Forward Pinellas presents safety improvement plan for busy street in Dunedin

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — An organization called Forward Pinellas is working to make roads safer, specifically Beltrees Street in Dunedin.

It's a road that residents said has become dangerous.

Back in February, the organization surveyed residents and learned what issues they typically see.

On Tuesday, Forward Pinellas presented an improvement plan to the City of Dunedin. It includes widening the sidewalks, raising the intersection near the trail, and adding roundabouts to decrease speeding.

"It needs an upgrade. It just needs some help," said Ashley Boyd, a resident along Beltrees Street.

Residents said they regularly see people speed through the area.

"When the ball field is open, and there are games going on, there's an obscene amount of people who are not from around here who don't understand there might be a school here, there might be kids darting out in traffic," said Tammy Woodbury, another resident.

Forward Pinellas identified Beltrees Street as an area that needs some traffic improvements.

Residents said a big issue is safety for children, especially near an elementary school on the street where residents said sidewalks are too narrow.

"Without having the sidewalks any wider, there's a sizable chance that people are going to use the medians, they are going to walk on the side of the street, and between cars and bicycles and strollers, there's just not enough space for everybody," said Boyd.

"I don't think a lot of people feel safe letting their children walk to school anymore…or ride a bike," said Woodbury.

Now, the City of Dunedin is tasked with deciding which improvement projects to move forward with out of those presented by Forward Pinellas.

Woodbury said the projects are necessary.

"There is a lot of traffic in this area. It's nice! it's a busy area, but it does need some improvement and some ability to slow the traffic down," said Woodbury.