The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District Seven conducted a corridor planning and concept development study along a portion of SR 580 in Pinellas County. This study focuses on segments of SR 580 from Alternate US 19/SR 595/Broadway to Tampa Road being conducted in Pinellas County, Florida.
Beginning at Alternate US 19 in the City of Dunedin, SR 580 is a four-lane divided urban arterial for approximately one mile then transitions to a four-lane undivided urban arterial to Pinehurst Road. East of Pinehurst Road, SR 580 is a six-lane undivided urban arterial that continues east until just west of SR 590/Philippe Parkway. At this location, SR 580 transitions to a four-lane undivided urban arterial and continues to the end of the project at Tampa Road. Daily traffic volumes range from 10,800 vehicles per day to 48,500 vehicles per day along the corridor in the year 2018. The total length of the corridor is approximately 8.5 miles. The corridor features sidewalks on both sides of the roadway, with a few exceptions. Bike lanes are present on both sides of SR 580 from Alternate US 19 to Countryside Boulevard.
SR 580 consists of several different segments, each of which vary in the land use and development patterns both along the roadway and in the surrounding areas. The purpose of the studies are to work with the community, stakeholders and a Project Advisory Group (PAG) to develop a plan and identify needs and issues. The corridor plan guided proposed short- and long-term recommendations. These included issues relating to capacity, traffic operations, safety, access and egress, freight movements, transit, bicycles, and pedestrian movements.
Phases of the Study
The SR 580 Corridor Planning and Concept Development Study was broken down into two phases.
Phase I focused on Defining the Problem which includes collection and assessment of the existing conditions, which leads to defining the Purpose and Need. The Purpose and Need will help to determine which intersections, roadway segments and multimodal transportation facilities were further analyzed in Phase II. The future traffic volumes and SYNCHRO network will be developed during Phase I.
Phase II involved conducting detailed operational analysis, such as SYNCHRO and Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), on the selected intersections, roadways segments and multimodal facilities. Phase II ultimately focused on developing alternatives for the transportation facilities, discussed in Phase I.