March 2017
I hope everyone had a successful St. Patrick’s Day. Staff has been busy at the chamber, Virginia organized a meeting with FDOT and other engineering consultants to resolve our traffic issues. The cross walks on the boulevard may have looked good on paper but have caused more issues than they solved.
There have been countless close calls, many accidents and one fatality. By the time you read this we will already have had our first meeting with local officials and FDOT folks. As well as the cross walks we are requesting the FDOT to address the flow of traffic in and out of Key West at the triangle. The four traffic lights are not properly synchronized which creates in bound backups all day. Worse than that try leaving the Island between 4:30 to 6:00pm. South Roosevelt, Flagler & North Roosevelt become parking lots and then when the light turns green it’s like the green flag at a demolition derby playing chicken as to who can cut in front of who. Again, what was a good idea on paper; the push buttons at the triangle (the only road in & out) has created a traffic nightmare. Just think of how much gas is wasted & pollution created with thousands of vehicles stuck in this traffic. We do have one simple request an overhead pedestrian, bicycle, handicap crosswalk.
personally have asked multiple people and everyone is in favor. I reached out to event coordinators that do the many run or bicycle events and they loved the idea. We will keep you posted on our progress and may need your help reaching out to elected officials in Tallahassee to voice your opinion. Remember FDOT works for us the tax payer.
It is scholarship time; the chamber has four scholarships to offer please contact Ms. Gavin Townsend at KWHS for the chamber applications. We urge all students to start early in their high school career to work towards one of the many scholarships available. In addition, the Chamber hosts a program called Ready Set College to help students and parents apply and work thru the onerous task of applying for colleges and financial aid. Please contact the chamber office for more details.
Finally, we are paying close attention to Tallahassee as there are many issues there such as Home Rule where the state may take away local ability to regulate things like rentals, taxis, & some franchisees. Tallahassee is also cutting Visit Florida funding which will influence how well the state does in worldwide competition for tourism. In addition locally there has been some changes made with TDC funds being kept in bricks & mortar projects rather than rolled back into the advertising budget. There was good discussion at the county BOCC meeting on this subject in regards to dollar allocation and safe guards on how these dollars will be allocated. The local DAC’s will play an important role in how their individual dollars are spent. Stay tuned.
And finally, our “Tiger in the Woods” Golf tournament is April 23rd sign up TODAY contact Kerry at the chamber office 305-294-2587 plus get one of the first golf ball drop tickets for only $10 to win $2500.
I hope everyone had a successful St. Patrick’s Day. Staff has been busy at the chamber, Virginia organized a meeting with FDOT and other engineering consultants to resolve our traffic issues. The cross walks on the boulevard may have looked good on paper but have caused more issues than they solved.
There have been countless close calls, many accidents and one fatality. By the time you read this we will already have had our first meeting with local officials and FDOT folks. As well as the cross walks we are requesting the FDOT to address the flow of traffic in and out of Key West at the triangle. The four traffic lights are not properly synchronized which creates in bound backups all day. Worse than that try leaving the Island between 4:30 to 6:00pm. South Roosevelt, Flagler & North Roosevelt become parking lots and then when the light turns green it’s like the green flag at a demolition derby playing chicken as to who can cut in front of who. Again, what was a good idea on paper; the push buttons at the triangle (the only road in & out) has created a traffic nightmare. Just think of how much gas is wasted & pollution created with thousands of vehicles stuck in this traffic. We do have one simple request an overhead pedestrian, bicycle, handicap crosswalk.
personally have asked multiple people and everyone is in favor. I reached out to event coordinators that do the many run or bicycle events and they loved the idea. We will keep you posted on our progress and may need your help reaching out to elected officials in Tallahassee to voice your opinion. Remember FDOT works for us the tax payer.
It is scholarship time; the chamber has four scholarships to offer please contact Ms. Gavin Townsend at KWHS for the chamber applications. We urge all students to start early in their high school career to work towards one of the many scholarships available. In addition, the Chamber hosts a program called Ready Set College to help students and parents apply and work thru the onerous task of applying for colleges and financial aid. Please contact the chamber office for more details.
Finally, we are paying close attention to Tallahassee as there are many issues there such as Home Rule where the state may take away local ability to regulate things like rentals, taxis, & some franchisees. Tallahassee is also cutting Visit Florida funding which will influence how well the state does in worldwide competition for tourism. In addition locally there has been some changes made with TDC funds being kept in bricks & mortar projects rather than rolled back into the advertising budget. There was good discussion at the county BOCC meeting on this subject in regards to dollar allocation and safe guards on how these dollars will be allocated. The local DAC’s will play an important role in how their individual dollars are spent. Stay tuned.
And finally, our “Tiger in the Woods” Golf tournament is April 23rd sign up TODAY contact Kerry at the chamber office 305-294-2587 plus get one of the first golf ball drop tickets for only $10 to win $2500.
