St. Pete is filling up with new residents and visitors. Major arts and music events are happening on a near weekly basis; however, even relatively quiet weekends in the Burg manage to attract quite the crowd. This is thanks in part to our surging food scene, award-winning craft breweries and “open air gallery” of murals courtesy of artists from all across the globe.
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Seeking traffic solutions in the Burg
The crowds offer a mix of car, pedestrian and cyclist traffic. Michael Frederick, manager of neighborhood transportation for the City of St. Pete, is looking for input on how to make roads safer for those traveling on four wheels, two wheels and by foot.
Converting to angled parking spots on 4th Ave. N.
His proposal involves reducing the number of lanes on portions of 4th and 5th Avenues North. Proposed changes on 4th Avenue North include turning the right most lane between 5th and 4th Streets North into a ‘right turn only’ lane and converting the stretch from 4th Street to Beach Drive from three- to two-lanes. The shift would also turn the straight parking spots along that stretch into angled parking spots.
Removing lane on 5th Avenue North
One lane between 5th Street and 4th Streets North on 5th Avenue would be removed, making the stretch just two lanes. Those involved in the proposal are hosting a public input session on Wednesday, March 8, beginning at 5:30pm at the Sunshine Center (330 5th Street North) to further detail and discuss these changes.
MLK and 3rd Street becoming two-way roads downtown
These aren’t the only updates being discussed for the Burg’s downtown roads. The City is currently looking into turning parts of 3rd, 4th, 8th and 9th Streets between 5th Avenue North and 6th Avenue South into two-way roads. The changes would also include pedestrian/bike paths along those roads.
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