Project to make Dale Mabry pedestrian friendly

A traffic-choked section of Dale Mabry Highway is about to become more pedestrian friendly.

Workers are completing a Florida Department of Transportation project that will add miles of sidewalk and wooden boardwalk on either side of the congested roadway, from Carrollwood Springs Boulevard to Northgreen Avenue.

The project, with a $611,000 price tag, began in August and — despite a few weather-related delays that pushed back the completion date — should be done by early March, said Kris Carson, a spokeswoman for the state's transportation department.

"We're actually going to be rounding it up in the next few weeks," she said.

Money for the roadway project came from federal and state transportation funds.

Carson said the sidewalks are being built on the eastern side of Dale Mabry between Zambito and Hoedt roads; and on the western side of Dale Mabry between Northdale Boulevard and Northgreen Avenue, and alongside Gaither High School.

The elevated wooden boardwalks are being built along the western side of the highway, she said, between Carrollwood Springs and Northdale boulevards.

Last year, state transportation officials added miles of sidewalks and walkway to other sections of the highway, which runs from Interbay Boulevard in South Tampa to the Lutz area.

One project added sidewalks, wooden walkways and other amenities along the western side of North Dale Mabry, between Northgreen Avenue and North Lakeview Drive, at a cost of $250,000. Another project added sidewalks between Fletcher Avenue/South Village Drive and Zambito Road/Carrollwood Springs Boulevard, at a cost of about $793,000.

While some have questioned the need for sidewalks on a roadway that doesn't have much pedestrian traffic, Carson said the improvements are desperately needed.

"There are a lot of pedestrians along Dale Mabry, you just don't see them," she said.

Carson said Florida is trying to shake its reputation as an unsafe place for pedestrians.

Florida in recent years has ranked as the deadliest state in the nation for pedestrian and bicycle safety, according to Transportation for America, a nonprofit safety advocacy organization, with 5,163 pedestrians killed from 2000 to 2009. The study also ranked the Tampa-St. Petersburg region as second-highest in the state for pedestrian fatalities.

"With Florida's pedestrian fatality ranking, it's important for us to get sidewalks and boardwalks added where we can," Carson said. "This is about pedestrian safety."