ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Some residents in St. Petersburg say walking along a busy stretch of Gandy Boulevard is dangerous because there are no sidewalks in the area.
Nathaniel Williams says he has to walk on the side of the road on Gandy Boulevard just east of Fourth Street when he needs to go grocery shopping or run other errands.
“You feel some of these trucks come by,” he said. “They rock your world.”
There is no sidewalk on the north side of Gandy Boulevard from his home at the Itopia Condos over to Fourth Street, and Williams said it’s an oversight that should be fixed.
“It’s fantastic engineering,” he said. “They just missed one thing: sidewalks for pedestrians.”
While there are sidewalks on other parts of Gandy, the ones in the Williams uses to get around end near Barney’s Mini Storage, which is located at the corner of Oak Street.
Gaps in sidewalks have been a concern throughout Pinellas County, and the missing pavement forces pedestrians like Williams to walk on the shoulder or in bike lanes.
“You take your life into your hands,” Williams said.
Florida Department of Transportation officials say there is a project in the works that addresses sidewalk gaps in Pinellas County that is scheduled to start next year. They said the stretch of Gandy Boulevard east of Fourth Street is included.
Officials say there are some areas where existing light poles and signs will have to be moved, and other areas where an embankment will be required, making some of the additions more complex.
Williams said he was relieved to hear that a walkway is planned for the area, and hoped the project can get underway soon.
“One of the healthiest things to do is walk,” he said. “But what I would like to see is for them just to put another sidewalk in, so we can enjoy the privileges that everybody else has.”
Tim Wronka
Source link
