ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Golf carts, bicycles, tour trains, horse-drawn carriages: You’ll see all those and more on the streets in downtown St. Augustine.
People get around the old city in different ways, but the most popular method is still automobile.
The city really wants to "change the emphasis from vehicular transportation to alternative forms of transportation," Planning and Building Director Amy Skinner told First Coast News.
Monday, Skinner presented the the Mobility Plan to the city commission. It’s been in the works for years.
Part of the plan could include wider sidewalks and more crosswalks to make pedestrians safer and to encourage walking around town.
Also, those on two wheels are getting some love.
"Bicycling and making it safer is part of the plan," Skinner said.
Last year, the city rolled out rentable motorized bikes and bike stations across the city.
And then there’s the idea of something called a circulator.
In Washington D.C., a circulator is a big bus that travels a small circuit. Skinner said that a circulator in St. Augustine would probably be smaller, maybe a van or a tram. Basically, it would serve as a mini form of public transportation.
"From the parking garage, the theory would be, you get on and you could have a simple circulator go around town that’s strictly to move people. It’s not a tourist thing," Skinner said.
Of course, the mobility plan will take money. The city plans to pay for it by establishing a mobility fee on new construction. There are different rates depending on how it would impact traffic. For example, a new restaurant would have a higher mobility fee than a new office space.
“We know that we will not be able to widen the roads within St. Augustine to accommodate the additional traffic. So we’re sitting in a log jam. We recognize that. So hopefully these alternative modes of transportation will take some of the pressure off roadways.”
If approved at the end of the month, the mobility fees would take effect in May.