As City Council may aware, the proposed Grand Blvd. MUP project is included in the Parks and Recreation’s August 2020 Trails Feasibility Study. Once completed, the MUP will connect with the City’s existing path at Marine Pkwy and Grand Blvd. and proceed north along Grand Blvd. where it will possibly head east on Delaware Ave. to Madison St. and turn north where it will connect to the City’s existing MUP at Madison St. and Main St. Once completed, the path will connect to Pasco County’s existing MUP on Massachusetts Ave. heading east toward Starkey Park. Design elements include the reduction of four lanes to two lanes along Grand Blvd. between Gulf Dr. and possibly Delaware Ave. Landscape and irrigation areas will include trees, shrubs, and ground cover. Seating areas and paths widths will be able to accommodate both bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Improved decorative street lighting and stormwater drainage improvements will be installed.
During its regularly scheduled October 18, 2022 meeting, City Council approved the 2022/2023 Street Improvements project engineering task order. Included in the task order was design work for Montana Ave. from Lafayette St. to Madison St. Subsequent to the approval of the task order, a discussion between City Council members resulted in the removal of design work for Montana Ave. due to the fact road diet elements were not included and it had not been decided whether or not the Grand Blvd. MUP was going to go down Delaware Ave. or Montana Ave. Delaware Ave. contains a 60’ right of way and a 30’ asphalt surface. Montana Ave. contains a 50’ right of way and a 30’ asphalt surface; both roadways have similar design and stormwater features. While Montana Ave. is a block closer to the Downtown area the right of way limits are 10’ narrower than Delaware Ave. As City Council is aware, design work has begun on the path from Marine Pkwy to Gulf Dr. and federal grant funding for the path is due by February 28, 2023. As a result, a determination of Delaware Ave. or Montana Ave. for the path’s eastward direction is needed by staff from City Council.