Lakeland city commissioners voted 4-1 today to recommend that the Florida DOT maintain a three-lane configuration for South Florida Avenue in Dixieland with two travel lanes and a center turn/median lane.
Commissioner Samuel Simmons cast the lone vote against the measure. Commissioners Mike Musick and Bill Read did not attend today’s meeting.
Simmons, voted against the project because he thought the comments from residents who spoke against it at today’s meeting were compelling.
The vote will initiate the design phase of the project, which is expected to take up to 18 months to complete; it will also allow city and state transportation officials to begin negotiating funding sources for construction, which is expected to start in 2026 or 2027 and last two years, according to Chuck Barmby, the city’s planning and transportation manager.