First Street Corridor Improvements

Q. Grady Minor & Associates, P.A. (Grady Minor) provided on September 13, 2021 a conceptual plan for future roadway lighting and pedestrian safety improvements along South First Street. The project includes street lighting, crosswalks and landscape improvements to South First Street Corridor from Main Street to School Road/Seminole Crossing Trail. Grady Minor completed a feasibility study to provide the professional services based on actual supporting data of pedestrian traffic to design plans for crosswalks and street lighting within the corridor to enhance pedestrian safety improvements. 

A pedestrian count study was performed on June 10, 2021 from 8AM – 4PM along South First Street from Eustis Avenue north to Main Street.  An additional pedestrian count study was performed on July 12, 2021 from 5:30AM-8:30AM to monitor pedestrian behavior at Eustis Avenue and Carver Street to access the Collier Area Transit (CAT) bus stops.   Three crosswalks along the study area met the levels of pedestrian demand for a marked crosswalk at w. Delaware Avenue, Colorado Avenue and Boston Avenue. The conceptual plan included the installation of rectangular rapid flashing beacons at the three crosswalks. 

Lighting strategies were coordinated with Hollis Engineering Consultants, Inc., the Collier County Traffic Operations Department and Lee County Electric Co-Op. In addition, the existing landscape and hardscape were evaluated for safety. The total project cost for the evaluation was $52,222.60.   Q. Grady Minor's  work was completed on September 16, 2021.

The preliminary design indicated the need for an additional 11 Collier County Traffic Operations DOT light poles. These 11 poles are to be located between Seminole Crossing/School Road and Eustis Avenue on both sides of South First Street.

The project is currently on hold while the CRA Staff investigates the opportunity to add sidewalks and bus shelters in the future which will require legal descriptions and coordination with the County's Real Property Management Department for the acquisition of easements and gathers community input on prioritizing several improvement projects in Immokalee.