This article appeared in the August 4th 2017 issue of the Sun Sentinel. Click here to read online.

By Joanie Cox Henry, South Florida Sun Sentinel

Delray Beach resident Bruce Bastian said he couldn’t be happier about the the Northeast Second Avenue/Seacrest Phase II Enhancement project, and he’s hoping others support it, too.

Bastian is chairman of Human Powered Delray, an organization dedicated to promoting safe and viable human-powered transportation throughout the city.

“It will definitely make it easier for locals to walk and bike downtown and it will help alleviate traffic,” he said. “Over the next five years, we have a lot of projects that will help contribute to a green connected network.”

Delray Beach’s Environmental Services Department recently invited residents to a meeting to learn more about the project.

Phase I, which will cost an estimated $1 million, starts in September or October and involves improvements to be made along Northeast Second Avenue from Northeast Eighth Street/George Bush Boulevard to Northeast 13th Street.

Wantman Group, Inc. has been contracted by the city to engineer the design of the improvements, which include reduction in travel lane width, 5-foot-wide sidewalks, dedicated bicycle lanes and decorative crosswalks.

Phase II construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2018. The city partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to improve Northeast Second Avenue from Northeast 13th Street to Northeast 22nd Street. The project will cost an estimated $1.5 million with $750,000 coming from FDOT funds and $750,000 coming from city funds.

Project engineer Stephen Cherry said benefits of Phase II will include “reduction in vehicular traffic speed, increased pedestrian and cyclist connectivity to downtown and improved traffic, cyclist and pedestrian safety.”

Jason Bregman, a Human Powered Delray board member, said he is eager to see the improvements implemented.

“This will definitely be a good thing for the community,” said Bregman, who often rides his bike to work.

Deborah Dowd, who started the Seacreast Homeowners Association in the early 1990s, likes the addition of bike lanes and reduction in vehicular traffic speed.