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DOT Hears Ideas For Improving U.S. 19

Carl Orth/SUNCOAST

George Denise of New Port Richey presents his "angle of safety" idea for U.S. 19 intersections to Kris Carson, a spokeswoman for Florida Department of Transportation, at a recent open house at which DOT solicited U.S. 19 safety ideas from the public.

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: September 16, 2008

Updated:

NEW PORT RICHEY - "Pray For Me, I Drive On U.S. 19," a bumper sticker that has been seen on vehicles traveling the highway for decades proclaims.

Residents might have as many ideas for fixing the six-lane Pasco County section of the state highway as the thousands of cars that use the heavily congested roadway every day.

Elevated through lanes at four, busy intersections on U.S. 19 might be the ticket, state highway engineers think. The long-term plan for the overpass lanes at S.R. 54, Ridge Road, S.R. 52 and the Pasco-Hernando County Line Road was unveiled during a recent open-house workshop hosted by the Tampa-based District 7 regional office of Florida Department of Transportation.

Continuous right turn lanes and redesign of medians might become reality much sooner, by 2010 on the current DOT schedule.

But many of the 96 residents at the open house were not shy about sharing their ideas for improvements or complaints about current conditions.

Waving a Nov. 13, 2002, issue of The Suncoast News, nearly six years later George Denise and other allies are still promoting the "angle of safety" concept first detailed in a front-page feature article in 2002.

It's rather simple, Denise explained to Kris Carson, a DOT spokeswoman. To increase visibility of oncoming traffic and pedestrians, cars would sit at intersections with staggered lanes at an angle.

Right now, cars sit next to each other in multiple lanes, blocking the view of drivers.

Denise said he and wife Virginia have witnessed many close calls on U.S. 19. One such incident inspired his angle of safety plan. A van blocked Denise's view as he began rolling his car forward as a signal turned green. He jammed on the brakes when at the last possible moment he spotted a woman pedestrian in the crosswalk.

"It shook me," Denise had said in the 2002 article. "I'm afraid if it was dark, I might not have seen her."

Another time, Denise saw a person using a wheel chair travel to the center of the crosswalk and have to back up after the light changed to avoid being hit by drivers who might not have seen the person.

Writing on comment forms, Joan Van Tilburg expressed concern about criss-crossing traffic on eastbound S.R. 52 at U.S. 19. Drivers turn left from southbound U.S. 19 onto eastbound S.R. 52 at the same time northbound U.S. 19 drivers are turning right on red onto eastbound S.R. 52.

Problems arise as the left-turn traffic maneuvers into the right-hand lane to be able to turn into a shopping center entrance.

Carol Kinnard of New Port Richey was irritated by the plan to redesign U.S. 19 medians between Main Street and Bellview Avenue.

The changes will "place a tremendous burden" on drivers, Kinnard argues. Changes to medians will prohibit left turns from the side streets to head south on U.S. 19. The redesign will replace open medians with "channelized" turn lanes.

Kinnard and other drivers will be forced to turn right onto U.S. 19, go north into one of the channelized medians, and then make a U-turn to head south on U.S. 19.

Kinnard fears winding, narrow River Road will become a "thoroughfare" as drivers seek shortcuts to get to U.S. 19. "Please consider a light at the intersection of Palmetto and 19 or Avery and U.S. 19," Kinnard implored in her written remarks.

Donald R. Bloedel of Hudson complains about similar problems if medians on U.S. 19 are redesigned.

"For us it would be very cumbersome" access for Briarwoods subdivision, requiring U-turns on U.S. 19.

Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

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