Public Involvement

Alternatives Meeting

On November 15, 2007 Lake County held the Public Alternatives Meeting for the preliminary engineering study to widen Cherry Lake Road, Jalarmy Road & East Apshawa Road Preliminary Engineering Study from SR 19 to US 27. The meeting was held at the Minneola City Hall. Four members of the TY LIN INTERNATIONAL team attended.

Location:	Minneola City Hall, 800 N. US Highway 27, Minneola, Fl 34715
Start Time :	Scheduled to start at 6:00 pm, but doors were open at 5:30 pm when participants started to arrive.
Close Time :	Visitors left by 7:30 pm

 

Answers to frequently asked questions

Why study any changes to these roadways; there doesn’t seem to be any need to change them?
Cherry Lake Road (CR 478) is on the County's Major Roads network; connecting SR 19 with CR 561A (Minneola Shores Drive), via Jalarmy Road. East Apshawa Road connects them with US 27. The Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (LSMPO) Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) calls for these roads to provide facilities for bicycles and for sidewalks on East Apshawa Road and Jalarmy Road. Lake County’s Comprehensive Plan, Horizons 2025, Objective 1.6 Bicycle & Pedestrian Accessibility says “Lake County shall develop an efficient and coordinated bicycle and pedestrian system that will ensure the safe, convenient and efficient travel of pedestrians and bicyclists.” Policy 1.6.1 Enhance Bicycle and Pedestrian Mobility, states that “Lake County shall:

• Evaluate the need to expand bicycle and pedestrian facilities on existing arterial and collector facilities.

The Lake County Dept of Public Works assigned the functional classification of “minor collector” to all three of these roads.

The Preliminary Engineering Study will evaluate safety and geometric improvements to Cherry Lake, East Apshawa and Jalarmy Roads.  We will also determine the number of lanes needed to provide an adequate level of service for the projected traffic demand along the roadway corridor. The existing roadways have two travel lanes with un-paved shoulders within a 66-foot wide right-of-way. A range of alternatives will be evaluated, from adding paved shoulders to the existing two-lanes to adding lanes where needed for additional capacity or to provide protection for turning vehicles.

How much traffic can a 2-lane road carry before it must be widened to 4 lanes?
We grade the quality of service to a typical traveler using six letter grades with “A” describing the highest quality and “F” describing the lowest quality. The LOS (Level of Service) standard for Cherry Lake, East Apshawa and Jalarmy Roads is “D”. A 2-lane, undivided roadway can carry 10,000 vehicles per day at LOS “D”.

If traffic increases that much so will the noise; will the County construct noise walls next to my property?
Florida DOT and FHWA guidance on noise abatement for highway projects are concerned with the volume of noise, not the duration. The volume of noise is proportional to how close you are to the source, in this case the cars traveling on the roadway. Since none of the alternatives under consideration will add capacity, the travel lanes will not be any closer to the adjacent houses.

Do these roads have to be widened? If so, how many lanes are needed?
On an average day about 700 vehicles travel on East Apshawa Road. Cherry Lake Road now carries as much as 1700 vehicles per day and about 2900 vehicles travel on Jalarmy Road each day. The LSMPO’s 2025 Roadway Needs Plan shows all three roads remaining 2 lanes. The MPO’s LRTP shows that, even remaining 2 lanes, all three roadways under study will operate well above the LOS standard.

Have there been a high number of crashes on these roads?
From January 2003 through December 2006, there were 24 crashes reported by the Police and Sheriff’s Departments; an average of six per year. Over this period seven crashes occurred at Jalarmy Road and CR561A/Mineola Shores Drive, four at the intersection of SR 19 and Cherry Lake Road and four on Cherry Lake Road in the vicinity of the Cherry Lake Tree Farm.

The sharp curves make drivers slow down; won’t they go faster if the curves are smoothed-out?
Lake County has established specific design standards, in the Comprehensive Plan, for these collector roadways. Using a design speed of 40 MPH sets most of the design criteria so that vehicles can safely travel all segments of the roadway at the posted speed limit.

What about replacing the curve on East Apshawa Road with a “T” intersection?
There is an existing right-of-way to the west so a potential exists for some development however, we don’t have any idea of when that may occur.  Our proposed idea of shortening the curve in the meantime eliminates the need to take right of way from the adjacent property.  This curve will be posted for a reduced speed and the pavement would be sloped for better drivability.

Why move the intersection of East Apshawa Road and US 27? Won’t this concept bring more trucks onto East Apshawa and Cherry Lake Roads?
The existing intersection requires vehicles to make an extremely tight turn onto East Apshawa Road; many must swing into the opposing traffic lane. Relocating the intersection will alleviate this unsafe condition and still conform to the Florida DOT’s Access Management Plan for US 27. The new intersection will provide full access in all directions with the usual turn lanes.

Making these roads safe to drive at the posted speed will not encourage more truck traffic. The economics of over-the-road trucking mean that drivers take the shortest passable route to their destination - in this case the new developments in this part of the County. They will continue to use these roads whether or not these improvements are made. The new pavement on East Apshawa, Jalarmy and Cherry Lake Roads will be designed to handle to anticipated volume of cars and trucks.

How will the new Turnpike interchange affect these plans?
The Turnpike connector is currently in the early planning stage, with the northernmost corridor along North Grassey Lake Road. While a concept FDOT developed 40 years ago may have realigned East Apshawa Road with Sullivan Road, with the existing land use and planned development within Minneola it would be very disruptive to do this now.  At this time we don’t know how traffic going to and from the Turnpike might affect either the existing East Apshawa Road or a relocation further north.

The newsletter presented two Roadway Typical Sections - Rural and Urban. Can you tell me which is being considered for Cherry Lake Road, for East Apshawa Road and for Jalarmy Road?
The width of the existing right-of-way varies from 50 feet to 80 feet on Cherry Lake Road. The rural typical section would add paved shoulders to the existing two-lanes. While this shoulder widening will fit within 80 feet, additional right of way would be needed in some areas to construct the swales to carry stormwater runoff. We are also considering where to add left lanes to allow through traffic to continue and provide protection for vehicles waiting to turn. The urban typical section would add 4-foot wide bike lanes to the existing pavement, along with curb & gutter and sidewalks. This alternative would require less right of way however, a closed drainage system must be constructed with the curbs & gutters.

On Jalarmy Road the urban typical section would fit within the existing 66-foot wide right of way.

However, along portions of East Apshawa Road the right of way is only 40 feet wide. Within this the urban typical section would just fit the roadway, to the back of curb, but the sidewalks would require additional R/W or permanent easements.

If the County needs to acquire additional right of way how will I be compensated?
The County would buy the needed land from you at fair appraisal according to an established statewide process. 

How soon will these roadway projects be built?
The County’s 5-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) shows money to buy right of way in 2008 on East Apshawa Road and in 2010 on Cherry Lake Road. These are “place holders” of funds that have been carried forward from the TIP adopted years earlier. At that time the two road projects were envisioned as simple widening plans to 30 ft. (12’ lanes + 3’ paved shoulders) within existing ROW’s.  Those plans have been put on hold pending the results of the current study. The Apshawa Road line will likely be moved along to 2009 in the next 5-year plan, which will be drafted before next August. Right of way acquisition is a long and tedious process. 

How can I find out what is happening on this project and make comments?
For those with access to the internet, the easiest way to keep up with the status of our study is to go to our web site: http://www.cherrylakestudy.com. You may continue to email comments to us. About 45 people attended the Alternatives Public Meeting on November 15, 2007 at Minneola City Hall. We have added their names to our mailing list and we will add anyone else who gives us their mailing address. We send them our next newsletter which will announce the next public meeting, tentatively scheduled in March 2008. You may also send us your comments in writing to either: