Forward Pinellas: Advantage Alt 19
Mission
The goal of this project is to provide people with better access from their homes to their jobs and job training opportunities as well as other desired destinations via reliable transportation options.
Background Information:
Through Advantage Pinellas, Forward Pinellas has created the Investment Corridor Strategy, where a set of roadway corridors within Pinellas County have been prioritized for redevelopment and reinvestment to connect jobs and housing. The Countywide Plan was amended to allow for increased densities and intensities along these corridors. The Alternate US 19 Corridor is identified as one of the priority investment corridors.
Existing Conditions
The Advantage Alt 19 plan builds upon both past and ongoing planning efforts. The Study Team did an extensive existing conditions analysis that included a review of existing plans and studies as well as an extensive analysis to further explore Alt 19. This included an examination of land use along Alt 19; an analysis of transportation characteristics and safety; a multimodal assessment; an equity assessment; and an analysis of redevelopment potential. This information was used to identify opportunities and constraints, and to help shape the redevelopment and transit vision for Alt 19.
Corridor Context
The Alt 19 Investment Corridor spans 16 miles along Alternate US 19 (SR 595) from SR 60 (Court Street) in Clearwater to 58th Street North at 5th Avenue North, and 58th Street North from 5th Avenue North to Central Avenue in St. Petersburg. The Corridor covers five jurisdictions: the cities of Clearwater, Largo, Seminole, and St. Petersburg, and unincorporated portions of Pinellas County. The Plan’s focus area is defined as a half-mile buffer around the Alt 19 Investment Corridor and is divided into four segments:
Segments
Segment 1: City of St. Petersburg, Unincorporated Pinellas County, and City of Seminole Segment 2: City of Seminole and Unincorporated Pinellas County Segment 3: City of Largo and Unincorporated Pinellas County Segment 4: City of Clearwater and Unincorporated Pinellas County
Redevelopment Vision
As its name expresses, the goal of the Advantage Alt 19: Investing in People and Places along the Alternate US 19 Corridor plan is to develop a strategy that will lead to investment along the Alternate US 19 Corridor for the benefit of the people and places who call this area home. The impotence of this Plan is Forward Pinellas’s Investment Corridor Strategy, which identifies priority corridors for future investment in enhanced transit service, such as regional express, limited stop express, or high frequency service.
Land Use
The corridor is predominantly comprised of residential uses. These areas are established neighborhoods and will not be targeted for redevelopment. Commercial uses make up the next largest share of existing land use, and these areas do present redevelopment opportunities as many of these sites are underutilized and/ or include large surface parking lots that could be targeted for infill redevelopment opportunities.
Transportation
Alternate US 19 is a principal corridor in Pinellas County, serving as an alternate north-south roadway to US Highway 19. The segment within the Study Area is primarily a six-lane divided highway for majority of the corridor. Overall, the corridor has capacity to handle current volumes of traffic. However, safety is a major concern in this area. Between 2017 and 2021, there were a total of 11,930 crashes along the Corridor, including 53 fatalities and 314 serious injury crashes.
Equity Analysis
The overarching goal of the Advantage Alt 19 plan is to ensure that future growth along the Alternate US 19 corridor thoughtfully provides current and future residents with attainable housing choices that are well-connected to jobs and job training opportunities. An equity analysis was conducted to understand which communities along the Alternate US 19 corridor present the greatest opportunity to increase equity and improve quality of life for residents. Three factors were considered: Vulnerability to Displacement, Transit Dependent Populations, and Housing and Job Diversity.
Place Types
After defining potential station locations for an enhanced transit service along Alternate US 19, station areas were defined and assigned a Place Type. Place Types are used to outline a vision for the station areas based on common characteristics related to density, building form and placement, mobility needs, civic infrastructure, and related to density, building form and placement, mobility needs, civic infrastructure, and land and market potential.
Place Types
These Place Types are also used to establish guidance on the types of facilities/amenities that would be appropriate for a transit station within each Place Type. There are four place types defined for Alt 19: Downtown, Urban, Village, and Neighborhood.
Station Area Profiles
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1
Downtown Clearwater
The vision for this station area is for mixed-use redevelopment to occur in the Downtown Core, especially along the Pinellas Trail and around key points of activity such as Coachman Park, Prospect Lake Park, and the future Clearwater Transit Center.
2
Lakeview Road
The vision for this station area is for infill redevelopment to occur on larger commercial parcels, such as Clearwater Plaza and Publix to its south, which may include liner buildings that include a mix of retail and office uses.
3
Rosery Road
The vision for this station area is for incremental infill redevelopment to occur on commercial parcels with large surface parking lots, with the potential for full-scale redevelopment to occur on parcels with under-utilized commercial strip centers.
4
Downtown Largo
The vision for this station area is for mixed-use redevelopment to occur in the West Bay Drive CRD, especially along Downtown Largo’s “main street,” West Bay Drive, and around key points of activity such as Largo Central Park and a future Downtown Transfer Center.
5
Largo Mall
The vision for this station area is for incremental infill redevelopment to occur on larger parcels with underutilized surface parking lots, such as Largo Mall and the two home improvement stores on the north side of Ulmerton Road. Vertically-integrated mixed-use developments with ground-floor commercial uses (such as retail or professional offices) and residential in the above stories may develop in the longer-term in proximity to the future transit station.
6
Walsingham Road
The vision for this station area is for incremental redevelopment to occur along Seminole Boulevard. There is some potential for vertically integrated mixed-use developments with ground-floor commercial uses (such as retail or professional offices) and residential in the above stories to develop in the longer-term on larger commercial parcels.
7
102 Avenue
The vision for this station area is for incremental redevelopment to occur along Seminole Boulevard. There is some potential for vertically integrated mixed-use developments with ground-floor commercial uses (such as retail or professional offices) and residential in the above stories to develop in the longer-term on larger commercial parcels.
8
Seminole Mall
The vision for this station area is for infill redevelopment to occur over time on larger parcels currently occupied by commercial shopping centers. Surface parking lots and out parcels can be redeveloped in the shorter-term with retail, dining, and entertainment uses.
9
54th Avenue N
The vision for this station area is for incremental redevelopment to occur along Seminole Boulevard. Larger parcels, or smaller parcels that are assembled over time, have potential for vertically-integrated mixed-use developments with ground-floor commercial uses (such as retail or professional offices) and residential in the above stories.
10
Bay Pines
The vision for this station area is for incremental development/ redevelopment to occur on large commercial parcels and vacant greenfield sites. There is some potential for vertically-integrated mixed-use developments with ground-floor commercial uses (such as retail or professional offices) and residential in the above stories to develop in the longer-term depending on population growth and transit ridership in the area.
11
Park Street
The vision for this station area is for incremental infill redevelopment to occur on commercial parcels with large surface parking lots, with the potential for full-scale redevelopment to occur on parcels with vacated structures. Vertically-integrated mixed-use developments with ground-floor commercial uses (such as retail or professional offices) and residential uses may develop in the near-term.
12
Tyrone Square
The vision for this station area is for infill redevelopment to occur over time on larger parcels currently occupied by commercial shopping centers. Surface parking lots and out parcels can be redeveloped in the shorter term, while the parcels currently occupied by commercial activity, such as Tyrone Square Mall and the Home Depot at Crossroads Shopping Center, are unlikely to redevelop in the near future.
Transit
The vision for enhanced transit service along Alternate US 19 was developed in collaboration with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA). A short-term and long-term vision were developed so that PSTA can implement enhancements to Route 18 in the near-term using existing funding and work towards developing larger-scale enhanced transit service. As redevelopment occurs, ridership grows, and more funding becomes available over time.
Advantage Alt 19 Phased Timeline
Phase 1 Limited Stop Overlay
•A limited-stop, high-frequency express bus transit service that connects major job locations and other major activity centers within the corridor.
Phase 2 High-Frequency Bus Service
• The limited stop overlay operation would be enhanced to provide more frequent service over a longer service span. • Peak period service levels would be modified to provide increased capacity contingent on bus loads, wait times, and ridership.
Phase 3 System Operational Enhancements
• System operational enhancements consist of intersection treatments that facilitate movement of the bus through roadway intersections.
Phase 4 Bus Rapid Transit Service
• High-capacity bus service is characterized as branded, high-frequency bus service that is supported by enhanced stations, technology, and operational enhancements that give the bus select priority over other traffic.
Short-Term Transit Vision
Long-Term Transit Vision
Community Engagement
The Corridor Characteristics Analysis and feedback from public engagement help to inform land use strategies and mobility recommendations presented in this Plan.
Public feedback provides a deeper understanding of what people experience every day as they travel along the Alt 19 corridor, and the desires and needs that reveal themselves through those experiences.
The interactive web map received 109 comments from the time it launched in October 2022 to its closing date in September 2023. The interactive web map was posted on the project website and advertised through Forward Pinellas’s social media channels. We have completed our public surveys.
Recommendations
This chapter provides recommendations and next steps the five jurisdictions and partner agencies can take to achieve the goals, objectives, and vision of the Advantage Alt 19 plan over time. The municipalities and partner agencies along the Corridor can seek opportunities to piggyback off of existing/ongoing planning efforts and target priority locations where there is already momentum and demand to implement changes. As the Alt 19 corridor sees increasing levels of demand for housing, jobs, and public transportation over time, more extensive policy/regulatory changes and investment in public infrastructure may occur. Therefore, implementation actions should not occur simultaneously, but be phased as population and employment growth are directed towards the Corridor and funding opportunities become available.
Recommendations for each jurisdiction: Policy/regulatory and mobility recommendations that are specific to the station areas within each of the five jurisdictions along the Corridor.
Click here to view recommendations for:
- City of Clearwater
- City of St Petersburg
- City of Largo
- City of Seminole
Overall policy and regulatory recommendations: Recommendations for policy/LDC updates that apply throughout the Corridor to achieve a unified approach to redevelopment. Includes considerations for the provision of public benefits, attainable housing, trail-oriented development, and storm-water management.
Agency Recommendations: Recommendations for Forward Pinellas, PSTA, and FDOT to support the successful implementation of the transit vision and station area vision plans.
Corridor-wide Partnership Recommendations: Considerations for continual collaboration and engagement between the partner agencies, jurisdictions, community organizations, and other stakeholders along the Alt 19 corridor.
Funding Strategies: An initial assessment of funding opportunities that may be available to the Alt 19 corridor to fund transit and infrastructure improvements.
Next Steps
Redevelopment Vision:
- Work with the City of Largo implement the recommendations for their station areas.
- Future corridor-wide implementations: multi-step process
Transit Vision:
- PSTA to conduct Transit Concept and Alternatives Review (TCAR) Study on Advantage Alt 19
- Identify potential funding opportunities for next phase