Plans in works to slow traffic in Old Northeast

Planners have designs in mind to slow traffic along major arteries between downtown and the neighborhood.

By JON WILSON

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 17, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Motorists, pedestrians and residents still can expect traffic-calming projects on two Old Northeast routes that serve vehicles going in and out of downtown.

Current plans call for a roundabout, neck-outs and a raised crosswalk on First Street, and a roundabout, medians and a safety device on Beach Drive.

All are part of continued discussion and work to slow traffic in the Old Northeast, where in recent years more stop signs have been installed on several streets, including First Street.

North Shore Neighborhood Association members voted last year for more slow-down measures, and planning for them has been under way.

Details as to cost and timing of the projects still are being ironed out. But work on some of them should begin within a year, said city engineering director Mike Connors.

Here's how it breaks down:

First Street N will get a roundabout at 30th Avenue, and neck-outs -- bulges in the curbing to narrow a street -- at 25th Avenue. A raised crosswalk also will be installed at 25th Avenue and have the effect of a speed hump, said transportation director Angelo Rao.

A roundabout for 22nd Avenue is no longer in the works, Rao said.

Though discussed, "It was never a definite. It was always up in the air," Rao said.

The raised crosswalk will be about the height of a brick, Rao said. In combination with the neck-outs, it will provide a safer crossing for pedestrians -- especially younger ones -- bound for a playground at 30th Avenue, Rao said.

"All in all, that's going to become a very safe crossing," he said.

Beach Drive will get medians, a pedestrian-and-turning safety device at Coffee Pot Boulevard and -- eventually -- a roundabout at 13th Avenue NE.

Some of the Beach Drive work, such as the roundabout, is tied to a drainage project at 13th and 14th avenues NE and may be about three years away, Connors said.

Beach Drive also is scheduled for a resurfacing.

The device at Beach and Coffee Pot is designed to perform several functions, Rao said.

It will suggest to motorists turning right from Coffee Pot on to to Beach that they are entering a traffic-calmed roadway.

In addition, it will provide a kind of "refuge" for pedestrians crossing Coffee Pot to the waterfront, said Rao; and it will improve safety conditions for drivers turning left from Beach on to Coffee Pot.

"It will hopefully give (drivers) some advance notice before making their move," Rao said.

Meanwhile, about 18 medians are planned for Beach between 18th and Sixth avenues NE. They will be placed with intersections and driveways in mind, Rao said.

And the bicycle lane on Beach Drive's east side will be eliminated, Rao said, because there won't be enough room for it and medians.

But parking will remain, Rao said.

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