HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Hillsborough County leaders are holding the first public input meeting on Tuesday involving Lithia Pinecrest Road improvements.
- May 23
- 6:30 p.m.
- Bloomingdale Library
- Online public input is now open
“Lithia Pinecrest Road is in the top four worst congested traffic areas, traffic spots in all of Hillsborough County,” said Hillsborough County Commissioner Michael Owen.
Commuters told ABC Action News that traffic can be a nightmare in the area, especially if there’s an accident.
“You have 25,000 to 30,000 people a day on a two-lane road,” said Owen.
The community would like to see roads widened, and leaders said they’re looking into that, but it would be expensive and the project is currently unfunded.
“That price tag is about $206 million if you do the math. It’s a lot of money,” said Owen.
To lower the price tag, the county may have to get creative and come up with other solutions.
“Like roundabouts. The divergent diamond that they have in Pasco and Sarasota seems to be working well, too,” said Owen.
“We can’t afford to just do nothing. We have got to come up with solutions as quickly as possible because people are suffering daily making this commute,” he added.
While officials said the project is a priority for the county, it won’t be a quick fix.
“Probably in the winter in the end of the year, we will have heard from our independent consultants that we’ve hired. We will actually be making recommendations,” said Owen.
