LAKELAND, Fla. – If you’ve driven on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland lately, you’re familiar with the concrete bumpers there.

They are part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) “road diet” there.

They are something Kayleigh Harrison sees every day at work.

“You can see marks. I think there’s a piece of a tire. There’s all kinds of things,” Harrison said.

She’s referring to the numerous tire marks from cars that have struck the barricades. Working at Levy’s Imperial Tire on Florida Avenue, she says the business often sees customers come in after running into one of the bumpers.

“People don’t see it. It causes flat tires. Sometimes it’ll eat up a person’s wheel when they blow out a tire. A lot of that adds up pretty quickly,” Harrison said.

The bumpers were installed as part of the “road diet” on South Florida Avenue (State Road 37) in Lakeland’s Dixieland corridor.

FDOT changed the road from four narrow through lanes to two wider lanes, plus a center turning lane. The idea was to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians and get the road up to modern standards.

But it’s led to some traffic complaints.

“It’s supposed to be for pedestrians. But it ends up affecting the cars more than anything,” Harrison said.

FDOT made the change after years of studies and public meetings.  Lakeland officials say they have received positive feedback from some business owners. A study also showed that drive times were mostly unaffected by the change.

The city commission voted to make the change permanent in December 2022.

So the road diet is here to stay.

But city officials tell Spectrum News there are plans to at least remove the concrete barriers at some point in an upcoming budget year.

They’ll eventually be replaced with amenities like new sidewalks, streetscapes and bike lanes.

For more information, visit https://www.lakelandgov.net/departments/communications/road-diet/