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Dec 9

Love it or hate it: Accidents up, travel delayed in early stages of Dixieland road diet – The Ledger

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LAKELAND Lakeland's South Florida Avenue is looking a little slimmer these days in Dixieland.

After the road was narrowed from five lanes to three under the "road diet,"it's new size is getting mixed reviews.

Construction of the South Florida Avenue's $950,000 redesign was completed in early September, several weeks ahead of Florida Department of Transportation'sproposed one-year study period from October 2020 to 2021.

Three months later, residents and local business owners have gotten a chance to test drive theroadway. Jason Hagerman, a Dixieland resident, said he was originally staunchly against project but says his opinion and concerns have changed over time.

"I've been pleasantly surprised that travel time hasn't gone up nearly as much as I thought it would," he said. "Butjust as many of us predicted, it's very difficult during rush hour to get into and out of Dixieland."

Hagerman noted that driving northbound along the main arterial road, there are nointersections that offer a designated left turn signal. He said drivers often must wait for oncoming vehicles to voluntarily stop to make a left. Residents have said this can lead to a backup in the turning lane.

Lakeland's Traffic Department has worked in conjunction with the FDOT since August to implement a re-timing of all traffic signals in the corridor in an attempt to allow for easier travel. Other modifications have been proposed, but are still under consideration.

FDOT officials predictedreducing the number of lanes on the one-mile stretch from Lime Street south to Ariana Street would cause a 17- to 50-seconddelay.

Travel data collected via bluetooth by the city show drivers heading into the downtown area may experience less of an impact than those heading south.

Prior to the road diet,it took the averageperson 2 minutes, 30 seconds during theweekday rush hour 4:45 to 5:45 p.m. to drive South Florida Avenue from Ariana Street north to Lime Street. Now, the city's preliminary data showthe same one-mile stretch takes about 2:58to 3:08a difference of 28 to 38 seconds.

Drivers heading south out of the downtown area have a slightly different experience. Driving along South Florida Avenue from Lime Street to Ariana took roughly2 minutes,15 seconds before the diet. That has increased to 3:29 to 3:56 minutes. That's up to an additional minute and 41seconds, or approximately 75% longer travel time.

Tonya Rogers, president of the Dixieland Historic Neighborhood Association, said the slower speed of traffic has made it easier for her to get out of her neighborhood she usually uses Highland Drive and onto South Florida. Rogersfinds her fellow drivers are willing to allow her to cut in, rather than encountering two lanes of travel flying by.

"I was for the project, and I'm still for the project, I think it's been great," she said. "I do feel safer. Before, the lanes were so narrow, it was kind oflike close your eyes and hope you make it through."

Walkability

Two of the benchmarks for the road diet's success set by the FDOT and the cityare whether the road modifications will improve pedestrian walkability and reduce the number of crashes.

Its been roughly three months since construction wrapped up, and Dixieland isntexactlybooming. Small businesses along the one-mile stretch affected by the new lane constraints said the project hasnt brought them any new customers.

I have notnoticedany more foot traffic or people walking around in this part of Dixieland, no, said Christine Boring, owner of Bungalow Boutique and Gifts.

While business owners agree theroaddiet didnt hurt their stores, they also dont think it helped.

Karen Dasher, owner of Dixieland Relics, said business has beenso busy its bizarresince she reopened around May.WhileDasherisnt sure what to attribute the increased interest to, shes positive it wasn't the new lane constriction. Isolation during the beginning stages of COVID-19 driving people out of their homes, even if just to shop, is a stronger possibility, she said.

Gabriela Benavides, store manager at Coliseum of Comics Lakeland,agrees.

"Its just the same. People who are trying to come to the store have been coming in because they know were here, shesaid.

Benavides said the lack of parking in Dixieland probably contributes to the much lower foot traffic in comparison to downtown.Boringnoted that there is parking alongthe avenue, its just often behind businesses and difficult to find for consumers passing through especially since many cars fly through the Dixieland stretch at top speed.

Despite a lack of increased foot traffic so far,business owners wouldnt mind seeing the road diet become a permanent solution. Even if customers arent taking advantage yet, sidewalksseemsaferand business owners like Dasher now feel comfortable telling customers to use them when walking in between storefronts.

Walking on the sidewalk was scary out there. And its not scary anymore, Boring said. Theyve made a bad situation better.

Rogers, a Dixieland resident, said she previously wouldn't use the sidewalks.

"I walked it before they did the road diet and it was so dangerous I turned around and came home," she said. "I'm excited to see if the change goes through, I think they will see more pedestrian traffic."

Boring and Rogers said they hopethings will get even better oncebeautificationof the sidewalk commences.

The FDOT's original design included placingconcrete sidewalk planters along South Florida Avenue. These are no longer likely to be installed, according to city officials, because of the costs of the planters, installation and maintenance.

Instead, the Lakeland Community Redevelopment Agency plans to work with FDOT andadjacent property owners to determine other low-cost beautification measures that can be implemented during the one-year test period.

If the road diet is deemed successful and made permanent, the FDOT and the city will begin work on improvements to Dixieland's sidewalks and intersections, according to city spokesman Kevin Cook,including measures to address issues with the Americans with Disabilities Act that couldn't be addressed with the substandard design that existed prior to current construction.

Degree of Danger

Even if sidewalk safety has improved, other danger persists. Dasher said while the increased traffic along South Florida is not enough to really fuss about, she has noticed an uptick in minor accidents.

Dasher said shes seen three accidents in a short period of time. Theyre all the same: Someone jets out from a storefront into oncoming traffic. Dasher said the road diet has seemedto increase accidents and near misses of that nature.

Were constantly hearing a lot of people squealing tires to keep from having the cars hit each other, Dasher said.

Motorcyclist Alex Peacock, a Dixieland resident of more than adecade, said he feels the redesign while offering wider travel lanes, leaves him less available space to move away from oncoming vehicles by placing concrete bumpers between the vehicle and bike lane.

"I feel like I'm in more danger," Peacock said. "It almost takes away possible escape routes for me."

Traditionally, Peacock said bike lanes and the road shoulders often serve as a last resort for motorcyclists looking to get away from an oncoming vehicle.

"I'm absolutely feeling the pinch," he said.

Peacock said he's also seen a number of unaware drivers bottom out their carson the temporary concrete curb cuts when trying to get over a lane or turn at the last minute.

There were31 accidents reported to the Lakeland Police Department in the affected portion of South Florida Avenue, between Lime and Ariana streets between Aug. 1 andOct. 31. By comparison, the same stretch of road had 14 accidents in 2019 and 17 in 2018, according to reports provided to The Ledger by Lakeland police spokeswoman Robin Tillett.

"A preliminary review of recent crash data has revealed that the number of rear-endcrashes has increased to date.Unfortunately, this type of reaction is typical when modifications are made to roadway networks," the city said in a written statement upon review of the data.

This year's accidents have resulted in eight injuries,double the four reported in 2018 and one in 2019. However, the police department's roadwayreport does not provide specific details on the severity of each injury.

Lakeland officials responded that rear-end crashes "tend to be less severe" in nature.

"We expect that the rear-end crashes on S. Florida Avenue should reduce as motorists gain a better understanding of the operations," the city's statement said.

There are approximately 10 months left in the official study of the South Florida Avenue road diet before a decision is made on whether the changes become permanent part of Dixieland. The number of overall crashes, vehiclespeeds and travel times, traffic displacement and any related economic development of the corridor, in part thanks to pedestrian traffic, will be considered.

City staff said residents and businesses will have a chance to voice their opinions before a determination is made.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Maya Lora can be reached at mlora@gannett.com or 863-802-7558.

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Love it or hate it: Accidents up, travel delayed in early stages of Dixieland road diet - The Ledger

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