{"id":269601,"date":"2026-05-13T15:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/269601\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T15:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T15:57:20","slug":"tampa-delays-controversial-street-redesign-after-neighborhood-uproar-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/269601\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa delays controversial street redesign after neighborhood uproar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brief<\/p>\n

Tampa is holding a public open house on Wednesday night on a controversial plan to redesign El Prado Boulevard.<\/p>\n

The project would reduce lanes and add bike lanes, sidewalks and crosswalks.<\/p>\n

Neighbors are split, with some worried about traffic and others pointing to safety concerns.<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – People in South Tampa will get a chance to weigh in Wednesday on a plan to redesign El Prado Boulevard, a project that\u2019s sparked a growing debate in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

The City of Tampa is hosting an open house Wednesday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Jan Platt Library, where residents can ask questions and share concerns about the proposal.<\/p>\n

The meeting comes after the project\u2019s expected start earlier this month was delayed following pushback from some neighbors.<\/p>\n

What the Project Would Do<\/p>\n

The plan would reshape parts of El Prado by reducing some sections from four lanes to two while adding bike lanes, sidewalks and new crossing areas.<\/p>\n

City leaders say the goal is to slow drivers down and make the road safer for everyone.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re going to be narrowing the lanes\u2026 reducing the number of lanes so that we slow traffic down on this residential street,” Tampa Mobility Director Brandon Campbell told FOX 13 News.<\/p>\n

Campbell says the road is currently built to handle far more traffic than it actually sees.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s basically built for 20,000 cars a day\u2026 as of right now\u2026 we have three to 8,000,” he said.<\/p>\n

The other side<\/p>\n

Reaction to the project has been mixed.<\/p>\n

Some residents say reducing lanes could make it harder to get around South Tampa, especially as the area continues to grow.<\/p>\n

“The people that live and work in South Tampa need to be able to commute and go places and work and do things,” neighbor Matt Marsden said.<\/p>\n

Marsden also questioned whether bike lanes are needed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re doing a lot of things to slow traffic, but nobody\u2019s riding bikes anywhere,” he said.<\/p>\n

Others support the plan, pointing to safety concerns along the corridor, especially for students and families.<\/p>\n

Safety Concerns Drive Support<\/p>\n

Some residents and advocates say the changes are overdue.<\/p>\n

“El Prado Boulevard is right in the middle of the neighborhood, but it is a four-lane road,” said Emily Hinsdale with Walk Bike Tampa and Sidewalk Stompers.<\/p>\n

Hinsdale says the road\u2019s current design can encourage speeding and make it difficult for pedestrians to cross safely.<\/p>\n

“Picture yourself trying to run across Dale Mabry without a light\u2026 and how that feels,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An 18-year-old who grew up in the area says he\u2019s experienced those dangers firsthand.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve personally been hit by a car while riding my bike,” Quinn Rukholm said.<\/p>\n

What’s next<\/p>\n

The project is currently in the procurement phase, meaning the city is working to hire a contractor before construction begins.<\/p>\n

While construction was expected to start in early May, the timeline is now unclear as the city gathers more input from the community.<\/p>\n

The Source<\/p>\n

Information in this story comes from City of Tampa project documents, a public meeting announcement, and interviews conducted by FOX 13 News with city leaders, neighbors and safety advocates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief Tampa is holding a public open house on Wednesday night on a controversial plan to redesign…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2638,106325,115725,115726,115727,4436,115728,585,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-269601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-bike-lanes","tag-brandon-campbell","tag-controversial-plan","tag-el-prado","tag-fox-13-news","tag-safety-concerns","tag-slow-traffic","tag-south-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}