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Letter to the editor

Go slow, folks, or you might need new tires

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published October 10, 2007

Lisa Martino, unhappy motorist, rolled her flattened tires into the Tarpon Springs City Hall on Sept. 25 to illustrate the damage done when she tangled with the city's new streetscaping features.

The state is resurfacing two of the city's main drags, Tarpon and Pinellas avenues, and in partnership with the city is including new curbs, widened medians, landscaping and what the city calls "bulb-outs" - areas where a widened sidewalk bulbs out into the formerly straight roadway, creating a curve.

The purpose of such a design is not just to make the downtown look prettier, but also to slow down traffic so the area is safer for pedestrians and motorists get a better look at the businesses along the roads.

It was one of those bulb-outs that caused the problem for Martino. She drove over it, destroying two tires. She wants the devices removed. She isn't the only one. Others have complained, too, and even asked the city to cover the cost of new tires.

It isn't just Tarpon Springs that is using such devices to slow down traffic. Dunedin's Main Street has had them for years. Clearwater's Cleveland Street is being transformed into a meandering roadway with the use of wide medians and bulb-outs that create some tight curves. Gulfview Boulevard on Clearwater Beach will become a meandering street when the Beach Walk project is completed.

Throughout Pinellas, such techniques are being employed because drivers are, in the opinion of local governments, driving too fast through commercial districts. Motorists also are finding an increasing number of raised speed tables and speed bumps on public streets. As in Tarpon Springs, some motorists are having trouble navigating the narrowed, curvy streets or are hitting newly installed speed humps too fast.

The designers of streetscaping projects need to keep in mind that motorists' driving skills vary and a driver's height when seated may also affect his or her ability to see and navigate around curbs that extend into the roadway.

For their part, motorists accustomed to barreling through commercial areas must slow way down if they don't want to shred their tires or risk running up on sidewalks.

Streetscaped areas usually extend only a few blocks, so why not slow down and enjoy the scenery? The new design can add to the appeal, as it does in popular downtown Dunedin.

Tarpon Springs officials have responded well to motorists' complaints. They sent out staff to examine the streetscaped areas and actually removed one median that created a clear safety hazard. Officials also explained that the streetscaping project is not yet finished and may be much easier to navigate once fully striped and landscaped.

And officials in Tarpon Springs and other cities that have employed these new designs urge motorists to take the hint that the road design offers:

Slow down.

Way down.

[Last modified October 9, 2007, 21:25:47]