Construction on Bayshore Boulevard bike lanes gets rolling

Bayshore Boulevard, Tampa's signature roadway, is undergoing a $1.48 million state-funded construction project that could reduce the number of bicyclists on the world's longest sidewalk.

This first of three phases of the project will provide continuous 4-foot-wide bicycle lanes in both directions along the north-south waterfront roadway, from Rome Avenue to Platt Street. The segment stretches about 1.4 miles.

To accommodate the dual bike lanes, the stretch of Bayshore between Rome and Platt is being reconfigured.

The stretch from the Davis Island Bridge to Rome Avenue will be modified from six to four lanes to accommodate not only the bicycle lanes, but a 14-foot-wide landscaped median.

Modification of the shorter, four-lane stretch between Platt Street and the Davis Island Bridge will include the bike lanes and a concrete median.

Tampa's transportation manager, Jean Dorzback, said the improvements are not expected to eliminate bicycles on the existing 10-foot-wide sidewalk next to Hillsborough Bay.

"We know some bicyclists will still want to use the sidewalk, and we don't expect all of them to suddenly start using the bicycle lanes. There will be some reduction, because some will take the option," she said.

"There's been a strong push for more bicycle provisions on all of our roads in the city. We've actually been working on this for many years through the [Florida] Department of Transportation," Dorzback said.

In addition to providing bicyclists with a designated, marked area of the roadway, the project provides other safety enhancements, she said.

Those include upgrading existing traffic signals and pedestrian/cyclist safety features at the Bayshore crosswalks at Bay to Bay Boulevard and Platt Street.

Additionally, left-turn bays will be created in the northbound lanes at several intersections where turns now are legal.

On March 2, then-mayor Pam Iorio signaled the start of work by unveiling a sign on Bayshore Boulevard at Magnolia Avenue.

Plans call for the project to cover the entire 4.5 miles of Bayshore Boulevard, from West Gandy Boulevard to Platt Street. Due to the project's size and available funds, construction was divided into three phases. Pepper Contracting Services of Clearwater is the contractor for the initial phase.

Construction of the second phase, estimated at $2 million, is expected to begin in 2014 and span a stretch of Bayshore between Rome and Howard avenues. The work will include widening southbound Bayshore by reducing median width and modifying the pavement to provide for a 4-foot-wide bicycle lane. No changes to the northbound roadway and bicycle lane are scheduled.

The third and final phase, estimated to cost $3 million, will duplicate the second-phase improvements along the stretch of Bayshore from Howard Avenue to north of Gandy Boulevard.

David Vaughn, director of the city's Contract Administration Department, said the initial phase of the long-range project is on schedule, allowing for completion in September.

Maintaining traffic flow has not posed unexpected difficulties, and Bayshore Boulevard remains open, without detours, said Vaughn, adding that motorists' patience is appreciated.

While traffic flow in either direction at times is reduced to a single lane, efforts are made to avoid affecting both directions of travel, Vaughn said.

John Jones, president of the Historic Hyde Park Neighborhood Association, said residents seem to be taking the inconvenience in stride. "It's certainly no worse than what anyone else puts up with when their city is under construction. It's one of the things that go with living in an urban area," he said.

The iconic Bayshore's balustrade, built in 1935-38 as a Works Progress Administration project — part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal — is nearing completion of a facelift begun late last year to restore its early splendor and bright-white shade.

The popular 4.5-mile, 10-foot-wide sidewalk known as Bayshore Linear Park is the world's longest continuous sidewalk.

gwilkens@tampatrib.com

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