Residents have say in taming their street
Pinebrook residents get speed tables to inhibit fast drivers after working with the Traffic Management Program.
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 8, 2001
PINELLAS PARK -- A couple of months ago, traffic director Tom Nicholls and his wife spent Saturday afternoon under a picnic shelter at Pinebrook Park.
It was not a time of relaxation for Nicholls. It was part of his job -- meeting with Pinellas Park residents upset about speeding cars in their neighborhood. Nicholls' wife had tagged along because that's sometimes the only way she gets a chance to be with her husband, who is in great demand as complaints about the city's traffic increase.
Bob Jilek had invited Nicholls to discuss the area's traffic problems. Jilek is head of the Pinebrook Homeowners Association. He's also a member of a group formed by the leaders of homeowners associations from five subdivisions -- Pinebrook, Woodberry, Autumn Run, Beacon Run and Pine Forest -- in the northwest section of Pinellas Park and the abutting county.
Jilek listed their concerns, from speeders to narrow streets that could hinder access by emergency vehicles.
Their complaints were heard. In May, the City Council unanimously approved the installation of five speed tables -- structures on the road that are wider than speed humps -- in the Pinebrook area. Construction was scheduled to start last week.
Pinebrook is the second project in the city's Residential Traffic Management Program, which was conceived in 1999. Last year, the first with funding, saw the completion of the first project: speed tables at Broderick Park to calm traffic there.
This year, the program has three projects in addition to Pinebrook. One is in the Fairlawn Park subdivision. Another is on 63rd Street N between Park Boulevard and 78th Avenue N. The fourth is on 86th Avenue N from 46th to 49th streets.
The Traffic Management Program targets local roads or streets, not county or state-maintained thoroughfares.
"Usually, what happens is I'll get a call from a resident about the local speeding on the streets," Nicholls said.
That call kicks in a seven-step process that begins with an application and a petition. At least 60 percent of the property owners in a neighborhood must sign the petition requesting the city analyze the problem.
The analysis can include traffic counts, videotaping, summaries of accident reports and a history of the location. The information gathered there is used to arrive at a solution that may be as simple as increased police enforcement or as complicated as constructing speed humps or tables.
Before any construction can begin, a public hearing will be held so residents in the affected area can express their views and see what's proposed for their neighborhood.
After that, a second petition must be passed around to obtain signatures from 90 percent of the property owners in the affected area to say they have seen the proposal. However, only 60 percent of the property owners have to approve of the change.
The final step is City Council approval.
For information, call 541-0773.
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