Pedestrian safety, road improvements become priorities for City

Nov 2, 2007

School bus stop safety
Looking for ways to make it safer for kids to walk to school bus stops on dark mornings, Port St. Lucie officials are urging all drivers to use extra caution, and ask parents to talk to their children about traffic safety.

City Council members and police officials have been providing kids with flashing strobe lights that can be worn on backpacks and waistbands, but everyone in the community has a responsibility to avoid future accidents, Council members say, especially since sidewalks cannot be put on all streets.

Crews have been installing sidewalks outside schools for the last several months, and all new developments are required to have sidewalks, but hundreds of miles of older streets may never get them. For this reason, Council members are working with county and school board officials to raise public awareness for drivers, kids and parents, and police officers are heavily enforcing violations in residential areas.

Also, as the city moves forward with millions of dollars in road improvement plans, drivers are asked to be cautious driving near road construction projects.

Airoso Boulevard closure
Airoso Boulevardis shut down in both directions because of a problem with 750 feet of aging sewer main that was originally installed in the early 1960s beneath the road. The closure is between Calmoso Drive and Selva Court. All four lanes are shut down and traffic is being diverted east to Sandia on Calmoso and on Lakehurst. Crews are working seven days a week to get the road open as quickly as possible, so drivers are asked to use caution in the area and to allow extra time for delays. The road will be closed until mid November, so drivers should consider an alternate route if possible. For more information, call the Utility Systems Department at 873-6400.

Darwin Boulevard closure
Darwin Boulevardis closed between Tamworth and Bill Traitel Avenue, outside Windmill Point Elementary and Whispering Pines Park. Special access roads have been installed to allow traffic in and out of the school and the park, and drivers should pay attention to all detour signs in the area. The work is being done to add a sidewalk, to improve drainage and to improve turning in the intersections. It will be going on until the middle of January, so drivers should consider an alternate route if possible. For more information, call the Utility Systems Department at 873-6400.

Westmoreland Boulevard
Work continues on Westmoreland Boulevard from Port St. Lucie Boulevard south to Cambridge to widen the road to four lanes. Sidewalks are being added to both sides of the street and the entrance to the city’s future botanical garden is under construction. Entrance to and exit from the Bridge Plaza at Port St. Lucie Boulevard can still be made from Westmoreland by following the detour through the barricades. The road will re-open by the end of December with a landscaped median and improved street lighting.

Prima Vista lane closures
St.Lucie County crews are redesigning Prima Vista Boulevard from U.S. Highway 1 to Rio Mar Drive. Traffic is narrowed to one lane and will remain that way until mid December. Rio Mar is closed to through-traffic from Prima Vista to Beach Avenue, but Lomas Street is open again. The work will result in improved drainage and turning. County traffic engineers can be reached at (772) 462-1707.

Becker Road/ I-95 interchange
Construction of a new interchange at I-95 and Becker Road has begun. Becker Road is now closed west of Hallmark Street, and Rosser Blvd is closed south of Edinburgh Drive. When complete in late 2009, the interchange will shorten travel times to the south and open the southwest portion of the city to commercial development. Construction to widen Becker to four lanes from I-95 to the Florida Turnpike will begin in the spring.

Crosstown Parkway
The Crosstown Parkway Bridge over the Florida Turnpike will open to traffic by mid December. It will be only the third route over the Turnpike in the city. Traffic signals are now working on both sides of the bridge at Bayshore and Cashmere boulevards. Work also is well under way on the segment from Bayshore to Floresta, and work will begin in December on the Crosstown interchange at I-95.

For more information, contact:
Ed Cunningham
Interim Communications Director
City of Port St. Lucie
(772) 871-5219