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Speeders will pay more

By LORRIE LYKINS
Published April 1, 2007

Be alert if you're heading south: A Department of Transportation pilot program that calls for increased penalties for speeding in specified areas starts this month in Brevard, Duval and Palm Beach counties. The Florida Highway Patrol will begin issuing additional speeding fines of $50 above the current speeding fine in designated "enhanced penalty zones."

The goal is to reduce speeding-related crashes and fatalities, and Florida has a very bad track record with speeding. The DOT says that 3,533 people died on Florida roadways in 2005, making the state's fatality rate 1.76 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a 6 percent increase from 2004.

Although the program initially will cover just three Florida counties, prepare to see it in Pinellas and Hillsborough eventually. If the pilot program is successful, other Florida counties with higher-than-average crash rates related to speeding will be addressed, and, sadly, we are among that group.

Read more about the program online at: www.dot.state.fl.us/safety/

PINELLAS BAYWAY BRIDGE

Replacement on hold

Will we ever have a replacement for the Pinellas Bayway Bridge? Eventually, yes. But don't hold your breath, folks.

Readers inquire regularly about the planned bridge replacement, which has been in limbo for years. The inquiries usually increase this time of year with the influx of seasonal residents and the increased traffic on the bridge with folks headed to the beaches and Fort De Soto.

Reader William R. Vosburgh wrote in to ask why construction hadn't started yet on the span to connect St. Pete Beach to St. Petersburg.

Kris Carson of the DOT said last week that the department does not have enough funding to build the bridge because of the "unprecedented increase of construction costs over the past year."

However, a revised financing plan is in the works, she said, and once the money is found, a new round of advertising for bids from contractors will begin.

TREASURE ISLAND

Sign hinders vision

The Doc gets lots of helpful e-mails and phone calls from readers about visual obstructions that range from annoying to potentially dangerous. Some obstructions are more of a hassle to motorists in low-riding sedans, in fact, more than a few nonplussed SUV drivers have written in wondering what the heck the hullabaloo is all about regarding some obstructions we've mentioned. As in life, we are all driving around from different vantage points, so caution and patience is the best bet.

Here's an obstruction concern from reader Len Skerker that we have passed on to Treasure Island city officials and the DOT. In the meantime, be alert, motorists:

Skerker wrote: "When driving from Gulf Boulevard east toward Central Avenue, there is an intersection that is already tricky but made worse by a large sign."

Skerker said that when turning onto 108th Avenue, which bends slightly south to head toward the Treasure Island Causeway, the safest method in his opinion is to "go halfway and then look back to the right to see what's coming." But Skerker says the view is obstructed by a city-owned sign. Skerker says he has spoken with city officials about it to no avail. He suggests the sign be relocated east of the intersection.

GULF BOULEVARD

Time for extra care

This time of year, there are more people and more cars at the beaches, so please use extra caution. Law enforcement officials say that their biggest challenge is to get pedestrians to use crosswalks on Gulf Boulevard. Motorists need to remember that many people here this time of year are tourists who are unfamiliar with the area, so be alert, slow down and keep your eyes on the road.

Please share your traffic concerns, comments and questions with Dr. Delay via e-mail at docdelay@yahoo.com.

[Last modified March 31, 2007, 20:17:23]