PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — After a rash of accidents on Gulf Boulevard in the past few years, leaders in St. Pete Beach are ready to make improvements.
In a Wednesday night meeting, the city and Forward Pinellas, the county’s transportation planning organization, got feedback from people who live and work along the busy corridor.
Michael Moses, who works in St. Pete Beach, said he wouldn’t describe Gulf Boulevard as a problem road. Still, he said it is dangerous because of the various competing interests: cyclists traveling along the busy road, pedestrians crossing it, and heavy vehicle traffic on it — some of it local and some passing through to destinations beyond the coastal community.
“It’s like having eight children in your family. Okay, it’s not a problem, but they’re competing for your attention and your needs and all those things. That’s what we have on Gulf Boulevard,” he said.
It’s a mix that can have deadly consequences.
According to the City of St. Pete Beach, there were 18 pedestrian and 20 bicycle crashes on Gulf Boulevard within city limits between 2017 and 2022.
In Jan. 2023, a driver — who the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said was neither speeding nor impaired — hit and killed two pedestrians who were not within a crosswalk.
Moses says the driver is a dear friend.
“And people close to her feel that — that cloud that’s always there — the emotional cloud — because it’s a terrible thing to be a part,” he said.
Moses and others founded a grassroots group called S.A.F.E. to bring attention to Gulf Boulevard’s dangers and push for improvement.
He and other members of the group attended the Wednesday night session.
“This is the first step you need,” Moses said. “You’ve got to have this.”
Transportation planners like Michelle Gonzalez, St. Pete Beach’s Community Development Director, got a chance to get feedback from people like Moses before deciding what improvements should be made.
“We’re really in the beginning stages of the project,” she told ABC Action News. “You know, we have an existing roadway. We have buildings everywhere — limited space. What can we do?”
Members of the public told Gonzalez and other consultants that Gulf Boulevard needs improved bike lanes that better separate cyclists from cars. Others said that lighting along the corridor could be better.
Other commenters, including Moses, pointed out that some pedestrians, many of them tourists, are taking the busy road for granted. Many are not using the existing crosswalks. Others are not pushing the button to activate the flashing beacons before crossing.
“I would say, the majority of the time, people are not using the crosswalks,” he said. I actually have joy — like a meditation joy — when I see people using the crosswalk because I can relax.”
According to Gonzalez, more meetings with various stakeholders and more research will happen in the following months. A series of improvements will be presented to the public in May or June.
Those improvements could include wider sidewalks, more flashing beacons, longer medians that offer more refuge to crossing pedestrians, green bike lanes, and painted crosswalks to encourage more pedestrians to use them.
However, because Gulf Boulevard is a state road, any improvement will require coordination with the Florida Department of Transportation and funding from the state.
Moses expects the process will take time.
“We’re looking at probably five to eight years for some of these things to be done,” he guessed.
But, he said the effort, however lengthy, is worthwhile to make Gulf Boulevard safer for everyone who uses it.
