TAMPA, Fla. — The City of Tampa is looking to make improvements to a portion of West El Prado Boulevard in Tampa.
The city would add bike lanes and sidewalks to a 2.2 mile segment of West El Prado Blvd. from South Omar Avenue to Bayshore Boulevard.
WATCH: Changes coming to West El Prado Boulevard in South Tampa
Currently, the roadway is an existing four lane road with a speed limit of 30 mph.
The project would reduce the lanes from four lanes to two lanes and add a 6-foot-wide bike lane with a 3 foot buffer in each direction.
Ryan Nitzsche has lived on El Prado Blvd. for nearly 10 years. He supports the changes.
"There's a lot of traffic that is going very fast because the road is underutilized. A lot of times cars will look to pass. They can get up to 40-50 mph sometimes," he said.
He believes the changes will make it easier for people to ride bikes or walk their dogs.
"I walk my dog in the neighborhood every day and my kids, we walk to school probably at least once a week so I’m looking forward to the changes. I’m looking forward to just having a safer street to navigate whether we walk, bike or take our car. I think it will be better for the neighborhood," he said.
Emily Hinsdale is president of the Sidewalk Stompers.
She believes the changes will improve safety for children headed to school.
"It installs sidewalks both north and south and the critical safety component is along with the sidewalks, it installs crosswalks at several locations specifically ones that connect to schools," said Hinsdale.
A petition against the project has more than 1,000 signatures.
The petition states, "the project is poorly devised, Manhattan is currently shut down and managing to get in and out of certain Bel-Mar Units is difficult, without access to El Prado navigation will be even worse."
The city said construction is expected to start in June.
The city is hosting a meeting on Wednesday, May 13 at Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library located at 3910 S. Manhattan Avenue in Tampa.
It begins at 6:30 p.m.
For more information on the project, click here.
Share Your Story with Julie
Julie Salomone works to share the issues that matter to you. And navigating the job market is critical to affording the price of paradise. Julie also focuses on the day-to-day issues in Sarasota County, so be sure to reach out to Julie to start a conversation.
.
St. Leo residents fight proposed 628-home development on Abbey Golf Course
Rezoning vote expected to draw a large crowd as neighbors raise concerns about traffic, growth, and the loss of green space.
