CLEARWATER, Fla. — It’s a street that’s caused headaches for drivers and pedestrians in Clearwater for years and once again, city leaders discussed a proposal to overhaul Drew Street with safety changes .
During a workshop session Monday, city leaders received a presentation from the Florida Department of Transporation about an updated survey of the project, more than a year after plans to move forward with it were halted by legislative changes.
The proposal would change the more than two-mile stretch between Osecola Avenue and Keene Road from four lanes to two lanes, while adding a turn lane, bike lane, wider sidewalks and more crosswalks.
FDOT says it would decrease the number of crashes on the road by 57%, while adding roughly 30 seconds to an average commute downtown.
An overhaul of the road has been discussed in the city for nearly a decade, and more than $10 million in federal funding has been earmarked for the proposal by Forward Pinellas, who says between 2020-2022 there were more than 500 crashes on the stretch of road.
“It definitely has to be changed, the people just speed here too much,” says William Riley, who’s lived in the area for decades. “It needs to be made safer and nothing has been done on this road for years."
While the project has not fully been approved at the local level, Riley is among a group of neighbors who have put up signs urging council to facilitate it moving forward.
“It’s been going on way to long,” says Peggy Page who lives down the road. “I'm within walking distance of two fatal accidents and there's been little flowers and markers put up. Dangerous doesn't seem [enough] to describe it,” she added.
After approval from council last year, a change from state lawmakers required the project to be studied again.
Since then, a new city council and mayor has been elected to lead the city, some including new Mayor Bruce Rector have had reservations about the overhaul project and how it could impact traffic congestion, Rector telling 10 Tampa Bay this ahead of election in March:
"We have to consider the thoughts and concerns of all Clearwater residents, not just those who may live directly in certain parts of the street that are immediately affected by it. But even then, it's a very unpopular proposal among Clearwater residents, even many I talk with along Drew Street to reduce it from four lanes to three, that the citizens tell me that they believe there are other ways we can make Drew Street safer, without restricting it to three lanes and making traffic congestion even worse."
For those that live on the road, they’re hoping their pleas are heard before council could make a decision as early as Thursday night.
"The money’s there, the planning has been done. The surveys have been taken,” Riley said. “We know the traffic is getting worse, it’s not getting better.”