New Hillsborough Avenue signal to begin operating where three pedestrians died

TAMPA — The long and dangerous dash across six lanes of traffic on Hillsborough Avenue in East Tampa should soon be safer to navigate.

A new traffic signal just east of 22nd Street will begin operating in the next two weeks close to where two Middleton High School students were hit by a car two years ago. One sister was killed.

The new signal, which cost $350,000, will be switched on next week in flashing yellow mode to give motorists some notice and will be fully operational the following week. It is located at the entrance to East Gate Plaza on the south side and Meridian Pointe Apartments to the north.

At least four pedestrians have been hit by vehicles in this stretch of Hillsborough Avenue over the past four years, and three have died. None of the victims was crossing at a designated crosswalk.

In the most recent fatality, 58-year-old Randolph Dunston slipped off the median near Nebraska Avenue and was hit by a delivery truck

“It’s very unfortunate; there’s not a safe place to cross,” said Jean Duncan, city director of transportation and stormwater services. “To go to the nearest signalized intersection is too far out of the way for people so they dart back and forth across the road.”

The stretch of Hillsborough Avenue is just north of Middleton High and separates students who live in the Meridian Pointe complex from their school.

That proved fatal for 15-year-old Norma Velasquez-Cabrera, who was struck in March 2014 and died from her injuries a few days later. Another Middleton student, 15-year-old Shenika Davis, was struck and killed in the same area in October 2011.

One month after the 2014 accident, the Hillsborough County School District began running a shuttle from the complex to the school. The shuttle cost about $250 per day. It has since been replaced with a regular bus routes, said Tanya Arja, district spokeswoman.

The district will re-evaluate the route at the end of the school year, Arja said.

The Florida Department of Transportation paid $306,000 toward construction of the new signal with the City of Tampa chipping in $44,000 toward the design costs.

The crosswalk will feature push-button activated crossing signals, high-emphasis markings with broad horizontal stripes, a pedestrian safety refuge in the middle of the road and overhead warning lights that remind drivers they are legally required to stop for pedestrians.

“This will hopefully help,” Duncan said. “People will use the signal and have a safe crossing opportunity.”

codonnell@tampatrib.com

(813) 259-7871

@codonnellTBO