Lakeland officials are aware the South Florida Avenue “road diet,” is quickly becoming the area’s eyesore.
Love it or hate it, Dixieland residents have repeatedly complained about the roadway’s coffin-shaped concrete bunkers.
These once “so-called temporary” curbs put in to constrain the once five-land roadway down to three lanes were promised for a year-long pilot. But now it has stretched on for nearly four years with no clear end in sight.
Lakeland officials will be meeting with Florida Department of Transportation staff and jointly with the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce at 1:30 p.m. Monday in Lakeland Electric’s conference room, 501 E. Lemon St., to discuss the future of South Florida Avenue. The meeting is open to the public to attend.
“We have to show some things people can see. I understand why people are frustrated —there’s a standstill, it’s FDOT, and we’re not sure who pays for what,” Commissioner Chad McLeod said.
The city’s consultant, Ayres Associates, presented 10 possible final designs for the full redesign of South Florida Avenue based on whether there was a center median versus central turning lane, bicyclist lanes, bus curb cuts, sidewalks, or extended sidewalks.
In December 2022, Lakeland commissioners recommended to FDOT that they were in favor of South Florida Avenue having three lanes, one travel lane in each direction with a central turning lane, and extended sidewalks measuring 11 to 12 feet on each side. This decision kicked off the project’s design phase where Lakeland and the state will work to create plans for the final look and feel of the one-mile stretch of South Florida Avenue, from Lime Street south to Ariana Street. It was expected to take 12 to 18 months.
