- A proposed redevelopment of Thomasville Rd. in Midtown has brought strong opposition from neighborhood businesses.
- A hybrid public meeting to hear neighbor concerns is being held Tuesday evening.
- Watch now to hear why some businesses believe the road project would do more harm than good.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
How would you describe traffic on Thomasville Rd.?
"Traffic is a mess sometimes..."
"It's traffic all day long."
There is a plan to address that — with a public meeting for neighbor input soon — but the plan is not very popular among neighbors.
I'm Alberto Camargo in the Midtown neighborhood.
Getting a closer look at what exactly is planned for Thomasville Rd. — and why there is a lot of skepticism among the many businesses in this neighborhood.
Here's the plan.
From Calhoun St. to Sixth Ave., Thomasville Rd. would get repaved, wider sidewalks on either side of the street, new water and sewer lines, and new stoplights at Monroe St., and Sixth and Seventh Ave.
The Florida Department of Transportation says the goal is to improve safety and accessibility for drivers and pedestrians.
Neighbor concerns come from the loss of the left turn lane in the middle of the road — and the estimated two years of construction that would block all northbound traffic.
"I was like what? And I had two or three clients sitting here like oh no."
Kim Bibeau of Sweat Therapy Fitness says what Thomasville Rd. needs is more parking — and taking away the left turn lane would bottleneck traffic even worse than it already gets.
"Come out here at 5:30, it's backed up. You could probably order from Whataburger and they could have it delivered it to you while you're waiting on traffic."
"A lot of, a majority of our traffic comes from cars so being able to turn into our business here is vital."
At Midtown Reader, general manager Kristin Kehl says they've alerted customers to a public meeting Tuesday where FDOT representatives will hear neighbor concerns on the project.
"We've also sent out an email to our newsletter list, which is 10,000 people, asking them to show their support either at the meeting or submitting comments."
Both businesses say they love the community they have built in Midtown — but Bibeau says such a drastic change could have a domino effect.
"I don't know, we'd have to do some soul searching to make sure that Midtown is right for my business. We definitely have to think about that."
A hybrid public meeting to address concerns will take place at 5:30 Tuesday evening at East Hill Baptist Church on Miccosukee Rd.
Neighbors who cannot make it in person can also register to watch online or submit comments virtually.
In Midtown, Alberto Camargo, ABC27.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
