Related Links: |
Pedestrians who walk along U.S. 41 in Bradenton know how dangerous it is to use this road, especially from 53rd Avenue West to 63rd Avenue West. As a result, this stretch of U.S. 41—also known as Tamiami Trail—will be receiving an overhaul to reduce pedestrian accidents and injuries.
As of now, this busy street has very few traffic lights and no sidewalks, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk along this route safely. According to Ashley Solomon, a pedestrian who walks along this route daily, “A car could easily just blow me over just pushing me. It’s very dangerous, you can easily just be missed and hit,” she told the Suncoast News.
This dangerous section of U.S. 41 stretches 1.25 miles and accounted for 93 crashes from just January to October 2013, in which three of these accidents involved pedestrians. Additionally, eight pedestrians have died on this stretch of the road between 2007–2011. Now this six-lane, accident-prone roadway will be getting a makeover to help increase pedestrian safety.
After looking at this road for a very long time, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is going to start constructing sidewalks and installing more lighting along this stretch. Expected to cost about 3.7 million dollars—from the DOT’s safety improvement budget—this project is very much needed to improve the mobility and safety for pedestrians.
The five-year plan includes:
- Addition of sidewalks and connecting sidewalks
- Traffic signal improvements at Bayshore Parkway
- Traffic signal improvements at 60th Avenue West
- Traffic signal improvements at 53rd Avenue West
Construction is expected to start in the summer of 2015, and will hopefully be the solution to a very dangerous stretch of the road in Manatee County.
If you would like to hear about other news in the area and issues affecting pedestrian safety, sign up for our free newsletter by clicking the button to the right of the screen.