Pinellas County has launched a study on East Lake Road after traffic hit more than 60,000 vehicles each day during rush hours. Officials will examine current traffic patterns and predict changes over the next two decades.
Rafal Kadaj, a senior highway engineer with the county, explained that the study examines existing conditions while identifying ways to reduce bottlenecks at problem spots. “So whether it’s widening lanes, doing signalization improvements, changing signal timing to help traffic flow more efficiently and also evaluating the crossings and making sure that not only our safety from vehicle accounted for but also pedestrian safety,” said Kadaj, according to Tampa Bay 28.
Smaller projects have already started. One adds another travel lane at the Tarpon Woods intersection. The complete design process will take around two years, but construction won’t start until 2031.
Jan Rysdon lives nearby. She’s watched traffic balloon as more drivers head toward Pasco County. “I’ve been now down in this area, off and on, I’ve lived here since the early 90s and the number of cars going to Pasco County have just tremendously increased,” Rysdon said.
Rysdon wants officials to do more to share information about coming changes. Leaflets would help. “A lot of my neighbors in this area are older and don’t do a lot of internet searching as I do,” Rysdon said.
Officials held public meetings back in 2022. More meetings will happen as projects move forward. “Those will have project information meetings where the public can seek what we’re proposing and they can provide feedback,” Kadaj said.