Keene Road construction plan hits delay

Commissioners want to take another look at the proposal to see if it fits the neighborhood and county's goals.

By CHRISTINA HEADRICK

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 20, 2001

CLEARWATER -- The widening and extension of Keene Road from Druid Road to Sunset Point Road was supposed to begin by early this year. But now the county is reviewing the road's design, and construction has been delayed until at least June.

Pinellas County commissioners have asked whether the proposed new segment of Keene Road, which is slated to run through several city neighborhoods, could be reduced in size from six lanes to four between Druid and Drew Street.

"My contention and concern all along has been: What is the purpose of putting six lanes there?" said Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Seel. "I wanted to know if it really is necessary and what does it achieve, at what cost?"

In response to such concerns, county transportation planners have been analyzing how changing Keene's design would affect other north-south routes. They have also been reviewing plans for road projects countywide.

Keene Road's future will become more certain Jan. 29, when the County Commission meets with the Metropolitan Planning Organization to discuss the issue and other road projects, said Brian Smith, the county's planning director.

If the consensus is that the six-lane design of Keene Road is fine, then the county would finish acquiring about six commercial properties needed for the road. That would probably require going to court and would take two months, said county engineer Jim Collins.

Three months after that, construction could begin on the new $10-million road segment, Collins said. Segments of Keene Road to the north already are under construction, in line with the county's goal to create a new, major north-south route.

Residents of Skycrest, a neighborhood between Drew Street and Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard, which will be divided by the new Keene Road, are carefully watching the debate.

"People know (the project) has been planned for a long time," said Ric Ortega, a representative of the Skycrest Neighbors. "They're devastated about how wide it's going to be. It will have the third-biggest intersection in this area and be right through the middle of a neighborhood."

But Ortega said that his neighborhood has been pleased with a lush landscaping plan for the new road, presented recently by the county at a neighborhood meeting. Skycrest is also hoping that the county will find a site for a playground that the neighborhood has been promised, Ortega said.

Residents are working now with city officials to come up with future projects that would block cars from using their neighborhood as a cut-through -- especially after the new Keene Road corridor is completed.

If 65 percent of about 1,200 Skycrest homeowners sign petitions, the city will pay for "traffic-calming" projects to be built in the Skycrest neighborhood as part of a city program.

Possible projects include creating a series of small roundabouts on a tree-shaded section of Cleveland Street. And decorative medians could be installed, according to ideas generated by the neighborhood in small group meetings last year.

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