Residents press Pinellas County on cut-through traffic, noise and construction impacts during Keystone/East Lake meeting

Residents at a Pinellas County virtual meeting pressed county staff on whether the interim Keystone Road/East Lake Road improvements will actually ease neighborhood egress, reduce cut-through driving, and address late-night racing and noise.

During the question-and-answer period, multiple residents described severe evening queues and cut-through traffic that make it difficult to exit subdivisions such as Woodfield. "It is almost impossible to get out of the Woodfield Boulevard in from about 4:45 in the afternoon... there's a steady line of traffic," said Roly Blake, a Woodfield resident of 37 years. Blake and others said they worry that adding turn-storage lanes could simply shift the bottleneck elsewhere.

Officials'responses: Tom Washburn, Pinellas County's transportation division director, said the additional turn and through lanes, median refuge areas and adjustments to signal timing are intended to reduce queue spillback and improve access for both residents and emergency responders. "If we can get that balanced a little bit better, we might be able to flush this traffic better than what we're doing right now," Washburn said. Staff also noted the interim project focuses on keeping improvements within existing right-of-way.

Noise, enforcement and environmental review: Residents raised concerns about late-night vehicle racing and higher speeds. County staff said noise impacts will be evaluated through the NEPA/environmental review process and recommended residents report illegal racing to the sheriff's office for targeted enforcement. "Noise will be studied as part of the NEPA document," Washburn said.

Construction-phase concerns: Participants asked whether cut-through traffic would rise during construction. Consultants said at least one travel lane will remain open at all times and the county can deploy temporary devices used on other projects to discourage cut-through if it becomes problematic. Jason Yam, the roadway consultant, said lane-widening work will likely be daytime construction while repaving could occur at night to limit disruption.

What residents can do: Presenters encouraged written feedback via the project website and said the county is applying for grants to help fund corridor work. Staff also offered to follow up individually with residents who provide contact information to further analyze local intersections.

Next steps: The county will post the meeting recording and materials on the project website and said staff will continue outreach as the design advances toward the end-of-year milestone.