CLEARWATER, Fla. (WTSP) – Traffic officials in Clearwater are proposing turning two main arteries on Clearwater Beach into one-way streets to help ease congestion on the island.
According to city traffic operations manager Paul Bertels, the plan is to convert Coronado Drive into a one-way street heading southbound, and Hamden Drive into a one-way street heading northbound.
"This will not help traffic get to the beach, but it will help the traffic once they're on the beach. And 60 percent of the traffic that enters the roundabout goes south,” said Bertels. “So this will help make that transit through south beach much smoother, and a lot less delay."
Changing the direction of the roads would not call for any construction, but it would cost the city about $10,000 to stripe the roads and install new signs.
"There's no way to widen any roads on the beach or build any more roads. What they've got right now is about what they're going to have for the foreseeable future,” said Bertels. “So this is a way to smooth out the traffic and balance it out, because Hamden, quite frankly, doesn't get used that much."
The proposal would have to be approved by city council before any changes take place. If council moves forward on the plan, Bertels said it would be just a few months before the changes are made.
