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Article Courtesy of Tallahassee
Reports
By Steve Stewart
Published June 16, 2021
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The Killearn Homeowners Association (KHA) released a statement supporting the NE
Gateway project ahead of a special Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (IA)
meeting.
The special IA meeting was scheduled after six elected officials voted to delay
the project to address concerns voiced by several members of the community.
The IA had previously voted 8-3 to approve the project.
The KHA release states, in part, that a delay “may further jeopardize the
agreements made thus far with Blueprint, we ask that you express support for
voting to approve the PD&E Study.”
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The full statement is provided below.
KHA Statement
NORTHEAST GATEWAY ACTION NEEDED DEMAND THAT LOCAL GOVERNMENT
KEEP ITS COMMITMENT TO KILLEARN
Last year, after much work by the KHA Board, a compromise
was reached between KHA and City and County Commissioners
sitting as the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, to ensure
the Roberts Road connection would open before or concurrent
with the Shamrock connection as part of the Northeast
Gateway Project. This was adopted in a Substantial Amendment
requiring a supermajority vote by Blueprint and is referred
to as Corridor 1. |
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This week, that vote is in jeopardary. A Special Meeting of Blueprint to
vote on whether or not to accept the Northeast Gateway Project Development &
Environment (PD&E) Study will be held on June 15, 2021 at 5 PM in City Hall
Chambers (and virtually). The PD&E recommends Corridor 1 (all corridor
options are shown on the next page).
From the start of the PD&E Study, KHA opposed the Northeast Gateway proposal
to end the road at Shamrock as Blueprint had planned. Our opposition was
based primarily on concerns related to predicted future increase in Killearn
Estates’ traffic and the use of our neighborhood as a cut through for
vehicles. KHA’s concerns were validated by traffic modeling data from the
Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency and confirmed by our own contracted
traffic engineer.
The Substantial Amendment vote added a connection to Roberts Road into the
current phase of the Northeast Gateway project; a change that minimized the
predicted future traffic impact to Killearn Estates AND met the Northeast
Gateway’s project goals of reducing traffic on Centerville and Thomasville
even better than terminating the road at Shamrock. If Blueprint chooses any
option other than a “No Build” option or the Corridor 1 alignment (Roberts
and Shamrock), the Stubstantial Amendment we fought so hard for is at risk.
As the “No Build” option is highly unlikely, your KHA Board supports
Corridor 1 with the inclusion of the Roberts Road connection, assuming the
predicted future traffic in Killearn Estates will be mitigated.
There are many opposed to the Northeast Gateway for reasons including
concerns about how the road promotes sprawl, that development interests are
pushing the project timeline, and that transportation demands may change
post-pandemic. While KHA is supportive of those concerns, we are
hyper-focused on minimizing future traffic impacts to our neighborhood
roads. As delay to the adoption of the Northeast Gateway PD&E may further
jeopardize the agreements made thus far with Blueprint, we ask that you
express support for voting to approve the PD&E Study. For Corridor 1, the
work is done.
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