ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — A road reconstruction project in Ormond Beach meant to make the area more pedestrian-friendly hasn’t fully caught drivers’ attention. Now, businesses are taking matters into their own hands through a campaign called “Slow Down, Enjoy the Town. 30 is the new 35.”
“This is coming from the business owners as well; many of the business owners have been asking for this for a long time,” said Becky Parker, Executive Director of Ormond Beach Main Street.
Parker said when the Florida Department of Transportation began work on the road, the goal was to make the area safer, manage vehicle speeds, and upgrade infrastructure. While the physical changes are now visible, she doesn’t feel like drivers are catching on.
“So the speed limit dropped from 35 to 30 about a year ago, and with our little informal surveys and talking to residents and business owners, we realized that nobody knew that, especially observing the way people were driving,” said Parker.
To help drivers recognize the reduced speed limit from US 1 all the way to A1A, banners, signs, and decals have been posted throughout the area.
“We really want people to pause and take a moment when they enter this really special part of our town,” said Parker.
The project received pushback during construction and ultimately required a redo. FDOT ended up removing new curbs and road curvature after Ormond Beach residents and business owners said the changes turned the area into an obstacle course.
“Businesses didn’t feel safe having their residents come out and spill onto the sidewalks. We want people to come here and stay for a little while,” said Parker.
Ormond Beach Main Street plans to run this campaign once a quarter until drivers start to catch on.
We’ve reached out to FDOT for a response, and here’s what they had to say:
“The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is implementing safety improvements and resurfacing the roadway along Granada Boulevard (State Road (S.R.) 40) from U.S. 1 to S.R. A1A (Ocean Shore Boulevard/South Atlantic Avenue), with the exception of the bridge over the Halifax River in Ormond Beach.
In addition to repaving this segment of S.R. 40, the travel lanes along this segment of Granada Boulevard will be temporarily narrowed to 10 feet, and subtle changes to the roadway alignment will be introduced to encourage slower driving speeds. The 35 mph speed limit throughout the corridor will be reduced to 30 mph during construction and will remain at 30 mph after project completion. The inside and outside lane widths will be 11 feet wide at project completion. Pedestrian safety improvements include a new mid-block pedestrian crossing between Vining Court and Bovard Avenue. Upgrades will also be made to existing crossings at Washington Street and at the west end of Beach Street.
The mid-block crossing located between Vining Court and Bovard Avenue will be slightly elevated to be level with the sidewalk and will include in-road lighting to further alert motorists of people crossing the roadway and encourage reduced speeds.
All three crossings will be equipped with a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) and overhead lighting to increase driver awareness and visibility of pedestrians. A PHB is an overhead traffic device that remains dark until a pedestrian activates the beacon, signaling drivers to stop and pedestrians to cross. Audible pedestrian signals and detectable warning pads will also be installed at each crossing to provide accessibility for the visually impaired.
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