CLEARWATER, Fla. — A viewer tip brings us on a night-time drive across the Clearwater Memorial Causeway, the topic of concern — missing light poles.
"It's been since Hurricane Irma, I think that's a little ridiculous. So yeah they need to get their act together," said bicyclist Ken Templeton.
Templeton bikes the bridge often but tends to stick to a side pedestrian pathway. A concrete ledge protects pedestrians from traffic, but cyclists riding on the shoulder is a common sight.
Clearwater Police say it's perfectly legal.
For cyclists, there's just one problem — seven of the lights still haven't been replaced nearly a year to the anniversary. Most concerning is that right along a steep curb of the causeway, five of those lights are missing one after the other.
At night, it looks more like a black hole. Bicyclist David Fiorino says he was so concerned about the downed lights he reached out to the City of Clearwater when the lights first dropped. He says he was told replacing them is a state matter.
"I'd like to know why the poles haven't been fixed a year later and what the plan is to fix them," said Fiorino.
We took their questions to the Florida Department of Transportation. A spokesperson told us by email the lights are scheduled for repairs and a contractor should start on the causeway by early 2019. They would not answer why it's taken this long for a repair.
