APOLLO BEACH, Fla. — Hillsborough County leaders are considering proposed safety improvements along busy Apollo Beach Boulevard.
Any day of the week, you’ll find Casey Appleby walking her dog along the stretch of road.
WATCH: Hillsborough County studying proposed safety improvements along Apollo Beach Boulevard
“Fast cars. Sidewalks aren’t super wide,” said Appleby. “You get lots of bikes on the sidewalk because the road’s too busy.”
Apollo Beach is a constantly growing community that has added many new faces over the years.
“Apollo Beach Elementary is gaining more grade levels, so there’s more cars each year,” said Appleby.
But with more people means meeting more needs.
Hillsborough County is examining proposed safety improvements along the Apollo Beach Boulevard corridor. These include sidewalk improvements, mid-block crossings, and lane configurations.
ABC Action News drove the stretch of road and spotted a few crosswalks and incomplete sidewalks.
The County said the analysis will evaluate improvements identified in a previous study, including filling sidewalk gaps and repurposing one through lane in each direction for things like bikes or golf carts.
“It’s not pedestrian-friendly,” said Zujey Chavez.
Officials said the project will also study adding left turn lanes at the Fairway Boulevard-Manila Palm Way intersection.
“Definitely more crosswalks, turn lanes,” said Appleby.
“You have a bunch of people, especially by like Finn's and Circles, where there’s like really no parking, and then you just kind of gotta wait until traffic clears to be able to go across, whereas if you had a little pedestrian thing for them, it would make it a lot easier and a lot safer for them to get through,” said Chavez.
County leaders are hosting an open house on Tuesday, May 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Apollo Beach Elementary School. Between May 27 and June 10, people are invited to learn more and leave feedback virtually.
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