Transportation expenditures eligible for LOGT funding
A rendering of the proposed Emerald Trail as a side path or wide concrete sidewalk along Kings Avenue in San Marco.
Section 336.025(1) of the Florida Statutes authorizes a Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT) of one to six cents upon every gallon of motor fuel and special fuel sold in a county and taxed under the statutes’ provisions. The statute limits the use of such tax revenues by county and municipal governments “only for transportation expenditures.” According to those rules, “transportation expenditures” are defined as the following:
A. Public transportation operations and maintenance.
B. Roadway and right-of-way maintenance and equipment and structures used primarily for the storage and maintenance of such equipment.
C. Roadway and right-of-way drainage.
D. Street lighting installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.
E. Traffic signs, traffic engineering, signalization, and pavement markings, installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.
F. Bridge maintenance and operation.
G. Debt service and current expenditures for transportation capital projects in the foregoing program areas, including construction or reconstruction of roads and sidewalks.
The Emerald Trail meets these requirements
The Emerald Trail is a network of complete street and greenway corridors, connected to serve as a new 30-mile multimodal thoroughfare in the heart of the city.
With this in mind, the Emerald Trail is a roadway project with elements that fall into the following categories of the statute’s “transportation expenditures”:
C. Roadway and right-of-way drainage.
D. Street lighting installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.
E. Traffic signs, traffic engineering, signalization, and pavement markings, installation, operation, maintenance, and repair.
G. Debt service and current expenditures for transportation capital projects in the foregoing program areas, including construction or reconstruction of roads and sidewalks.
To explain in further detail, the Emerald Trail is envisioned to become a 30-mile network of connected complete streets, parks and greenways that will link at least 14 historic neighborhoods, 16 schools, two colleges and 21 parks to Downtown, Hogans Creek, McCoys Creek, the St. Johns River and mass transit services such as the local bus system, the First Coast Flyer and Jacksonville Skyway. While being marketed as the Emerald Trail, it is really a large network of complete street projects that involve major reconstruction of roadway and right-of-way drainage conditions. Here are two small examples for further prove that the Emerald Trail is a roadway project.
Emerald Trail – LaVilla Link
A view of Lee Street between Brooklyn and LaVilla today.
Also known as the Model Project, the LaVilla Link is the first phase of the Emerald Trail vision. Located within existing roadway right-of-way, it will include the retrofit of several existing roads in order to create a complete street corridor that will include a 14-foot-wide concrete pedestrian/bicycle facility (path, sidewalk or trail from a semantics perspective), linking the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, LaVilla, New Town, Durkeeville and the Rail Yard District together.
The proposed complete streets makeover of Lee Street in LaVilla. This is one of several roadway projects associated with the Emerald Trail that some political leaders believe may not be eligible for being added to the list of projects potentially funded by the proposed LOGT.
Construction elements of this project will consist of pedestrian safety and aesthetic enhancements along Lee Street, including realignment of existing crosswalks, new crosswalks, installation of rectangular rapid flashing beacons, new curb and gutter, ADA accessible ramps, milling and resurfacing, narrowing on roadway travel lane widths, and traffic signals at multiple intersections along Park, Lee and Church streets.
If the Emerald Trail isn’t eligible for the use of gas tax funds, then quite frankly neither are half of the road projects on the draft list that are identified as forms of complete street and traffic calming improvements.
Emerald Trail – Hogan Street Connector
A view of Hogan Street through Downtown Jacksonville today.
The second segment of the Emerald Trail system will focus on the retrofit of the 0.87-mile Hogan Street corridor into a complete street between the Northbank Riverwalk and Klutho Park in Springfield.
The proposed complete streets makeover of Hogan Street would include new crosswalks, pavement markings, traffic signal improvements, new curb and gutter, a shared use path and sidewalk improvements, creating a multimodal friendly thoroughfare through the heart of Downtown Jacksonville’s historic core. However, this is one of several roadway projects associated with the Emerald Trail that some political leaders believe may not be eligible for being added to the list of projects potentially funded by the proposed LOGT.
A major infrastructure project and central anchor of downtown revitalization efforts, the project will likely consist of milling and resurfacing with potential improvements to include reduced travel lane widths, construction of a shared use bike facility, new curb and gutter, roadway drainage enhancements, ADA accessible ramps, high-emphasis crosswalks, traffic signals and intersection improvements at Water, Bay, Forsyth, Adams, Monroe, Duval, Church, Ashley, Beaver, Union, State, Orange and First streets.
Similar road projects already in LOGT funding list
Palm Avenue is currently an existing undivided four-lane road with narrow sidewalks.
If the Emerald Trail isn’t eligible for the use of gas tax funds, then quite frankly neither are half of the road projects on the draft list that are identified as forms of complete street and traffic calming improvements. They all involve the same type of road construction work which includes items like milling and resurfacing, sidewalks, crosswalks, street lighting installation and repair, roadway and right-of-way drainage, traffic signs, traffic engineering, signalization, and pavement markings, installation, operation, maintenance and repair. Here are a few examples of multimodal transportation infrastructure projects (complete streets) that are currently proposed to receive LOGT funding:
Roadway Improvement Projects - City of Jacksonville
- University Boulevard - Complete Streets ($7 million)
- Palm Avenue Improvements - ($1.5 million)
- Philips Highway Corridor - Complete Streets ($4.3 million)
- Main Street Traffic Calming (1st Street to 12th Street) - ($1 million)
- 8th Street - Complete Street Project ($1.96 million)
- Dunn Avenue Corridor - Complete Street Project ($1.96 million)
- Lem Turner Road Corridor - Complete Street Project ($4.19 million)
- Edgewood Avenue Corridor - Complete Street Project ($12 million)
- Kings Road Corridor - Complete Street Project ($3.54 million)
- Lenox Avenue - Complete Street Project ($2.3 million)
Source: LOGT Draft Project List
Future plans for Palm Avenue call for a complete streets makeover featuring wide sidewalks, new signalization, raised landscaped medians and marked crosswalks. Unlike the Emerald Trail’s complete streets makeover of Hogan and Lee Street examples above, the Palm Avenue complete street project is included in the draft list of City of Jacksonville projects that would be funded by LOGT revenue. While worthy, there is no real difference between this project and the Emerald Trail, in terms of eligibility for the use of LOGT revenue.
Broaden the debate
The intersection of Lee and West Bay Street today.
As we’ve mentioned in the past, the evaluation of the LOGT proposal should extend well beyond extreme positions of being either for or against the idea of raising gas taxes. Serious consideration should be given to what is included and not included in the draft list of infrastructure projects associated with it. As of now, any claims that the Emerald Trail is ineligible for inclusion based on an opinion that it isn’t a road improvement, are highly inaccurate and should be immediately questioned.
The intersection of Lee and West Bay Street after the corridor is retrofitted into the Emerald Trail’s LaVilla Link. The project includes new pavement markings, new roadway curb and gutter, sidewalk, trail, traffic signal improvements and roadway resurfacing.
Editorial by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com