Clearwater designs investment in U.S. 19 corridor to stimulate local economy

The City of Clearwater is adopting new zoning standards along U.S. 19  in an effort to make the Pinellas County transportation corridor more economically attractive for businesses and residents. The corridor runs seven miles from Belleair Road to the south to Curlew Road to the north, and includes a portion of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard to the east.
 
“The primary intent of the project is to support the transition of the U.S. 19 corridor from its historic status as an unlimited access major arterial, to something that is economically viable in the context of the limited access like a freeway environment,” says Michael Delk, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Clearwater.
 
The project is being funded by federal stimulus funds in the amount of $350,000 from the Obama Administration and has been rolled out into three phases. 
 
“The first phase was the greenprint, which was set towards sustainability issues, one component of which, was trying to promote more transit,” says Delk. “We followed that with the plan of the U.S. 19 corridor, and now we are in the third phase, which is the implementation phase.”
 
The purpose of the project is to get more people living along the corridor, increasing employment opportunities, and promoting a greater reliance on transit as an option along the corridor.
 
“Clearly I don’t need to describe the brand that is Westshore,” he says. “When someone hears the words ‘Westshore,’ they know where it is and what it is. It s a huge area and it’s got its own brand, and I think in the longer term, U.S. 19 has the potential to be something of similar importance in terms of economic development.”