BELLEAIR – After listening intently to consulting engineer Upik Suwarno of Cardno TBE Nov. 17, the Town Commission tentatively set upon a course that may dictate how residential Belleair gets around for years to come.
Suwarno reported to the commission on the proposed traffic study designed to gauge the efficacy of lowering Belleair’s standing 30 mph speed limit to 25. Traffic along key routes within the community will be monitored by radar over the days to come in an effort to find, according to the engineer, the speed which represents the 85th percentile for traffic in the area.
If that number is within 8 mph below the posted speed limit of 30 mph, the commissioners were told a case could be made for reducing the townwide speed limit to 25 mph.
State statutes mandate a low speed rate for municipalities of 30 mph, unless the local authorities can support a designated pedestrian zone that would justify lowering the posted limit as a public safety measure.
Commissioner Stephen Fowler raised the point that if the speed is currently posted at 30 why the study would be designed to record average speeds below that.
City Manager Micah Maxwell agreed but added, “We’re looking for ways to approach this based on use.”
In recent months residents along some traffic corridors within the town have raised an alarm over “cut through” traffic that they feel presents a hazard to the safety of area children; most of the complaints are directed at traffic occurring during peak commuting hours.
It will take staff about 30 days to collect the data at which time the commission will take up the matter.
Unrelated to the posted speed issue but all the same, a concern for many Belleair residents was the subject of sidewalks.
Commissioner Stephanie Oddo introduced a half dozen letters from residents both entreating for and expressing against adding sidewalks to areas of the town currently not so appointed.
“How would you pay?” asked Mayor Gary Katica.
Belleair does not currently have a plan in place to extend sidewalks to the entire community. In the past homeowners who elected to have sidewalks were expected to pay for a portion of the project. Recently Belleair officials negotiated a deal with the owners of the Belleview Biltmore for construction of a sidewalk along Poinsettia Road running east past the Biltmore Golf Club and golf course to the Pinellas Trail. Biltmore’s owners agreed to construct the sidewalk along with an upgrade to the club’s parking lot as part of an agreement to share the club’s parking facility.
Oddo suggested setting aside $30,000 annually out of the town’s infrastructure fund to pay for additional sidewalks.
“I just want to provide our residents with a family friendly community,” Oddo declared.
Katica responded by saying, “If I had to prioritize I would single out our streets, they’re in terrible condition.”
The commissioners agreed to make street repairs and or sidewalk additions part of the upcoming budget deliberations.
