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'Tough love,' signs to tame Keene Road

Strict law enforcement and road improvements are planned for both drivers and pedestrians on the dangerous roadway.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published April 14, 2005

LARGO - The city is kicking off roadway improvements in one of its more dangerous areas: Keene Road north of East Bay Drive.

Today, Largo plans to erect signs that will limit left turns on Keene Road, prohibit right turns on red in some directions, require motorists to yield to pedestrians and prohibit pedestrians from crossing mid block.

The signs are the beginning of a series of changes Largo plans to make Keene Road safer and encourage pedestrians to use the crosswalks.

Daily, dozens of folks, many of them elderly, cross mid block to popular destinations like the Kash n' Karry on the east side of the street. A recent one-day study by a city consultant showed that almost all of the 88 crossings in the area occurred mid block.

Wednesday, City Engineer Todd Bosso presented the city's ideas to about 75 residents at Imperial Palms senior apartment complex. Many residents of Imperial Palms said the crosswalk isn't safe. They told Largo officials that drivers cut them off in the crosswalk, and with signals that give them only 33 seconds to cross seven lanes of traffic, there's not enough time to get across Keene Road.

Judy Brown, who is blind, said even her guide dog, Trio, is wary of the intersection.

"I'm not even across and they're driving right in front of me," she said. "My dog won't cross Keene anymore. She knows it's dangerous."

In the next couple of weeks, barriers should be installed in center lanes and at entrances to further limit left turns.

And within a month, officials plan a new pedestrian signal with a countdown feature that lets walkers know how much time they have to cross the road. The numbers will flash next to the symbols for "walk" and "don't walk." Crosswalk improvements are expected to cost about $20,000.

Imperial Palms residents volunteered to test out the new signals so the city can see if cross times need to be tweaked.

Several residents and Chrys Holmes, a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization's pedestrian transportation advisory committee, said they hope the city will consider a mid-block crosswalk, too.

Bosso said it's not easy to stop traffic that close to another signal on a busy roadway. "Any time you start stopping cars you will increase rear-end collisions," he said. But he added that the situation will be monitored over the next three or four months and modified if necessary.

The Police Department plans to crack down on traffic violators, too.

"We're going to do the tough-love enforcement," Sgt. Butch Ward, a traffic homicide investigator for the Largo Police Department. "Money talks." All moving violations will bring a $114.50 fine.

Ward said the police department will play hardball. Motorists who edge over the white line at a red light will get two tickets: one for running a red light and another for infringing on the crosswalk.

But pedestrians won't get off easy either. Jaywalkers will have to pay $40.50. Pedestrians will have a 30-day grace period beginning today, where violators will be given a warning on their first offense. After a month, pedestrian violators will be cited.

Officer Carl Carbaugh, who was on traffic detail Wednesday, said it's important to hold pedestrians accountable for their own safety.

"They need to be doing their part, not just the people who are driving," said Carbaugh, who often stakes out Keene Road. "I've seen too many people hurt and killed on that street."

There have been four traffic fatalities and more than 125 accidents in the area in the last three years. Officials think mid-block crossings and dangerous traffic patterns have contributed to the frequency and severity of accidents.

In March, 91-year-old Henry R. Cavaliere was struck and killed while crossing the road mid block on his electric scooter. Cavaliere lived near Imperial Palms.

Imperial Palms resident Jimmy Hitchcock, 81, was struck by a drunken driver while crossing the street in the same area on Aug. 21, 2003. A 22-year-old bicyclist was killed after colliding with a car pulling out of the supermarket on Dec. 10, 2003. And a 91-year-old motorist was killed in a car crash pulling out of Kash n' Karry on July 21.

Kash n' Karry Deli Manager Pauline Johnston came to the meeting to take notes. "We have a lot of loyal customers here. In fact, I see a lot of familiar faces," she said.

Resident Barbara Smith said the city's efforts are a good start.

"They're trying and I think it's going to be a matter of enforcement. If you can actually stop cars from making a right turn on red you may get more of us to cross at the crosswalk," she said.

--Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 14, 2005, 01:15:22]