By Tammy Sue Struble
A study presented Monday confirmed something residents of Zephyrhills already know — US 301 is not built to handle the traffic it encounters during peak winter months.
During the workshop with Zephyrhills City Council members, Florida Department of Transportation officials presented pre-design studies completed in the area. They presented findings on results of traffic study in the area, noise and air quality, among others.
The FDOT analyzed traffic and examined needed improvements such as additional turn lanes, looking at what type of changes are needed to make traffic move at acceptable levels.
Interest was so high that Florida Department of Transportation officials ran out of handouts Monday at a quarterly workshop on proposed changes to US 301 through Zephyrhills. About 30 people showed up for the afternoon workshop, where they heard that US 301, in its current state, is unacceptable.
FDOT officials presented two other alternatives for improving traffic in the area. One would turn US 301 into a one-way northbound road through the downtown corridor with Sixth Street one-way southbound. The other alternative showed Seventh Street one-way northbound with Sixth Street used as one-way southbound. Under that model, US 301 would remain a two-way street.
Regardless of the model, researchers concluded improvements would be needed somewhere.
The study also looked at cultural resources like Zephyrhills’ historic district for historic preservation. A new historic resource identified as possibly eligible for the National Register of Historic Places was Clyde’s Cottages south of Tucker Road.
Their noise study revealed no adverse effect on the historic properties; the air quality analysis passed also. Looking ahead, FDOT anticipated no adverse issues with noise or air quality with improvement alternatives on 301.
The next step is the preparation of the case study report for further review.
There will be another workshop Apr. 27 at Alice Hall at Zephyr Park in Zephyrhills from 5-7 p.m. to help complete this process. The FDOT will be looking at the potential affect of changes to 301 on historic properties. Any citizens or groups interested in the process will be included. Then, reports will be prepared and presented to the Federal Highway Administration and others. In a long process, predictions hope for federal approval by Jan. 2012 with real design commencing after that.
