RIVERVIEW, Fla. — Monday is the final day to have your voice heard on an upcoming construction project near Collins Elementary in Riverview.
"We're getting a lot of support from parents and commuters that are happy to see these changes happen in the community," Bianca Hatton, the Community Relations Coordinator for Hillsborough County, said.
The project is set to cost just under $2.8 million and according to the project input page, the following proposed improvements will be made:
- Implementation of an eastbound left-turn lane on Panther Trace Boulevard at Summerfield Boulevard.
- Extension of the eastbound left-turn lane on Panther Trace Boulevard at the Collins Elementary School driveway to provide additional car queuing storage and reduce traffic during school pick-up/drop-off.
- Implementation of a westbound right-turn lane on Panther Trace Boulevard at Summerfield Boulevard and the addition of a raised median separating the right-turn lane and through lane at the intersection.
- Implementation of a northbound right-turn lane on Summerfield Boulevard at the new school driveway to provide storage and deceleration for the main vehicle pick-up and drop-off loop.
- Implementation of a southbound right-turn lane on Summerfield Boulevard at Panther Trace Boulevard.
Click here to see the full list of improvements.
For many parents it's been a long time coming, they say it gets particularly crowded during drop-off and pick-up times.
“It blocks a lot of traffic," One parent with two kids who attend the school said. It has for years now, so I'm hoping with this expansion, they fix it a little bit."
“It's too crowded. You cannot park along the side of the street. There's no parking space," Connie Mcinnis who chooses to walk to the school to pick up her grandchildren, in order to avoid the crowds, said.
The county hopes the extra space will make for a safer school zone for both parents and kids.
"We want to make sure that drivers and motorists have the space that they need to continue their commute without making those risky decisions that put lives in danger, like driving on the sidewalk or driving in a median or something like that," Hatton said.
Construction is set to begin in December and be completed by the middle of next year.