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MLK will close for months of road work
By KATHERINE GAZELLA, Times Staff Writer TARPON SPRINGS -- Martin Luther King Jr. Drive -- one of the main entryways into the city and a notorious raceway -- will close to through-traffic for several blocks for about five months. Starting Monday, only local traffic can use the road between Walton and Safford avenues. The closure will allow construction crews to install and improve sidewalks, storm drains, curbs, streetscapes and signs. The changes are an approach known as "traffic calming" and are designed to slow down motorists, beautify the road and make the area more pedestrian-friendly. "The No. 1 reason for doing it is safety," said Charlie Attardo, business services specialist for the city. "It's a very ambitious project." Lanes will be narrowed from 14 feet to 11 feet as a way to slow traffic. The narrower lanes and brick crosswalks will encourage people to drive slower, as will a triangular island in the middle of the road where MLK goes from four lanes to two, he said. "It'll be an interruption to the driver's line of sight, something to slow down for," he said. The project costs $400,000, of which $100,000 comes from the city and $300,000 from a county-administered community development grant. People who live and work in the neighborhood have listed MLK as one of their top priorities for improving the area. Children cross the street in droves before and after school. "We've had a lot of complaints from the neighborhood the last couple years about speeding," said Tarpon Springs police Officer Ed Hayden. "This will be much safer for the kids." -- Katherine Gazella can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or gazella@sptimes.com.
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
