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Daytona Beach redevelopment staff shows streetscape concepts for Main Street; board seeks wider sidewalks, native plantings
Summary
Redevelopment staff presented five design corridors and multiple options to reshape Main Street, Ocean Avenue and side streets; board and business owners emphasized wider sidewalks, flexible parking and native plantings and asked staff for more detail before final designs.
Angela Armstrong, redevelopment project manager for Daytona Beach City, presented concept options for a proposed Main Street streetscape project at the Beachside Redevelopment Board meeting Wednesday night, asking the board to select one concept to refine.
The concepts cover three focus areas — the arrival (Halifax River to Peninsula Avenue), the central core (Peninsula to A1A) and the beach area (A1A to the ocean) — and include options that trade roadway width for expanded sidewalks, additional landscape islands, parallel parking changes, bike lanes and formalized outdoor dining areas.
"Tonight, I only need for you to choose one option," Armstrong said during her presentation. She said the project aims to "create a visual activity" on Main Street, improve lighting and pedestrian connectivity to the Ocean Center and the Peabody, and make the corridor more friendly for residents and tourists.
Board members and business owners repeatedly urged keeping sidewalks as wide as possible and using hardy, native landscaping near the beach. Tom Caffrey said large sidewalks and uniform curblines would improve accessibility and pedestrian flow, while a number of business owners including Bobby (Robert) Ellis and Ken Botts cautioned against narrowing sidewalks for the sake of added parking.
"We want the widest sidewalks possible because people are bumping into themselves," Bobby Ellis said. "If we make those any narrower, it's not going to be good." Ellis represents a Main Street business and spoke from experience about foot traffic during events.
Several speakers flagged the project's impacts on businesses during peak events such as Bike Week. Amy Pyle, a board member who chaired later in the meeting, asked whether restaurants and cafés would be required to remove tables during large events; Armstrong said the plan is preliminary and staff would develop programming rules, including possible city support to store items during big events.
Daytona Beach bar and restaurant owner Ken Botts pressed staff to prioritize South Grandview and connections from that corridor into Main Street, noting the area’s poor condition and merchant concerns.
On parking, consultants’ diagrams showed some options produce a net gain of spaces on certain blocks, while others remove parking to make space for plazas or bike lanes. Armstrong said the team would confirm net parking totals before final recommendations.
Board members also debated material choices and maintenance. Several members and speakers urged plant palettes with salt-tolerant, low-maintenance species. Tim Costadakis said grass would be difficult to maintain in the beach environment without irrigation and ongoing upkeep.
Armstrong closed by outlining next steps: consultants will incorporate board feedback and produce refined concepts; a public meeting is planned at the Peabody for the next round of review.
"We are going to refine our sections based on today's meeting," Armstrong said, and staff will return with more detailed concepts and a public stakeholder session. The board did not vote on a design; members were asked to submit additional written input to staff after the meeting.
Votes and formal actions tied to the Main Street presentation were procedural: the board agreed to collect written comments and to hold a public meeting at the Peabody once concepts are refined.
