Residents get a say in taming intersection

Some of the improvements at Walker Avenue and 113th Street have slowed speeders, but more work is on the way, and public input is sought.

By MAUREEN BYRNE

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 12, 2001

SEMINOLE -- Flashing lights on 113th Street warn motorists of an approaching bend in the road. For some, they are a constant reminder of two people who were killed on the stretch of roadway.

Susan M. Plikunas, a 35-year-old mother of three, and her daughter's 10-year-old friend, Alyssa Simcoe, died in December 1999 after Plikunas' car was struck by a pickup traveling south on 113th Street. Plikunas was attempting to turn north on to 113th Street from Walker Avenue.

A flood of complaints followed the accident. People said turning left from Walker to 113th Street is dangerous because of the curve in the road. They also said a nearby subdivision's privacy wall limits their view of vehicles traveling south on 113th.

The brick wall remains, but the county trimmed the tall, bushy trees at the intersection's northwest corner to improve visibility. In January 2000, the county installed a "Right Turn Only" sign on Walker, making it illegal to turn north across 113th Street. The median was not modified, however, to make the turns impossible.

The county also hired an engineering company to conduct a study of traffic patterns on 113th Street from 54th Avenue N to 66th Avenue.

Two neighborhood meetings were held last year, and many residents made suggestions, including installing a traffic signal at the intersection and removing the privacy wall.

The result of the study was the installation of lighting and flashing beacons warning motorists of a curve and an advisory 35 mph speed limit. Workers also painted an island at Walker Avenue to discourage left turns and moved a utility pole in the northwest corner of the street.

"The speeds have dropped a little bit," said Pete Yauch, director of traffic engineering for TEI Engineers and Planners, which conducted the traffic study. "The northbound speeds have dropped a little bit more than southbound, which is surprising."

More improvements are on the way and the county wants input from residents. A public meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Faith Presbyterian Church, 11501 Walker Ave. N.

The engineering firm is recommending to the county that a concrete barrier be installed at the median opening on 113th at Walker Avenue to prevent motorists from making left turns. Although left turns already are prohibited, some drivers ignore the "Right Turn Only" sign on Walker. The barrier would still allow northbound traffic on 113th Street to turn left at Walker.

Other suggestions include installing a "Right Turn Only" sign at Oakridge Trail, where a fence limits the view of drivers looking south on 113th, and creating a southbound left turn lane at the first median opening south of Grove Street and a northbound left turn lane at the first median opening north of Oakridge Trail. These turn lanes would accommodate motorists who want to make U-turns.

According to the study, six accidents, including the fatal one in 1999, have occurred at Walker Avenue and 113th Street since 1996. Seven crashes happened at Grove and 113th streets in the past five years.

Yauch says speeding on 113th is often the cause of these accidents. Many motorists exceed the 40 mph speed limit.

"It's human nature," Yauch said. "You've got the radio on, you've got the air conditioner on, and you kind of forget what you're doing."

Yauch has other suggestions for helping the traffic flow more safely from the Oakhurst Shores subdivision.

One option, he said, would be to join Island Avenue to 54th Avenue as another outlet to 54th. There's also a possibility, he said, of building a bridge over a finger inlet to make Bayshore Drive connect Oakhurst Drive and 54th.

Not all Oakhurst Shores residents are happy about the changes in their neighborhood. Dennis and Susan Seem say the "Right Turn Only" sign on Walker has greatly increased traffic on other streets, such as Bates. And it will only get worse, they say, if a barrier is put in the median opening.

"The character of our neighborhood is already beginning to change for the worse because of minor actions taken by the county," the Seems wrote in a June 8 letter to Pinellas County Commissioner John Morroni.

The Seems, who are organizing a petition drive to remove the wall at Church Hill Trail, say the only solution to improving the poor traffic conditions at Walker and 113th is to remove the privacy wall.

Jerome and Nita Latimer, who have lived on Walker Avenue for more than 20 years, think the county's actions have improved the area. In a June 5 e-mail to all five county commissioners, the Latimers encouraged the commissioners to approve the proposed improvements, especially the concrete barrier.

"It will save lives," they wrote.

If you go

The county will have a public hearing to discuss proposed changes to 113th Street and to roads in the Oakhurst Shores neighborhood. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Faith Presbyterian Church, 11501 Walker Ave. N, Seminole. Call 464-8907.

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