FDOT, city launch interactive survey of South Florida Avenue 'road diet'

Sara-Megan Walsh, The Ledger
·2 min read

LAKELAND —  Florida Department of Transportation in partnership with the City of Lakeland launched an online survey Wednesday asking those who live, work and play along South Florida Avenue to provide their constructive feedback on the more than yearlong lane realignment.

"Be specific, be specific, be specific," Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley instructed citizens in May.

FDOT's pilot program narrowed a one-mile stretch of the roadway from five to three lanes of traffic starting at Lime Street south to Ariana Street. Construction started in April 2020, with the trial period officially beginning in October 2020.

A screenshot of Florida Department of Transportation and the City of Lakeland's online survey for the South Florida Avenue road diet that went live Wednesday. It will accept feedback through July 12.
A screenshot of Florida Department of Transportation and the City of Lakeland's online survey for the South Florida Avenue road diet that went live Wednesday. It will accept feedback through July 12.

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Residents, business owners and visitors are being asked to complete a brief five-part survey online at metroquestsurvey.com/qn1i1c.  A brief welcome section explains what the project did. A longer overview is available online at www.swflroads.com/sr37/arianatolime.

Individuals are asked to rank their top priorities when it come to the future of the South Florida Avenue corridor. FDOT and the city have chosen seven categories including driving, pedestrian, bicycling and overall transit improvement. The survey asks each category be rated on a scale of one to five stars, with five stars being the most important. There is a small icon to the far right in each category that reviewers can click to leave detailed comments.

In Section 3, respondents are asked to give their feedback to the pilot program in a simplified format. There are six statements starting with "I feel safer driving on the road" that each person can give a thumbs up or thumbs down to. Each statement has a small chat icon to the right that allows individuals to give more information on the reason for their response.

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Section 4, an interactive map of the South Florida Avenue corridor. A toolbar across the top of the map allows users to click and drag icons to indicate issues with safety and traffic to sidewalks in the Dixieland area. Placing an icon on the map result in a box popping up asking users to select a topic then write up a brief comment up to 500 characters about the problem.

The survey will be open through July 12. A public forum is scheduled for July 11 from 5-7 p.m. at The RP Funding Center, 701 W. Lime St.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: FDOT, Lakeland launch online South Florida Avenue survey for feedback