POLK COUNTY, Fla — Drivers in Lakeland are voicing frustrations about South Florida Avenue, but it could be several years before they see any changes.
Drivers in the area describe the road as frustrating and messy. We spoke to the owner of Levys Imperial Tire Shop. She said they have a front-row seat to the chaos South Florida Avenue is causing.
“The ones that have to replace their tires are not happy. Most of our customers are not happy. I just had one complain how long it took him to get here,” Gloria Harrison said.
She explained many drivers hit their tires on the concrete barriers that are on the side of the road. They come into her tire shop to get them fixed. That is one of the main frustrations we heard from drivers in the area.
“They cut too short, or they don’t see it, and they hit it and bust a tire,” Harrison said.
The Florida Department of Transportation said those concrete barriers were supposed to be temporary.
“It was a temporary solution to try out the reduced lane structure and to give the city an opportunity to decide what they wanted to roadway to look like, “Patricia Pichette with FDOT said.
Four years later many drivers are wondering, what is the next step? It could be another few years before we see any changes implemented on this road.
“This project is not going as smoothly or as quickly as anybody would like dot and the city are talking on a continual basis,” Pichette said.
The City of Lakeland and FDOT are working together on this project. It aims to make the area more walkable. The city said the concrete barriers will be replaced with wider sidewalks and bike paths.
City officials say. They will begin the design phase in the fall and hope to start construction by 2027.
When debris from a tractor struck their vehicle on I-75, Denise and Mike Brennan were told by a state contractor that "they will take care of it." Now, more than six months later, the Brennans are still $7000 out-of-pocket for repairs and rentals.
