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Letter to the editor

Road work could start early

A recent fatal crash has city officials looking for a way to start four traffic-calming projects at once.

By MIKE DONILA
Published July 1, 2007

CLEARWATER - A fatal car crash in an influential east Clearwater neighborhood has local leaders thinking it's time to fast-track several traffic-calming projects citywide.

But that effort could come at the cost of some other city project.

Residents in the 688-home Morningside-Meadows neighborhood have bombarded City Hall with e-mails and lobbied city officials since a June 9 wreck that killed two men.

Morningside homeowners want the city to start work on a long-promised $2.8-million plan to slow down the cars that regularly speed down the streets where their children play.

The problem?

Work in Morningside is not scheduled to start until 2009. Three other neighborhoods are scheduled to get similar improvements first.

And residents in those neighborhoods have told City Council members they'll be upset if Morningside goes first.

So now, officials say, perhaps Clearwater can do four traffic-calming projects at once. It's just a matter of finding the money and figuring out what could get pushed aside.

"There's no question that a horrible accident like that - it really brings a focus to things, " Vice Mayor John Doran said. "And the people down there, the neighbors in Morningside have talked about people speeding through, so we'll probably bring that project along sooner than we planned to."

In the meantime, the city expects to put some type of temporary traffic calming measures, like speed bumps, near Stewart Boulevard in Morningside, where Thomas Moffat, 35, of Largo and Christopher Roy Phillips, 32, of Clearwater died when their car smashed into an oak tree.

That may help some.

"We just want a little consideration, " said Dorothy Palmieri, 78, who has lived on Morningside Drive for nearly 30 years.

Palmieri, a retired secretary and teacher's aide, said cars frequently race through the neighborhood to avoid traffic on U.S. 19 or Belcher Road.

"You hate for this to go on, " she said. "There's a lot of little kids living around here."

In 2000, Clearwater officials targeted eight neighborhoods, based on crash rates, for traffic-calming measures. Residents met with city officials to come up with ideas to slow down motorists and stop cut-through traffic.

The residents then needed 65 percent of the neighborhood to sign off on the plan.

The city set its priorities based on the number of wrecks. First up was Grandview Terrace. There, the city has installed a roundabout, minicircles and medians.

Next up, under the city's current schedule, will be North Greenwood, then Skycrest, Wood Valley and Morningside, which isn't slated for construction until early 2009.

Once designed, each project takes about two years to finish and, on average, costs about $2-million, said Paul Bertels, the city's traffic operations manager. The money comes from a number of sources, such as reserves and Penny for Pinellas sales tax.

During the next couple of weeks, city staff and engineers will try to determine how to pay for the projects in Morningside and the three neighborhoods ahead of it as well as whether something else should be set aside.

City officials have not discussed accelerating the schedule for traffic-calming in two neighborhoods, Greenlea-Otten and Hillcrest, that are behind Morningside.

A meeting is planned for mid July where city officials also will talk about whether to implement a number of temporary traffic calming devices like speed bumps in the Morningside area.

"By doing all four projects at once, will we be taking away or delaying another project? Probably, " said Assistant City Manager Garry Brumback, not specifically citing any one project. "But our hope is that we don't have any more serious accidents."

Mike Donila can be reached at mdonila@sptimes.com or 445-4160.

Fast Facts:

Traffic-calming plans

In 2000, city officials met with eight neighborhoods to talk about slowing down traffic using speed humps, roundabouts, stop signs or other strategies. Once a design was set, at least 65 percent of the neighborhood had to approve the plan. On average, construction takes about two years and costs about $2-million. Residents of Saturn Avenue did not approve the plan. Here's where the other seven neighborhoods stand:

Grandview Terrace: Completed in 2005.

North Greenwood: Second phase of construction should start within 30 days.

Skycrest: Construction set to start in late fall.

Wood Valley: Construction expected to start in late 2008.

Morningside-Meadows: Construction expected to start in January 2009.

Greenlea-Otten: Design scheduled for 2008.

Hillcrest: Design set for 2010.

[Last modified June 30, 2007, 21:53:33]