VIRGINIA BEACH — Over the next several years, Atlantic Avenue in the resort area will be transformed into what planners are calling a more pedestrian-friendly space that will aim to accommodate bicycles and other modes of transportation.
Most notable, the existing trolley lanes will be eliminated and replaced with several pull-off spaces for potential trolley stops, shared ride pickups and business deliveries. A designated bicycle path also is planned.
The “reimagined” Atlantic Avenue will extend from 5th to 40th streets at an estimated cost of $48 million, according to the city. The project’s design phase is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
“(We’re) really trying to iron out how much space there is in the street and looking at how that streetscape realignment shifts that space,” William Serge, a landscape architect with WPL of Virginia Beach, told members of the Resort Advisory Commission last week.
Construction could begin in the fall of 2025 and will take three years.
WPL and other contractors have been meeting with public works, police and fire staff about the design. Now they will seek feedback from RAC members, who are appointed by the City Council to make recommendations on Oceanfront initiatives.
Atlantic Avenue will be revamped in phases, and the work will be divided in sections by grouping of streets — 5th to 17th; 17th to 25th; and 25th to 40th.
“All three of those areas sort of have a different feel, a different logic and a different rationale as far as the space usage,” Serge said.
The new design will take cues from recommendations in the Atlantic Avenue Streetscape Design Guidelines, completed by consultants last year.
Serge said WPL is considering two styles for curbs around the landscaped beds along Atlantic Avenue’s west side. One design has an urban, linear, contemporary look, while the other has curved edges. The plans call for carving out niches with benches and bike racks. Light poles will be consolidated and placed where needed with consistent light color.
“We’re aiming to have all these pieces work in harmony together with the street,” Serge said.
Several RAC members expressed concerns about how it will function. Commission member Julian Rivera suggested scaling back the plantings due to upkeep issues and to consider other ideas that could fill the space.
“This seems like it’s going to add more work to the back end,” Rivera said.
Longtime RAC member and current chair, Billy Almond, piped up about plans for a landscaping system designed to improve the environment for plants and trees. He heads up WPL’s landscape architectural services division. Underground root boxes made by GreenBlue Urban, a Tennessee company, will be installed, he said.
“This is one of the most high-tech horticulture system’s out there,” said Almond. “This soil system right here runs the length of Atlantic Avenue, so you’ve got a tremendous volume of soil to grow trees, plants, shrubs, perennials, run utilities and deal with stormwater all within this GreenBlue system.”
Almond stated at the start of the Atlantic Avenue presentation that for transparency, he has filed a conflict of interest letter with the city because of his affiliation with WPL. The Virginian-Pilot requested the letter last Friday — that was forwarded to the city’s Freedom of Information Office, which has five working days to provide it.
John Zirkle, a RAC member and president of the Virginia Beach Hotel Association, wasn’t sold on the idea of bench seating along the sidewalk area.
“We already have the homeless camped out on the Boardwalk,” Zirkle said. “I fear this is just going to open it up to now they’ll be on Atlantic Avenue as well.”
Commissioners will be able to provide more feedback over the next several weeks, and businesses along the thoroughfare will be invited to meetings to learn more about the project, said Bobby Hester with Rinker Design Associates.
“We will give you more detail about when we’re going to be in front of your door, what we’re going to be doing and how we’re going to maintain access for you,” he said.
Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]
