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On Tuesday evening, April 29th, a public
presentation and feedback session was held at the Clearwater Recreation Center
to present to the public the design development vision for the BeachWalk project
along South Gulfview Boulevard. The
public was encouraged to express their opinions on comment forms and submit
them. All of the comments will be
carefully considered as a part of the consensus building process that will
create the physical image of the Clearwater BeachWalk. The design team has recorded all of the
public input and has provided the following compiled listing of comments:
Parking
- There was
not a consensus on the parking structure adjacent to the Adam’s Mark: some
citizens encouraged the consideration of a built structure, while property
owners adjacent to this area were opposed to the structure as it would block
their views to the beach and the Gulf.
Other citizens wanted a shorter structure of two stories while others
preferred to stay with the existing flat lot.
- There was
a consensus that accessing the parking area next to the Adam’s Mark needed to
be addressed with a longer turn lane.
- Address
the location, size, and number of spaces available for RV’s. There is concern that parking of RV’s on
Gulfview will block the views to the beach.
- Address
the location of drop-offs and parking spaces for tour busses. A suggestion was made to provide a
parking/staging area for busses on the south side of the causeway.
- Alternative
parking, such as surface lots or parking structures, should be complete prior
to the construction improvements for BeachWalk.
- There is a
concern that cars waiting for parking spaces along Gulfview will cause traffic
to back up. One suggestion proposes
having parallel parking along the east side of Gulfview and making the road one
way.
- One
suggestion was to permit parallel parking on both sides of Gulfview and one
side of Coronado, with each of these roads to be one-way.
- It was
suggested that Frenchy’s South Beach Café should have access to some parking.
Traffic
- There was
not a consensus on the direction of traffic flow on Gulfview: evenly split on
making the flow one way or two way.
- Additionally,
there was not consensus about having parallel parking on one or both sides of
Gulfview.
- Create
cross access easements instead of service drives for adjacent property owners.
- There is
concern that while the proposed design looks good, that the traffic issues have
not been fully addressed and could cause problems at times of peak flow.
- Address
the issue of the stacking lanes at the north and south of Gulfview –improve
access is provided at the parking garage at south end to avoid a bottleneck.
- Add a
right lane at south garage to facilitate traffic flow into the garage.
- Restrict
the use of Gulfview for passenger vehicles and trolley use only and prohibit
large trucks, buses, and RV’s.
- The
parking lot next to Adam’s Mark needs to have an access lane of at least 1
block to enter parking.
- Concern
over how tour busses would access Coronado and the location of drop-off and
staging areas for busses. One
suggestion is to locate a staging area on the south side of the causeway,
allowing a turnout at island Way/causeway traffic light to return to the beach
for passenger pickup.
Design
- Consensus
that the views to the beach from Gulfview should not be blocked.
- Concerned
about height of parking garage next to Adam’s Mark and its impact on views from
property across the street
- Interaction
between the Frenchy’s South Beach Café and the Promenade.
- Design the
shell plaza so that it is safe for pedestrians, has adequate lighting and
sidewalks.
- Provide
infrastructure, especially electrical, to support beach activities such as
volleyball tournaments and festivals.
- Limit the
height of landscape material so that is no higher than 3’ and does not block
views of the beach.
Pedestrian Movement
- Crossings
should be well-lit.
- Vegetation
should not obscure pedestrians from view at crosswalks.
Retail and Economic Development
- Attract
better shops and restaurants than South Beach (Miami).
- Inquiry on
how beach events, such as the Sunset Beach Festival and Volleyball tournaments)
would be staged in the Pier 60 Parking Lot.
Place Making
- Consensus
among some respondents that they like look and feel of the proposed design.
- Consider
using dolphins spraying water instead of pelicans.
- One
citizen felt that the proposed Seashell resort is the backbone of development
and that Frenchy’s South Beach café should be involved in the promenade design.
- Ban cars
from the beach.
- Strengthen
the gateway statement.
- Utilize
another icon element other than the nautilus.
Consider a local element such as pelicans, sailboats, turtles, etc.
- Concern
over how beach events, such as the Sunset Beach Festival and volleyball
tournaments, would utilize the space of the Pier 60 parking lot.
- There is a
concern that many of the small beachfront hotels will be removed from use and
replaced with expensive condos.
Additionally, nice hotels would be necessary to make Clearwater a
destination resort.
Signage
- Allow for
a sign that informs if the south parking lot is full and the north lot has
spaces available.
- Allow
provisions for existing, non-conforming signs (grandfather signs)
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