ACP Pubs

Steve Hudson

Developing A Scenic Byway
May 21, 2008

The Florida Department of Transportation is moving toward a scenic byway corridor management plan for the River of Lakes highway corridor in Volusia County, Fla.   

The National Scenic Byways Program is a voluntary, community-based program administered by the Federal Highway Administration. Its goal is to recognize, protect, and promote America’s most outstanding roads.  Through state departments of transportation, communities can apply for designation as a State or National Scenic Byway for funding from the FHWA. 

The River of Lakes highway corridor runs north/south along U.S. 17 through Volusia County, generally following the St. Johns River and its many scenic lakes. In some of those lakes, as I understand it, the fishing can be very good.  

The prime consultant for the project – TranSystems – will assist with the preparation of an FDOT Scenic Highway Program Corridor Management Plan.  It’s a pretty comprehensive plan that will look at goals, objectives and strategies for creating a scenic byway; a background conditions analysis; corridor limits and roadway right-of-way constraints; existing land use and zoning and future land use; traffic volume and safety; roadway improvements; social and economic conditions; historic, cultural and recreational resources; and tourism and user facilities.

The comprehensive management plan will be completed in 2009. Subsequently, the roadway may be designated a National Scenic Byway or an official State of Florida scenic highway.  Either designation will enable local officials to apply for funding to preserve and enhance the scenic and historic character of the corridor.

That sounds promising, it does. I know it’ll be good news for folks traveling in that neck of the woods – especially if they’re fishermen like me who always enjoy taking an interesting route to the next good patch of water.

Posted by Steve Hudson on May 21, 2008 | Comments (0)