News and Public Media for North Central Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Changes For Northwest 8th Avenue In Gainesville

The City of Gainesville Public Works Department is changing the traffic pattern on Northwest Eighth Avenue from Northwest 23rd Street to Northwest 31st Drive starting Sunday to evaluate the roadway configuration. This change is only temporary, but there is no actual date scheduled yet to end it.

Gainesville City Commissioners have been debating a plan to permanently narrow that portion of the road, and a remaining section from 31st Drive to 34th Street. A majority of the commission has said the lane reduction

would make it more pedestrian friendly, and the narrowing would not drastically increase driving times.

The traffic pattern change taking place Sunday will reduce the roadway from four travel lanes to two travel lanes with on-street bike lanes, between Northwest 23rd Street and Northwest 31st Drive. This will allow for an evaluation of traffic flows, as well as use of the corridor by motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians. Information gathered from this change will be discussed with the City Commission to decide whether to make the change permanent during the future Eighth Avenue roadway reconstruction project.

Between Northwest 31st Drive and Northwest 34th Street, the roadway will remain a four-lane road. Westbound traffic will merge to the left. Eastbound traffic will merge to the right after crossing 34th Street. If poor weather occurs, the traffic pattern change will be delayed to the following Sunday.

Reconstruction of Northwest Eighth Avenue is scheduled to begin in 2015 upon completion of Alachua County’s Northwest 16th Avenue project that is scheduled for January through December 2014.

For more information on the Northwest Eighth reconstruction project, please visit http://www.cityofgainesville.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=ER5PudU8kpc%3d&tabid=273
or call 352-334-5072.

Forrest is a radio news manager for WUFT News. Reach him by emailing news@wuft.org or calling 352-392-6397.