Golf Cart Crossing Considered in Skinner Turn Lane Deal

A wider sidewalk will soon replace a confusing turn lane on Skinner Boulevard.

At 6 feet wide, the sidewalk would be just two feet shy of the required width for golf carts.

But there's hope.

The state said it would consider a Dunedin city permit to build a golf cart crossing on Skinner Boulevard that is parallel with Pinellas Trail, Doug Hutchens, public works director, told city leaders April 18.

"Without a crossing, a wider sidewalk at Skinner it serves no purpose," Hutchens said. If the permit is approved, Hutchens said the city could look at later extending the sidewalk to the 8-foot, golf cart-permissible width.

City officials approved a city-state deal April 18 that eliminates an entire right turn lane on Skinner Boulevard. The lane extends west from Martin Luther King Jr Avenue and leads westbound motorists into the dead-end residential side of Douglas Avenue.

Hutchens says it is confusing for drivers because it encourages them to get into the turn lane thinking it is for the intersection of Bayshore Boulevard, and then they have to slide back into the through-lane.

"The other problem is we have delivery trucks that go to Coca-Cola primarily on Skinner. If they miss the turn on MLK ... they turn on Douglas and get lost, confused or stuck on north Douglas Avenue and Lorraine Leland and other streets in the neighborhood," Hutchens said. 

It's caused problems in the neighborhoods, he explained.

The project includes reconstruction of the sidewalk, signs and pavement markings, curb and drainage inlets, extension of seven driveways and the addition of a bike lane leading to the Pinellas Trail.

A golf cart crossing that cuts across Skinner and would be parallel to the Pinellas Trail, but near enough to piggback onto the existing flashers, still depends on Florida Department of Transportation approval.

Hutchens said the state agrees to fund up to $175,000 of the project as repayment for the city's 2005 improvements to the Skinner and Bayshore Boulevard intersection.

Hutchens said he expects the project to be completed well within the allotted state funds.

Related Coverage:

• Turn Lane on Skinner Boulevard to Disappear

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