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Davis Islands
Plan: Make bridge area safer for pedestrians
A $5,000 city project will tweak traffic devices to slow motorists near the foot
By JANET ZINK
Published January 14, 2005
of the bridge on Davis Islands.
Responding to residents' concerns about pedestrian safety, the city plans to redirect traffic near the foot of the bridge on Davis Islands.
The goal is to slow down cars in a spot where drivers coming over the bridge might not see people trying to cross Davis Boulevard.
The project calls for putting brighter pedestrian crossing signs at Davis Boulevard and Adalia Avenue, narrowing and realigning the street lanes and painting a 150-foot-long median along Davis Boulevard south of Adalia.
Work on the $5,000 project should begin in about six weeks and take a few days, said Roy LaMotte Jr., the city's transportation division manager. Funding will come from money left over from a landscaping project farther south on Davis Boulevard.
If the painted median works to slow down traffic, the city will consider building raised, landscaped islands at the intersection, he said.
"Our primary consideration is safety first and aesthetics second," LaMotte said. "The folks out there felt that this was a sea of asphalt that left a large area with a lack of guidance for the motorist."
Denise Cassedy, vice president of the Davis Islands Civic Association, said the city's plans represent a good start for improving safety near the bridge.
"But we think other additional measures will have to be taken," she said.
Six months ago, the city moved the pedestrian crossing to make it easier for people to see cars coming over the bridge onto the island. Drivers, however, still can't see the pedestrians.
"The pedestrian may be given a false sense of security," she said.
With Tampa General Hospital expanding and the Davis Islands commercial strip gaining popularity, more people are coming over the bridge into the neighborhood, Cassedy said.
She said she's worried the pedestrian crossing is an accident waiting to happen.
"I know the city is working with us to try to make the improvements," she said. "But the residents still have huge concerns. They don't think it will be enough and people are afraid someone's going to get killed."
Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com
[Last modified January 13, 2005, 10:13:09]
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