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Community Corner

Pedestrian Pathways Project Begins Soon Along Dale Mabry

A construction project to build sidewalks and boardwalks on Dale Mabry will start soon.

Starting this month, construction on North Dale Mabry Highway will make the bustling roadway safer for pedestrians and bikers.

The Florida Department of Transportation’s contractor, Transportation Structures, will build new sidewalks on the east side of Dale Mabry between Zambito Road and Hoedt Road and on the west side of the road between Northdale Boulevard and Northgreen Avenue.

FDOT will also build a timber boardwalk on the west side of the road between Carrollwood Springs Road and Northdale Boulevard.

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FDOT spokeswoman Kris Carson said the current pathways were due for improvements.

“We’re pretty much doing this all along Dale Mabry,” she said. “We try to look at the corridors along our area to see what’s in need of an upgrade.”

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A survey released this year by Transportation for America found Tampa to be the second most dangerous large metro area in the country for pedestrians, with 905 pedestrian deaths in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area from 2000-2009.

In addition, the state of Florida had a higher pedestrian danger index for this time period than any other state. The pedestrian danger index is a measure comparing a city’s rate of pedestrian deaths to the amount of walking in the city. The calculation determines which cities and states are riskiest for pedestrians.

Carson said the DOT is aware of the dangers pedestrians face and considers it imperative to make walkways as safe as possible. She said the DOT relies on the “three E’s” – education, enforcement and engineering – to make pathways safe.

“This is part of the engineering,” Carson said. “We try to make sure the facilities are there for pedestrians to use.”

The project will cost a total of $611,000. Construction is scheduled to begin this month and continue until the spring. Carson said drivers nearby should not anticipate any lane closures during rush hours.

Carrollwood residents can look forward to walking on new sidewalks and boardwalks instead of on grass, Carson added.

“The whole idea," she said, "is safety."

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