ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Forward Pinellas, the City of St. Petersburg and the Florida Department of Transportation want your thoughts on possible transportation projects in the greater Downtown St. Petersburg area.
This past fall, more than 500 people responded to an initial survey, talking about how they were traveling and ideas for types of improvements they would like to see.
Based on those comments, Forward Pinellas has begun identifying potential projects, including turning one-way pairs into two-way streets and modifying the interstate spurs (I-375 and I-175), among other transportation improvements.
"We want to make sure that first, it's feasible, technically, and that it makes sense," said Sarah Caper with Forward Pinellas. "And also that the community wants to see changes."
Another aspect of the Downtown St. Petersburg Mobility Study is to see how other neighborhoods, like South St. Petersburg, can better connect to Downtown St. Pete.
For many pedestrians, these changes are welcome. Paul Wilson, who lives in South St. Petersburg, doesn't have many options for how he gets from place to place.
"Not everybody has a car," he said. "I walk."
But often, he doesn't feel safe on streets and sidewalks leading up to the greater Downtown area.
"There's been a lot of fatalities up and down here and on 18th Street," he said.
The initial findings from the study found that more than half of crashes happening in the greater downtown area involve roads with speed limits greater than 35 miles per hour.
From now until June 25, 2021, residents can take a quick, five-minute survey about the possible projects that could be coming to their community.
For those who would like to take a deeper dive into what researchers have identified, they can join any of the two remaining online listening sessions for the “Downtown St. Pete Mobility Study” on June 22, 2021, from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m., and June 24, 2021, from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. They will be held virtually on Zoom.
GET REGISTERED | Sign up to take part in either Zoom session
At these listening sessions, the public will have the opportunity to provide their thoughts on how planners can create a safe and accessible Downtown St. Petersburg.
