Commercial and Traffic Aspects of a Four-Lane SW 24th Avenue
by T. J. Walker, 3 March 2003

Summary
The chief impetus for a four-lane extension of SW 24th Avenue through NATL may be the proposed doubling of commercial activity on the north side of Archer Road between UF and I-75.

The only study of the traffic effects of a four-lane SW 24th Avenue in combination with the new commercial development concluded that a two-lane SW 24th Avenue would be sufficient.

New commercial development facilitated
Clark Butler states that the four-laning of SW 24th Avenue is required for the development of Butler Plaza North. Consequently he has promised to contribute as much as $2 million toward a wider SW 24th Avenue. For the four-lane road to help Butler, it must have a traffic light where it intersects SW 34th Street. For DOT to allow a light at that intersection, SW 24th Avenue must continue eastward (into either Regency Oaks Apartments or NATL). UF Vice President Poppell's promise that UF would proceed to donate the right-of-way for a four-lane extension of 24th Avenue through NATL was needed for the MTPO to change its long range transportation plan for the area from a two-lane to a four-lane SW 24th Avenue.

Extent of proposed new commercial development
Information prepared by Butler Enterprises states that the proposed Butler Plaza North will include: and that these uses will result in an estimated 3,500 new employees in the area.

In judging the impact of this increased commercial development between the UF campus and I-75, it is instructive to compare the proposed retail spaces with what currently causes congestion on Gainesville's six-lane roads. Butler Plaza (commercial space north of Archer Road between UF and I-75): 1,112,000 square feet of retail space [data from Butler Plaza pamphlet]. By comparison, the retail space at Oaks Mall totals 898,000 square feet [data from Oaks Mall Manager].]

Traffic effects
In 2000, the MTPO approved a 20-year transportation plan for the Gainesville urbanized area. For the area between the UF campus and I-75. this plan proposed a "Walkable Student Village" served by a grid of two-lane roads. Analysis of traffic projections (at that time) showed such a grid to be adequate. However, the plan proposed that enough right-of-way be acquired along the proposed two-lane extension of Hull Road to accommodate four lanes, should that become necessary. The plan also included a two-lane extension of SW 24th Avenue east to Archer Road.

Since then, the only impetus to change the long-range plan has been the proposed Butler Plaza North. The first traffic analysis relative to the expansion of Butler Plaza was completed July 13, 2000. It assumed that SW 24th Avenue would be a two-lane divided roadway (as in MPTO's long-range plan at that time) and thus its conclusions as to how traffic would be impacted are not directly relevant to the current proposal.

The next analysis was funded by Butler and MPTO to determine the effects of a four-lane divided cross-section for portions of SW 62nd Boulevard and/or SW 24th Avenue. The "Summary Report" of this "Analysis for Potential Amendment to the 2020 Transportation Plan" is dated January 22, 2003, and was presented at the February 20, 2003, MPTO meeting. Copies are available at the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council. For this report, 10 different network scenarios were tested with a traffic model. The scenarios included two- and four-lane SW 24th Avenues, with and without the proposed expansion of Butler Plaza. The report ended with this paragraph:

"On the basis of the analysis and conclusions presented in this report, a recommendation to amend the 2020 Transportation Plan to construct a four-lane divided roadway on SW 24th Avenue and SW 62nd Boulevard cannot be supported. The two-lane divided cross-section proposed under the current 2020 Transportation [Plan] is sufficient. However, more detailed roadway and intersection analyses are required to substantiate and refine these conclusions."

During the meeting it was suggested that the traffic model used had not been validated for present circumstances, that the data fed into it were not the best, and that some of the output was obviously erroneous.

At this meeting the MTPO staff recommended "that the MTPO keep the existing two-lane divided configuration for the SW 62nd Boulevard and SW 24th Avenue corridors as described in the adopted SW 20th Avenue Area Charrette Plan and not amend the long range transportation plan."


If you found anything in the above that was inaccurate or misleading, please let me know the details so I can correct it.
Tom Walker (tjw@ufl.edu)

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