For those of you who drive in and around St Pete downtown, I expect that we all agree that the roads can be a little chaotic. One-way streets, drivers not realizing the speed limit drops as you enter downtown and plenty of pedestrians. It’s a problem that has only worsened over the years as the city has grown and downtown has continued to boom.

Only a few months ago, I saw a horrible car crash in my rearview mirror from what appeared to be one car going way too fast and the other car getting confused with the street layout. Thankfully, it seems that FDOT, along with the City, has taken note of these issues and is making extensive changes along 4th St.

The changes are considered pedestrian improvements. Various signal improvements and curb ramps will be tackled, but the bulk of the focus is on building blub-out curb extensions. These bulb-outs are designed to increase pedestrian visibility and shorten the crossing distance, and they also slow turning vehicles and narrow the roadway.

The improvements are happening along 4th St from the 5th Ave N intersection down to the 5th Ave S intersection (11 blocks in total) and has a budget of $2.7M. The construction is set to be complete in early 2024, so expect additional traffic and delays along that 4th St stretch downtown. But, Personally, I’m happy to see improvements that are designed to make the roads safer and hopefully less chaotic.

You can get project updates directly from the FDOT website.