Live Oak council authorizes probe into downtown parking, Highway 129 traffic

The City of Live Oak City Council voted to authorize staff to investigate options to relieve through-traffic and on-street parking congestion along U.S. Highway 129 near the Highway 90 intersection, including possible property acquisition and talks with the county and the Florida Department of Transportation.

Council members said through traffic stacking at the 129/90 intersection and vehicles parked in front of downtown businesses have created safety and access problems. Councilmember (unnamed) asked to give County Administrator Sessions authority to open discussions with the county and DOT, and to investigate whether adjacent properties could be purchased and converted to a public parking lot to remove on-street parking there.

Why it matters: downtown business access and motorist safety are the stated motivations. Removing roadside parking and creating off-street parking could allow two through-lanes in each direction and a center turn lane, council members said, which they expect would reduce backups and crash risk near the railroad crossing.

Details of the proposal and concerns: speakers described a cluster of buildings directly adjacent to the courthouse (one a former Mexican restaurant and an office building) as potential acquisition targets. A council member said an online listing previously showed combined asking prices near $300,000 for one of the properties; the final price and the city’s share of any purchase were not specified. City Manager Mr. Patience and County Administrator Mr. Sessions were named as the officials expected to open discussions with property owners, the county and DOT.

Residents who spoke supported action. Cheryl Prudel, a downtown resident, said, “it’s got so bad. We can’t hardly get out on Second Street to even get on there,” and described vehicles parked on the roadway that block sight lines for motorists. Council members acknowledged the need to estimate demolition, construction and acquisition costs and to determine how much parking any new lot would create.

Opposition and fiscal questions: at least one council member (referred to in the meeting as Judge Ann) cautioned that removing property from the tax roll to create nonrevenue parking could reduce city tax receipts and urged careful fiscal analysis before buying land. She said a $300,000 price tag for property used only as parking “will not bring any money whatsoever back in to the citizens,” and urged staff to consider alternatives.

Action taken: the council approved a motion to authorize staff to pursue discussions and report back. The motion passed by voice vote; members said they expect a follow-up report on potential costs, number of parking spaces that could be created and the county’s possible participation.

Next steps: staff were authorized to open talks with the county and DOT and to investigate property availability, costs and potential parking capacity. Council members said they expect Mr. Sessions to return to the council with options and cost estimates.