CLEARWATER - Visitors and employees at the County Courthouse enjoyed a peaceful pedestrian environment while the new Memorial Causeway Bridge was under construction. Court and Chestnut Streets, which surround the Courthouse building and formerly provided vehicle access to the old bridge, became dead ends for nearly two years.
But that changed on August 18 when the new bridge opened. Court and Chestnut Streets were converted from primarily local use into the only access roads to Clearwater Beach. Courthouse employees and visitors who parked across Court or Chestnut now had to share pedestrian crosswalks with a flow of up to 30,000 vehicles per day.
While the inevitable conflict between pedestrians and vehicles has not resulted in any injuries, employee concerns were raised to County Administrator Steve Spratt. Spratt assigned Pete Yauch, Pinellas County Director of Transportation, as the focal point for resolving the issue.
Yauch said, "There's definitely more traffic moving through Court Street." He also said that he has been working closely with the City of Clearwater, which is responsible for Court and Chestnut Streets. The City has installed three marked pedestrian crosswalks and a flashing yellow Pedestrian warning sign on Court Street; "The City has been responsive," Yauch said.
But concerns remain. Yauch cited a recent fire drill at the Courthouse building during which the large number of pedestrians had difficulty crossing Court Street to their assembly point in the parking lot of City Hall.
Observations of Court Street traffic revealed frequent violations by motorists, including speeding, rolling through the stop sign at Osceola Avenue and Court Street, running the red light at Oak Avenue and Court Street, failing to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks, and blocking those crosswalks.
But Clearwater Police Sgt. Greg Stewart said, 'the biggest problem is the pedestrians, not the cars." He said that the Police Department conducted strict enforcement for a few days in September. Only a few citations were issued to vehicle operators, but the detail observed pedestrian violations as well according to Stewart.
"Pedestrians have the right of way in marked crosswalks that do not have signals," Stewart said, "but the pedestrian has a responsibility to wait for a gap in the traffic." Stewart noted that the crosswalk at Oak and Court provides pedestrian right of way only when the traffic signal permits, and said that many pedestrians are not waiting for that light before crossing.
Regarding speeding, Stewart said, "There's not a street in Clearwater that doesn't have speeding," but added, "I don't think we've done radar in the Courthouse area." The posted speed limit on Court Street east of Fort Harrison is 25MPH. But a 30MPH sign is posted west of Fort Harrison adjacent to the Courthouse. Stewart questioned increasing the speed limit in an area of more intense pedestrian activity.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is scheduled to assume responsibility for Court and Chestnut Streets as State Route 60 in mid-February. Kris Carson, a spokesperson for FDOT, said that resolving pedestrian safety and signal timing issues will be a joint project by the City of Clearwater, Pinellas County and FDOT, that effort getting underway this week.