids, or have dinner al fresco at a variety of award winning restaurants.  The area is no secret to the over 1 million residents of Jacksonville, and thousands of tourists that frequent every year.

As you might imagine, that popularity brings with it some challenges. In a recent interview, city manager Andy Hyatt explained how in a town of just 2 square miles and 3400 homes, they’re completely built out. There is no more room. What that means for drivers is you may be searching for a while to park your car before your beach-day fun can begin. 

“It’s always been a challenge” says Hyatt. The city has maneuvered to alleviate the pressure by working with area business owners to adjust how spaces are used. We’ve even implemented metered parking in some areas to encourage turnover. However, even with those measures, there is still far more demand for parking than there is supply. 

When the opportunity came up to create new parking spaces, Hyatt and Leon Smith, director of public services jumped on it. “Trust me, opportunities to create more parking don’t come up often. We were going to capitalize on them when they do” says Hyatt. 

Adjacent to the 7-11 convenience store on the corner of Atlantic Blvd and 2nd street, there was a space to fit 5 more cars. Hyatt expands,“I know it doesn’t sound like much, but that’s an opportunity for 5 more families to enjoy our beaches, eat at our restaurants and visit our merchants. It benefits our business and as a result, our community.” 

The Product used and installation

In February of 2018, Jake Harris, the Professional Pavement Products’ Pedestrian Protection product line manager, visited Hyatt and Smith at city offices to show them the latest innovations available in the transportation safety industry.  One of those products was the Modular Median. Made from recycled truck tire tread and composites, it is highly customizable and can be used to construct pedestrian refuges, roundabouts or even chicanes for traffic calming. However in this case, it was going to be used to define a parking area. Harris explained his reaction when learning how the Modular Median was going to be used “This was a first for us. We haven’t had a client use the Modular Median in quite this way. I was intrigued when Leon told me about the application. Pretty innovative I thought to myself. I knew for sure it was going to work well.”

Installation began at 8:30am and concluded just two hours later. Project foreman Jeff Paul was quoted, “It went together pretty easy once we got in a rhythm. We had two guys drilling holes, followed by another guy blowing out the dust and debris with compressed air. Lastly, the stainless steel hardware was screwed in. Not much to it really. Pretty straightforward.”

We are pleased to report that Hyatt has reported back positive comments from the community and city council.  His final comments were “That was $3600 well spent! Those extra spaces likely paid for themselves the very next weekend after installation.”

Tennessee Department of Transportation

Creating a safe mid-block pedestrian crossing

The Problem

Tennessee Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) officials recognized they had a problem.  Since 2010 seven pedestrians had been killed and dozens injured by vehicles within the one block area of Nolensville Pike near Welshwood Drive.  This, of course, does not include the likely hundreds of near misses.

Nolensville Pike seems like a typical suburban roadway, having two lanes running north-bound, two running south-bound, divided by a reversible turn lane, and outlined with pedestrian sidewalks on each side.  

What makes this section of the pike deadly is its high concentration of pedestrian traffic moving between north-bound and south-bound metro bus stops across from one another.  This unprotected mid-block pedestrian crossing mixed with a posted speed limit of 45 MPH, and annual average daily travel of 38,000 vehicles creates an extremely unsafe environment for both motorists and pedestrians, and the data proved it.

It only takes a few moments of observation to witness the dozens of pedestrians that navigate these traffic hazards every day.

Video Link

The struggle was that every day of design, impact study, permitting and construction, was another day of pedestrian exposure to this danger.  TDOT officials needed an effective solution that could be implemented safely, economically, timely and without extensive traffic delays on this busy roadway.

The Potential Solution

After considerable research, it was decided to build a mid-block pedestrian crossing.  Built and used properly, the crossing would provide a much-improved route for pedestrians to cross the roadway. Mid-block crossings are locations between intersections where marked crosswalks have been provided. The crosswalk may be signalized or unsignalized. They offer convenient locations for pedestrians to cross in areas when intersections are inconveniently spaced. When implemented on a multi-lane roadway, medians are constructed and designed to provide a pedestrian refuge area where pedestrians can stop before finishing crossing a road.  Conventional medians are of concrete construction that takes up both economic and time resources that TDOT just did not have.  

While searching out alternative solutions, TDOT discovered the Modular Median offered by Professional Pavement Products (PPP), headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida.  Serving the transportation safety industry of local and state agencies across 75 countries, TDOT valued the decades of experience and innovative countermeasures PPP brought to solving complex transportation safety issues. 

In 2016, PPP had completed installation of their innovative “Modular Median” in New York City. That installation caught the attention of Danny Lane, TDOT New Products Unit Manager, and Richard Weber, TDOT Transportation Project Specialist. They consulted with PPP on the details of the product including costs, durability, installation, and effectiveness. The Modular Median provided for the special resources and application needs of TDOT and was chosen as the anchor product on this project.

PPP founder, Greg Driskell, took a personal interest in the project as it was an opportunity to positively impact the safety of pedestrians while mitigating deaths with this innovative product. In his role as the president-elect for the American Traffic Safety Services Association, he is passionate about achieving the ambitious “Toward Zero Deaths” goal in his lifetime. “I flew Nashville because I wanted to see for my own eyes the problem we were trying to solve. Immediately after landing, I drove to the location. Alone in my car, I sat and observed from a parking lot, dozens of pedestrians crossing the road without the protection of a crosswalk and pedestrian refuge. It was like a real-life deadly game of Frogger with a number of near misses just in the short time of my observation. It was then that I knew this would be the perfect application for our line of pedestrian protection products including the Modular Median, AlertBrands delineation devices and the RediMat Duo detectable warnings.”

The Challenges

The environmental characteristics of this project provided some additional challenges.  This was an extraordinarily busy roadway and safety and traffic disruption during installation was of going to be a challenge.  Further, this five-lane roadway had an additional lane for a public transit bus stop which would require a second pedestrian refuge that could potentially be repeatedly impacted by the buses if not designed just right.  

TDOT needed the project started right away.  There were some concerns with delays.  The first was that it was headed into the holiday season of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Roadway construction normally slows during this period due to weather and excessive traffic conditions. The second was that the project called for both yellow and white marked medians.  PPP would need to produce the modules with the less frequently used white markings. 

The Project Scope

Weber, along with his team of about 15 engineers and installers, set to work planning the day-long install. Monday morning at 9 am, the team got together to go over the plans. Driskell too was on hand to provide his expertise and assist in installation process management.

Maintenance of Traffic (MOT)

With the Modular Median quick installation design, it was determined that only one lane of travel needed to be closed at a time. DOT hired a professional MOT contractor and further used their support trucks on either end of the lane to protect workers from traffic.

Allotted Time

It was important that the median installation be completed within one day, if possible, due to permitting, safety, weather, staffing, and traffic interruption reasons. After a walk-through in the warehouse to make sure all tools and materials were on hand, the project was ready to begin the next day. 

Project Design

The project included the installation of pavement markings, traffic signs, pedestrian activated warning lights, ADA ramps and detectable warnings with two full sets of Modular Medians.

Tools for the Job

Normally medians built of concrete require much time, expertise and heavy equipment.  Fortunately, by using the Modular Median TDOT was able to utilize its own equipment, tools, and workers to get the job done.  For the Modular Median, the equipment need was limited to an electric generator to run a hammer drill and a large air compressor to run an impact wrench.  The materials were transported on a standard stake-bed truck and no heavy equipment was required.

PPP Products installed

Modular Median™  Modular Median™
The RediPave Modular Median™ is an innovative modular system designed for the permanent, seasonal or temporary medians, pedestrian refuge islands, and build-outs. As a modular system, different shapes can be made to suit almost any application; making it a safe, smart, and simple device for motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclist.

Median Alert™ MedianAlert™
The MedianAlert™ is designed to dramatically improve the nighttime visibility of medians and other roadway structures.  A flexible, elongated retroreflective device that visually alerts the motorist of the structure’s presence as well as a clear and concise message of its size and shape.

Post Alert™ PostAlert™
The PostAlert™ is a simple way to place emphasis on an important or partially obstructed sign. The PostAlert™ draws extra attention from motorists, making it a safe, smart, simple life-saving device. 

RediMat Duo™ (detectable warning) Redimat Duo™
The RediMat Duo™ is a detectable warning 2 mat system with a message. A detectable warning with the effective design and field tested features of the RediMat and the ability to provide meaningful messages to the sighted.

Cost, Outcomes, and Feedback
With the Modular Median’s fast and simple installation and the use of the expert TDOT crew, the entire project came in under an estimated $30,000.  The two Modular Median assemblies were a little under half the total project cost.  

Overall, the project was a success and after, Weber is on record as saying “I can’t tell you how impressed I am with the modular median system.  Once we got the hang of it, it was very quick installation; in fact, we completed all four of the islands, installed the delineators, three of the signs with flashing beacons, and object markers.  This was all done within five hours—including setup of the traffic control!  MANY people stopped and commented on the islands and how grateful they were for the entire crosswalk project.  That’s exciting when you get immediate feedback like that. “

The DOT was not the only Tennesseans that appreciated the new safety addition. In fact, most immediately the project caught the attention of the local media, unanimously praising the Tennessee Department of Transportation for the much-needed improvement.

Almost immediately a WSMV news crew arrived and produced a story for the 6 pm news. See the Temporary crossing installed on a deadly stretch of Nolensville Road broadcast by clicking here. 

A month later and they are still talking about it.  Click here to see News Channel 5 reporting Pedestrians Feel Safer After Changes To Dangerous Intersection. 

UPDATE: 

“In February 2018 there was an incident at the crossing recently in which a vehicle took out both sign assemblies between the modular medians in the center turn lane and the driver had to mount the modular median to do this.  Details of the crash are unknown because it happened in the early morning and the driver did not stay on the scene.  The sign assemblies were destroyed but the Modular Medians withstood the impact and look no different from the day they were installed.  We inspected them carefully anyway but no further maintenance was needed.”

Richard Weber, TDOT Transportation Project Specialist

“Since the Tennessee Department of Transportation upgraded the crossing at Nolensville Road and Welshwood Drive in December, there have been no pedestrian accidents there. It averaged one pedestrian death annually between 2010 and 2017.”

– Published Patch.com May 14, 2018