The Overseas Highway, the 120-mile stretch of U.S. 1 that’s practically Main Street in the Florida Keys, has plenty of problems with slowdowns and traffic hitting a standstill.
But now, these U.S. 1 headaches could put a lockdown on new building permits – other than single-family homes – across the entirety of Monroe County.
Monroe County’s own 2023 traffic study, based on its policies and regulations in its 2030 comprehensive plan and land development code, earned a D grade for what’s called the “minimum level of service” for the entire length of U.S. 1.
The latest D grade factored in a median speed of 44.7 mph. The median speed needs to be 45 mph under the county’s own regulations.
A D means a freeze on any new major developments or redevelopments.
“This would mean that the county may not permit new development, other than single-family homes, unless the proposed development’s traffic impact is mitigated,” county spokeswoman Kristen Livengood said in a press release.
This happened in 2019, when the traffic study came out as a D. But the county, in the end, didn’t adopt that study after a task force adjusted the methodology.
Monroe County Commissioners will address the study results and its ramifications when they meet Sept. 20. The 2023 study is technically a draft at this time and requires their approval.
The formal study, called the U.S. 1 Arterial Travel Time and Delay Study, is conducted by the county’s traffic engineering consultant, who uses the established systematic traffic monitoring program to rate traffic volumes and travel speeds on U.S. 1 – as well as on each of the 24 study segments on U.S. 1.
The consultant factored in the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority’s water main breaks and repairs that happened during the dates of data collection, Livengood said.
This study has been done every two years since 2013. Before that, it was an annual study starting in 1992.
