Find another route to Truman Waterfront
Three streets in
Bahama Village likely are to be hijacked by Key West's redevelopment
experts and urban planners as a means of providing public access to the
former Navy property on the Truman Waterfront. For the families who live
in the area, this proposal comes out of the blue and they don't like it.
Commissioner Carmen Turner says she will offer a resolution to block the
effort.
The plan that's been
disclosed to the residents calls for widening Olivia and Petronia
streets, one for access and the other for egress from the waterfront
property to Thomas Street. Also, Angela Street would be widened to
accommodate foot traffic, as well as bicycles. The existing Southard
Street entryway is owned by the Truman Annex Property Owners Association
and cannot be utilized without that organization's concurrence.
Frankly, the Village
residents have every right to be upset and concerned. These streets
serve a neighborhood of families, many with small children. Many
residents are elderly and disabled. Generations of kids have used these
streets as playgrounds because there is little vehicular traffic and
there are no open spaces or parks in the vicinity. Moreover, parking for
the residents would be eliminated. Virtually all of the home sites are
on small lots that will not accommodate off-street parking. Worse yet,
these are the streets that now provide after-school access to the gym at
the old Douglass School, a day care center, social service agencies and
the Bahama Village music program.
We earnestly hope the
city's planners can find a better solution. As things stand now, an
architectural and engineering consulting firm has been engaged to
complete a master plan for the waterfront property and the matter of
access and egress is a first priority. Until that firm generates
recommendations, the issue remains unresolved.
A couple of
alternatives are being discussed but it's just talk. One possibility is
to use Fort Street for one-way egress from the waterfront to Truman
Avenue. Another is to make some use of Petronia Street. The businesses
located nearest to Whitehead presumably would not object, although the
residents whose homes are nearest the community center and the
waterfront surely will. Finally, the Truman Annex property owners might
allow limited use of Southard Street.
Whether or not some of
the property that's still owned by the Navy could conceivably provide
other options is yet to be explored.
The bottom line is
this: The proposal that is now causing so much concern is not the plan
that emerged from workshops and consultations with community residents
five years ago. Furthermore, the city has not yet finalized a
redevelopment plan for the waterfront property nor is there any
guarantee, at this juncture, that whatever kind of plan emerges will be
realized any time soon.
Under the
circumstances, we say go back to the drawing board until an acceptable
alternative is forthcoming. Otherwise, if the city persists in taking
steps to make Olivia and Petronia streets primary entry and exit
thoroughfares for the waterfront, yet another historic, family-oriented
neighborhood will quickly disappear. The residents of Bahama Village are
not wealthy people. If they are pushed out as the result of a plan that
will totally destroy the character of their neighborhood, a lot of
"affordable housing" will disappear with them.
— The Citizen |
