The City of Lakeland will be constructing a sidewalk enhancement project on West Beacon Road from South Lincoln Avenue to Shawnee Trail to provide a safe route for pedestrians without requiring them to cross the street. The project will also address ADA compliance issues with a sidewalk and curb ramps designed to better assist the mobility impaired. The project will include an enhanced school crossing at Eden Parkway for students traveling to Southwest Middle School. The project is slated to begin Fall/Winter 2021.
In 2018, the City of Lakeland received a request to construct a new sidewalk on the north side of Beacon Road between Lincoln Avenue and South Florida Avenue. Chuck Barmby, Business Development and Transportation Manager said, “There is an existing school crossing at the Eden Parkway and Camphor Street intersection that doesn’t actually lead to a sidewalk and this has been a growing safety concern. A sidewalk along the north side of Beacon Road will provide a critical connection to address this safety deficiency.”
Beacon Road is an urban collector with 6,700 vehicles per day on average that travel the roadway. Collectors are major roads that connect local streets with multi-lane arterials. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways and between urban centers at the highest level of service possible. Beacon Road is not compliant but installing a sidewalk on the north side of the road will bring the urban collector into compliance with the City Engineering Standards Manual.
The project is estimated to cost $342,000 and is funded by gas tax collections through the City of Lakeland’s transportation fund. Gas taxes are the main source of funds available for local governments to make street improvements, including sidewalks, bike lanes, and traffic signals. Gas taxes are the primary funding source for the maintenance and operation of local roadway systems being used by an ever-increasing population.