Title
SW 5th Avenue Porters Community Project (B)
Explanation
In September 2013, the CRA Board was presented with and approved four initiatives in the Downtown Redevelopment District. Porter’s Neighborhood was among those initiatives where SW 5th Avenue was recognized as a primary corridor running east-west through the Porters Community. SW 5th Avenue connects the Porters Community to many existing and developing amenities like Depot Park, the Power District, S. Main Street, Haisley Lynch Park, the Innovation District, the 6th Street Rail Trail, Tumblin Creek Park, the SW 5th Avenue Triangle Park, and the University of Florida.
The SW 5th Avenue corridor is mainly occupied by single family and multiple family residential dwellings. While the corridor is heavily used by pedestrians both in and around the area, there was a lack of pedestrian amenities making the corridor difficult to traverse safely. In February 2014, the CRA hosted a community meeting to gather feedback from members of the Porters Community regarding the SW 5th Avenue corridor and the Porters Neighborhood. The majority of those who attended the meeting felt that SW 5th Avenue is a safe corridor, but uncomfortable to walk due to the lack of sidewalks. The majority of the participants also believed that the installation of a gateway feature at the SW 5th Avenue intersections of S. Main Street and SW 6th Street would be a strategic way of announcing the entrances into the Porters neighborhood.
In response to community feedback, in June 2014, the CRA hired EDA Engineers Surveyors Planners Inc. to design construction documents for the construction of a proposed sidewalk and associated improvements along the north side of SW 5th Avenue (between SW 6th Street and S Main Street). The project scope includes a sidewalk design along the northern edge of the roadway, upgrades to existing ramps ensuring ADA compliance, and the exploration of gateway features to enhance and announce the east and w...
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