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Letter from the Neighborhood Association to the Broward County School Board Concerning the Stranahan High School Project

 

April 14, 2006

 

Mr. Ben Williams, Chairman, The Broward County School Board

600 SE 3 Avenue

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

 

Dear Mr. Williams:

 

On behalf of the membership of the Riverside Park Residents' Association I would like to thank you for attending our March 5 general meeting and consensus-building workshop where school representatives, neighborhood residents, and City of Fort Lauderdale observers reviewed and discussed the proposed renovation of Stranahan High School. Your input and insight, as well as that of Principal Owens, was especially constructive and very much appreciated.

As you are aware, the product of that meeting was a resolution, passed unanimously by the membership, which expresses our position on various issues associated with the proposed renovation. That resolution, in two parts, is attached.

As you are also aware, pursuant to your January 25 public hearing at Stranahan High School and prior to our March 5 meeting, we requested that a traffic study be done to identify adverse effects on the neighborhood or the school, and that traffic-related problems be solved prior to final design approval. We also requested that public input continue throughout the planning process. We are very pleased that both of these requests have been honored with your assurance that the School Board will fund the traffic study, and with your invitation for continued dialogue with you and Principal Owens.

As an introduction to the attached resolution, we are including a summary of the resolution along with a map of the Riverside Park neighborhood on the next page. As you review this document, we believe you will see that it is a reasonable and constructive appeal for mutually beneficial coexistence between Stranahan High School and the Riverside Park Neighborhood. We remain convinced, and we hope you agree, that the goal of providing the best educational environment for Stranahan students is fully reconcilable with the goal of protecting and preserving our neighborhood's residential environment.

Thank you for your consideration of our position.

 

Sincerely,

David Marshall, President

 

Enclosures: Summary and Map; Resolution Part I; Resolution Part II; FDOT Traffic Study Standards

 

Copies:

SHS Principal Deborah Owens

The Broward County School Board

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank Till

Mayor and Commissioners, City of Fort Lauderdale

Project Manager Sheldon Dash

City Manager George Gretsas

David O. Prada, Brown + Brown Architects

William F. Brown, Brown + Brown Architects

Director of Planning & Zoning Marc LeFerrier

City Engineer Peter Partington

James Hill, Civic Design Associates

Deputy Superintendent of Facilities and Construction Management Michael Garretson

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF RESOLUTION and NEIGHBORHOOD MAP

The School Board of Broward County is planning a massive renovation of Stranahan High School (SHS), which is located in the center of the Riverside Park neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (outlined in red on the map below). Neighborhood residents support this proposed reinvestment in education but have reasoned concerns about the impact of the project on their community. These concerns, along with a number of questions and suggestions regarding the renovation, are being communicated by the neighborhood's civic association to the School Board in the form of a two-part resolution in which residents appeal for a thorough review of the renovation plans as they relate to their residential environment and ask that problems be identified and solved in advance of final plan approval. Accordingly, the neighborhood is asking for:

 

Map of Stranahan HS within the Riverside Park neighborhood

 

 

 

 

 

RESOLUTION, Part 1

Introduced by: The Riverside Park Residents' Association

Subject: The proposed renovation of Stranahan High School

Submitted to: The School Board of Broward County, Florida

 

Whereas, the Riverside Park Residents' Association supports the goal of providing a quality education to the students of Broward County in an environment that is safe, modern and conducive to learning; and

Whereas, toward that goal, the Riverside Park Residents' Association supports the School Board's investment in eastern Broward County schools, including the improvement of Stranahan High School; and

Whereas, the proposed plan for the renovation of Stranahan High School calls for significant changes in campus layout, use, access, egress, parking and school-related traffic; and

Whereas, the proposed plan is of massive scope and duration, and is certain to affect for decades the surrounding neighborhood of Riverside Park as well as the school; and

Whereas, all impacts of the proposed plan should be fully studied and understood prior to approval of the final design; and

Whereas, potential negative impacts identified in the process should be solved prior to approval of the final design; and

Whereas, our review of the proposed plan has inspired a number of questions regarding the renovation of Stranahan High School, as well as requests for the protection and preservation of our neighborhood's residential environment; therefore be it

RESOLVED, by the membership of the Riverside Park Residents' Association that we herewith communicate to the School Board of Broward County our questions, requests, and concerns regarding the renovation of Stranahan High School as articulated in RESOLUTION, Part 2: ITEMIZED ISSUES, which is attached hereto; and therefore be it further

RESOLVED, that we request that that these matters be considered and resolved prior to final approval of the proposed plan for the renovation of Stranahan High School.

 

Resolution part 1 unanimously adopted on the 5th day of March, 2006

 

Signature and title of Authorized Representative

 

 

 

 

 

RESOLUTION, Part 2: ITEMIZED ISSUES

Introduced by: The Riverside Park Residents' Association

Subject: The proposed renovation of Stranahan High School

Submitted to: The School Board of Broward County, Florida

 

Note: The following issues are organized into three sections: Affirmations, Questions, and Requests

 

Section I: AFFIRMATIONS

1. TRAFFIC STUDY

The Riverside Park Residents' Association (RPRA) affirms its insistence that a traffic study be done prior to the approval of the Stranahan High School (SHS) renovation plan, and that any findings indicating adverse effects of school-related traffic on the neighborhood be mitigated prior to approval of the plan.

We assert that it is sound planning practice to understand the traffic impact of such a massive project prior to design approval, especially because it is located within a residential neighborhood. In fact, SHS is located more deeply in a residential neighborhood, and farther from major streets, than any other Broward County school. Moreover, the proposed renovation would create entirely new locations for access, egress, parking, and traffic routing, all of whose effects are not yet known, affecting our neighborhood for decades to come.

Until the full spectrum of school traffic issues are fully assessed and understood, and solutions identified and designed, it would be unwise to approve the new configuration of the campus. The possibility that the location and/or length of bus and other school vehicle parking lots and driveways may need to be adjusted may, in turn, necessitate the adjustment of actual building locations. Thus, it is in the best interests of the project's success, as well as protection of the residential environment of the Riverside Park neighborhood, for the School Board to sponsor a professional traffic study. Ideally, the School Board would accept the City of Fort Lauderdale's offer to "provide input on the scope of the study."

The Florida Department of Transportation's official traffic study guidelines call for all project-related traffic issues to be articulated, addressed, documented, discussed and agreed to. (For a summary of the Florida Department of Transportation's official traffic study guidelines, please refer to the attachment at the end of this document.) It is the reasoned conclusion of the RPRA that the following project-related factors should be considered as part of the traffic study:

 

a. GENERAL TRAFFIC SAFETY

Accidents on the neighborhood streets used for school access need to be thoroughly assessed regarding locations, quantity, causes and mitigation measures as part of the traffic study.

 

b. SHS STUDENT POPULATION INCREASE

It is our understanding that the school's student population will be increased. Although that increase is purported to be modest as a percentage of the existing student population, it nevertheless will result in real increases in vehicle trips on neighborhood streets for every additional student not riding an existing school bus. Any increase in vehicle trips needs to be quantified, and its impact considered, in the analysis of school-generated traffic.

 

c. SHS BUS TRAFFIC

On and off campus considerations include: Access and egress to and from SHS and an analysis of bus stacking on campus, at neighborhood intersections, the number of busses, the effect of existing stop signs and traffic light timing, the potential for residential driveway obstruction, and bus distribution and direction relating to our Broward Boulevard and Davie Boulevard neighborhood entrances. The potential for traffic conflicts and congestion at and near intersections should also be assessed.

 

d. OTHER BROWARD COUNTY SCHOOL BUSSES

Considerations should include: The number of busses, the effect of existing stop signs, traffic light timing, the potential for residential driveway obstruction, bus distribution and direction relating to our Broward Boulevard and Davie Boulevard neighborhood entrances, and the potential for traffic conflicts and congestion at and near intersections. Given the significant number of elementary and middle school students who currently wait for their busses at poorly defined bus stops with questionable safety, the School Board may find it prudent to direct that non-SHS bus routes, bus stops, direction and distribution are incorporated into an overall bus routing strategy within the Riverside Park neighborhood as part of the planning of SHS bus routing. The strategy should consider better identification and safety of school bus stops, and might also consider the possibility of using SHS driveways and loops instead of neighborhood streets for non-SHS busses to turn around.

 

e. SHS AUTOMOBILE TRAFFIC: PARENT, TEACHER, STUDENT and GUEST

On and off campus considerations include: Access and egress to and from SHS, calculating the impact on neighborhood intersections based on the number of vehicles, the effect of existing stop signs, traffic light timing, the potential for residential driveway obstruction, automobile distribution and direction relating to our Broward Boulevard and Davie Boulevard neighborhood entrances, and the potential for traffic conflicts and congestion at and near intersections.

 

f. SHS CONSTRUCTION AND VENDOR TRAFFIC

On and off campus considerations include: Access and egress to and from SHS, calculating the impact on neighborhood intersections as a factor of the number of vehicles, the effect of existing stop signs, traffic light timing, the potential for residential driveway obstruction, vehicle distribution and direction relating to our Broward Boulevard and Davie Boulevard neighborhood entrances, and the potential for traffic conflicts and congestion at and near intersections. The traffic impact of using SW 5 Place for cafeteria supply truck access should be also be assessed. In its consideration of SHS construction and vendor traffic, The School Board may find it prudent to require that vehicles not bound by school starting and dismissal hours arrive and leave at times other than rush hours.

 

g. CONCENTRATION OF SHS ACCESS, EGRESS AND PARKING LOTS

The concentration of entrances, exits and parking lots at the southeast corner of the school, as presented on January 25, 2006 by the SHS project planners, seemed to guarantee that there will be traffic congestion at and around the southeast corner of the school. This configuration may need to be reconsidered based on the predicted quantities of each category of school-related vehicles and the timing of their entrance, exit and parking lot use. The fact that sidewalks at this corner of the school are either in poor condition or non-existent gives us further cause for concern about the concentration of access and egress there.

 

h. STUDENT DROP-OFF LOCATIONS

Currently and historically, officially designated student drop-off areas have been disregarded by parents who prefer to drop off their children at other locations that are more convenient but less safe. Frequently, these "unofficial" drop-off areas adversely affect adjoining property owners and disrupt traffic flow. The process of developing new drop-off sites should consider this potential, and should incorporate design-based disincentives to disregard or abuse designated drop-off locations and procedure.

 

i. EXISTING TRAFFIC COMPLICATIONS

Analysis of the traffic impact of the SHS renovation should consider the existing traffic problems in the Riverside Park neighborhood, especially those occurring at street intersections during school rush hours. An extra effort should be made to study and mitigate traffic congestion at the neighborhood entrances at SW 18 Avenue / Broward Boulevard and SW 15 Avenue / Davie Boulevard during school rush hours. Considerations at these locations include: The short signal timing onto and off of Broward Boulevard, the complicating effect of the BP gas station's access and egress, the timing and traffic back-ups at the New River / Davie Boulevard bridge, and the already grueling vehicle stacking situation at both of these neighborhood entrances.

 

j. IMMINENT NEW TRAFFIC COMPLICATIONS

The analysis of the capacity of neighborhood streets to bear school-related traffic should consider the fact that there are a number of imminent projects that are certain to complicate existing traffic pressures. Among them are: Neighborhood-wide sewer construction that will render various streets impassable over a three year period, Broward Corridor projects that will affect our Broward Boulevard / SW 18 Avenue entrance, water main construction that will affect the Davie Boulevard / SW 15 Avenue entrance, and refurbishment of the 11th Avenue Bridge which will close that neighborhood entrance up to a year. For the traffic study to be accurate and relevant, these scheduled projects and their impact on traffic must be factored into the study's calculations and conclusions.

 

k. ESCALATING NEIGHBORHOOD DENSITY

The analysis of the capacity of neighborhood streets to bear school-related traffic should consider the fact that residential density is about to increase dramatically, further exacerbating traffic pressures. New residential building projects which will generate "committed" new vehicle trips include: Oak Hammock's 52 new dwellings on SW 18 Avenue just north of SHS, and another 12 new residences across from the northwest corner of SHS. Oak Hammock alone will add a nominal 75 neighborhood automobiles to SW 18 Avenue when their certificate of occupancy is secured later this year. Beyond these two projects, which are adjacent to SHS, a further increase in neighborhood-wide residential density will be capacitated by sewer installation. This will enable builders to redevelop lots in a way that fully exploits the area's zoning without the limitations currently engendered by the prohibition against build over septic tanks. For the traffic study to be accurate and relevant, these imminent projects and their traffic impacts must be factored into the study's calculations and conclusions. Clearly, existing vehicle numbers will be outdated within a few months and obsolete within a few years.

 

l. MITIGATING SCHOOL TRAFFIC IMPACT ON RESIDENTS

The existence of a high school in the heart of a residential neighborhood creates inherent, evident problems. Neighborhood residents, especially those who live immediately around the school and along nearby streets, endure the negative consequences of this less-than-ideal urban design. From delays getting to work to driveways being blocked, the current situation is barely manageable. Now, with plans for major construction at the school, an increase in student population, and entirely new access points, there is reasoned concern on the part of many Riverside Park residents that things could get much worse. This is why, as stated in Part 1 of this resolution, all impacts of the proposed plan should be fully studied and understood prior to approval of the final design, with potential negative impacts solved prior to approval of the final design.

 

m. DESIGNATION OR DONATION OF SHS RIGHT-OF-WAY

The traffic study well may determine that the current inadequacy of roadway widths is a contributing cause of inefficient traffic flow around SHS. It may also conclude that wider traffic lanes, additional traffic lanes and/or the creation of drop-off and stacking lanes could improve traffic flow, especially during and after the new construction. We therefore encourage the School Board and the project designers to consider designating perimeter SHS property for the creation of drop-off and holding lanes, and/or donating right-of-way for the expansion of adjoining roadways as the need may indicate.

 

n. INTERFACE WITH NEIGHBORHOOD COMPATABILITY STUDY CONSULTANT

To prevent conclusions or recommendations based on the traffic study from potentially conflicting with the other urban planning work currently underway in the Riverside Park neighborhood, it would be advisable for the traffic study vendor to interface with James Hill of Civic Design Associates, who is developing new neighborhood design standards in cooperation with the RPRA and the City of Fort Lauderdale, and will soon be submitting his findings and recommendations.

 

o. CUMULATIVE EFFECTS

All of these issues will be consequential. Together, they are likely to produce interactive complications. Therefore the traffic study should use every analytical tool available, including quantitative, geometric and chronological models to predict the full cumulative impact of the factors identified above, and recommend commensurate mitigating measures.

 

p. NOTE

It is conceivable that the traffic study may suggest the possibility of opening neighborhood streets that were closed in 1988 as part of our successful, nationally recognized neighborhood revitalization plan. Due to the strategic importance of all of our street closures, the RPRA must insist that any consideration of reopening a closed street be done in consultation with neighborhood representatives who developed the plan, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department which recommended the street closings, the Broward County Emergency Medical Services Department which endorsed the plan, and with City of Fort Lauderdale officials including the Mayor, the District 4 Commissioner, and City Manager. The beneficial effects of the street closures, e.g. neighborhood safety and security, repelling drug activity and discouraging shortcutting traffic, must not be lost. Ultimately, if this option is explored, it may involve part time, managed street openings during school rush hours only.

 

2. STADIUM LIGHTING

The RPRA reaffirms its opposition to stadium lighting and to the nighttime athletic events the lights would enable. We believe that the problems associated with night games would be catastrophic to neighborhood safety, security and quality of life. Accordingly, we will continue to insist that the School Board honor its assurance that, notwithstanding the fact that electricity for stadium lighting is being installed as part of the SHS renovation, the School Board will never initiate the installation of stadium lights. As Mr. Williams has repeatedly assured us, no stadium lighting will ever be installed at SHS unless the City of Fort Lauderdale originates such plans and the City Commission approves them.

 

3. CONTINUED PUBLIC INPUT AND INTERACTION

The RPRA reaffirms its request to be involved throughout the SHS renovation planning process, specifically in continued discussion of each of the affirmations, questions, and requests contained in this document. We welcome every opportunity to contribute our input and assistance toward helping the renovation to be a success for Broward County education as well as a model for compatibility with a surrounding neighborhood. We gladly accept Principal Owens' invitation to be involved in the development of the landscaping plan, and the discussion of minimizing perimeter fences wherever possible. We also look forward to our continued involvement in other school functions, such as community service initiatives, theater productions and landscape projects, and will make room in our newsletter whenever SHS wishes to announce upcoming school events.

 

Section II. QUESTIONS

1. SITE ASSESSMENT

The many problems associated with the current SHS location, including the extraordinary complications expected during and after its renovation, substantiate our observation that the site is not ideal for a Magnet High School. There is little doubt that if the current SHS site, as it is juxtaposed with a residential neighborhood, were submitted to any municipal planning board in the country as a new urban planning proposal, it would be rejected summarily based on its many built-in design and use conflicts. It seems to us, therefore, that a fundamental reassessment of the tenability of the site itself would have been a logical measure at the outset of the planning process. For the record, we would like an official response to the following questions regarding site assessment:

 

We ask these questions because opportunities to correct fundamental location liabilities or inadequacies present themselves rarely. When they do, such as at this major juncture of Stranahan High School's future, we believe that the chance should be seized to freshly consider possibilities, through visionary thinking and public input, that could bring us closer to an ideal situation at the earliest conceptual stages of planning.

 

2. NEIGHBORHOOD-BASED SCHOOL

Since 1986 we have been advocating the conversion of SHS back to a neighborhood school that serves neighborhood students as it did years ago when Stranahan was an elementary school. There are several compelling advantages to this concept. For the record, we would like an official response to the following questions regarding the neighborhood-based school concept:

 

We ask these questions because we believe that having a true neighborhood school is an entirely sensible goal. We are aware that it does not fit the current, entrenched model, but we doubt that the current model is working so perfectly that it should be exempt from reconsideration. Although School Board officials have verbally noted some of their objections to creating a neighborhood school at the SHS site, we believe that the perceived obstacles are not insurmountable. We also believe that it is not now, nor will it ever be, too late for the School Board to take the visionary initiative of creating a model preK-12 neighborhood school at the SHS site.

 

3. TIDE CREEK

Tide Creek was once a navigable waterway that flowed through what is now the SHS campus into the North Fork of the New River. It was used for transportation and food gathering by the Native people of Florida, but was filled in when SHS was built. As a matter of ecologic and historic principle, we believe that Tide Creek should be protected from further damage if not fully restored. Some long-time residents and historical enthusiasts recall having heard that somewhere in the Broward County School system is a reserve fund that is intended for the restoration of Tide Creek. We would like to know if there is any such fund, and if so, what is its legal and financial disposition?

 

Section III. REQUESTS:

1. UPDATED DESIGN PLANS

The most recent SHS renovation maps and specifications we have seen were from January, 2006. We understand that the plans have been updated since then. We ask that we be provided with the latest maps and specifications, and that we receive continued updates as they are developed.

 

2. ON CAMPUS STUDENT SAFETY

Concerns have been voiced by Riverside Park residents, including current and former professional teachers, that the safety of students may be compromised as a result of the students' proximity to construction equipment and workers during the SHS renovation. We would like a firm assurance that students will be protected from physical danger and personal affronts as a result of construction going on simultaneously with school hours. We would also like to know if the School Board requires background checks for all construction workers and supervisors on school property, if such background checks will be conducted prior to contractors' presence at the SHS site, and if they will be periodically re-checked for validity during the duration of the renovation. We further ask that that every provision of the Jessica Lunsford Act, as it relates to this project, will be fully heeded and discharged.

 

3. OFF CAMPUS STUDENT SAFETY

We ask that, to the fullest authority and ability that the School Board and SHS officials may legally exercise, SHS students be encouraged to walk on sidewalks instead of in the streets. Regarding elementary and middle school students who wait at bus stops within our neighborhood, as noted earlier, we encourage the School Board to thoroughly assess the location, identification and safety of all school bus stops located in the Riverside Park neighborhood and make appropriate safety and security improvements.

 

4. OFF CAMPUS RESIDENT SAFETY

We ask that that, to the fullest authority and ability that the School Board and SHS officials may legally exercise, SHS students will be discouraged and prevented from interfering with or damaging resident's vehicles, and from attacking residents while off campus, as has happened in the past.

 

5. SIDEWALKS

We ask that the SHS property have a complete and contiguous sidewalk network around the school perimeter, that deteriorated sidewalks be restored and maintained in safe and sound condition, and that the SHS sidewalk network interface safely and logically with existing neighborhood sidewalks.

 

6. SCHOOL SWALES

We request that SHS swale areas be maintained in neat and trash-free condition as required by City of Fort Lauderdale municipal ordinance.

 

7. LANDSCAPING

We urge the School Board to select a Landscape Architect who is experienced with mature, native, storm resistant trees and who will prioritize them in the SHS campus landscape design. We also ask that non-native supplementary landscape selections be judiciously used for special applications, such as thickly planting bamboo to protect vehicles from errant baseballs that may be hit toward neighborhood streets. Carefully selected native and non-native landscaping may also help to buffer school-related noise.

 

8. STUDENT LITTERING

Solving the problem of off-campus student littering will be more likely a product of instruction and enforcement than actual campus design. However, installing waste receptacles at strategic locations around the school and maintaining them daily would certainly help to alleviate the problem. Therefore we ask that waste receptacles be included the SHS campus design and maintenance.

 

9. SPORTS FACILITIES

We request that the configuration of the sports facilities be reexamined with regard to neighborhood safety. It is clear, for instance, that with the currently planned orientation of the baseball field, it will be an eventuality for foul balls to be hit out onto SW 5 Place and SW 20 Avenue.

 

10. PERIMETER FENCES

We request that perimeter fences be eliminated wherever possible and that any fences deemed absolutely necessary be moved away from surrounding streets as far as possible and be of the lowest height practical. We encourage the security of the campus to be designed into the configuration and architecture of buildings using Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles, rather than installing large amounts of tall chain link fencing as a security adjunct. If chain link fencing must be used, we ask that it be vinyl coated instead of raw galvanized. It is worthy of note that the current design of the administration/auditorium area of the campus does not include any fencing at all, and is currently the most attractive vista at SHS.

 

11. ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

As earlier noted, Tide Creek was once a navigable waterway that flowed into the North Fork of the New River, which was filled in when SHS was built. As a matter of ecological and historical principle, the RPRA has long advocated the full restoration of Tide Creek. If full restoration is not to be a part of the SHS renovation, the RPRA requests that, at the very least, the existence and importance of Tide Creek be acknowledged and that no further or irreversible damage be done to the possibility of restoring Tide Creek at some time in the future.

 

12. SCHOOL-GENERATED NOISE

No one in Riverside Park expects that the SHS campus will be, or should be, completely quiet. However, we believe that minimizing campus noise heard by nearby residents, such as is generated by band practice and sporting events, can and should be a consideration of the SHS renovation design. Design options that could help preserve a peaceful environment for surrounding residents include judicious location of noise-generating functions, directing loudspeakers away from homes and planting noise-buffering landscaping.

 

13. ARCHITECTURE

We trust that this project is in good hands with your professional architect, but we would like to state for the record our desire to see building facades that are as attractive from the outside as they are educationally functional on the inside.

 

Resolution part 2 unanimously adopted on the 5th day of March, 2006

 

Signature and title of Authorized Representative

 

 

 

 

 

FDOT TRAFFIC STUDY GUIDELINES

According to State of Florida Department of Transportation's official traffic study guidelines, each of the following elements should be clearly articulated, addressed, documented, discussed and agreed to, except when inapplicable to the proposed development:

 

 

 

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This letter and the enclosures outline the specific requests of the Riverside Park Residents' Association to the School Board regarding the Stranahan High School improvement project.