Group asks DOT to preserve town's history, environment

Palatka Daily News, October 12, 2001

By Jennifer Thomas
Palatka Daily News

INTERLACHEN ­ A group has come up with suggestions for the State Road 20 widening project. The Citizens Advisory Committee's list is so town officials will have some say in how the state carries out the four-lane work.

On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Interlachen town council members are to vote on the recommendations before sending them to the state Department of Transportation. Larry Harvey, who chaired the five-member committee, said they met twice with DOT to discuss the project. "They are very considerate of the items," Harvey said, adding DOT officials helped the committee develop the list. "I don't think this is something they (DOT) just threw together. I think this is a workable plan," he said. Harvey reviewed the list with town council members Tuesday.

The four-lane project has sparked three years of controversy for the town. Some residents, who oppose the project on its current corridor, requested that the DOT consider a bypass route. They contend the expansion would harm the town's historic district and natural tree canopy.

Faced with the likelihood the state will widen the road through town, however, council members appointed the committee to work out ideas for making the town's interests known.
Suggestions include recommending Option 4 of the DOT's two alternatives for widening the road on its existing corridor. The option would move the road further south from Lake Chipco, but require relocating historic homes backing up to SR 20.
During DOT public hearings, some residents complained the lake would be harmed because the roadway would move closer to its shoreline.

Residents also voiced opposition to a DOT plan that would have built an overpass over the lake. In addition to relocating the historic homes between Prospect Street and County Road 315, the committee suggested DOT buy acreage where the Handy Way is currently located in its entirety, instead of only the portion needed for the roadwork.

That would allow the town to benefit from the unused portion of the property that could be turned into a "parkland in perpetuity."
And, the committee is requesting DOT create a landscaped entrance - with native bushes and trees, and water retention areas - to the already existing Jenkins Memorial Park.

Harvey said the group wanted to avoid a "park and ride," where commuters could leave cars, at CR 315 and SR 20.
In another four-lane road project, the DOT built a park and ride at State Road 207 and U.S. 17. Instead, the group prefers "a creative design to insure the towns' beauty " its list reads.
Former DOT District Secretary Huey Hawkins, who was based in Lake City, spoke to the West Putnam Council of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce three years ago regarding the widening work. Work on a compromise started then, Harvey said.

See October 12, 2001 issue of Palatka Daily News for original article.