PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Road improvements may soon be coming to several dangerous intersections in parts of St. Petersburg.
Thursday, city leaders will consider approving a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation that would allow them to upgrade 15 intersections. It's called thesmart signal corridors project.
City Councilman, Copley Gerdes, said one goal of the project is to improve safety.
“I was talking to the police the other day the west side of St. Petersburg continues to rise on some of the most dangerous intersections in St. Pete. This is going to help curb that this is going to help slow that down,” Gerdes said.
Police say the following intersections are routinely listed in the police department's most dangerous crash intersections:
- 66th Street and 38th Avenue N
- 66th Street and 30th Avenue N
- 66th Street and Tyrone Blvd
Those three intersections are apart of the project that aims at reducing crashes and traffic at 15 different intersections between 38th Avenue to Central Avenue on 66th Street. The project would bring upgrades to traffic lights and install cameras at each intersection.
“This will help our traffic controllers see those things in real time and make real time changes which is only gonna help with traffic. It's also going to increase safety,” Gerdes said.
He said these cameras will give them a better look at the traffic issues and crashes. They will analyze this and use it to make changes in the future.
It's important to note these are not red light cameras, but they can recognize people and cars. The city said this would be a big help in tracking stolen vehicles.
The money for this project is coming from a Florida Department of Transportation grant. It has no match meaning the city is not spending a dime. It's all state funded.
City leaders will vote on approving the grant Thursday during their city council meeting.
