TAMPA, Fla. — Parents and students at a Tampa elementary school are concerned about recent changes on Central Avenue.

What You Need To Know

  • Two intersections on Central Avenue, Hanna Avenue and Lake Avenue, were changed from having traffic lights to four-way stops

  • The change was part of the new bikeway project on Central Avenue

  • Parents say some drivers are confused by the change

  • City says a four-way stop at Central Avenue and Hanna Avenue is safer than a traffic light

The intersections at Hanna Avenue and Lake Avenue were changed from having traffic lights to four-way stops.

At the corner of Hanna Avenue and Central Avenue is Seminole Heights Elementary School, where parents like Tara Makas are concerned about the changes.

“It’s now extremely terrifying to walk through this area,” Makas said.

Makas is a Tampa native who attended the school herself, just like her daughter does now.

But she was never worried about getting there until recently.

“If I’m walking across the street to pick her up or drop her off, I want to trust that someone will stop,” Makas said.

She says that’s even with crossing guards present.

In addition to driver confusion, Makas says she can no longer use the pedestrian crossing signal.

“So now there’s no way of us pressing the light and waiting for something to change so we can cross the road safely,” Makas said.

She has seen at least one crash there and says traffic tends to back up if there’s an issue on nearby I-275.

The change was made as part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s new bikeway project on Central Avenue. The city of Tampa is assisting with the project as well.

The traffic light now just flashes red. Eventually, it will be taken down and replaced with stop signs.

City officials told Spectrum Bay News 9 the change can actually make the intersection safer. By requiring everyone to come to a complete stop, speeds go down.

The city has made similar changes at other intersections in recent years.

But Makas is worried it’s doing the opposite.

“When it was still working, I didn’t see any issues with it. I understand that some runners and bikers thought the four-way stop would be more useful,” Makas said.

City officials say the signals will flash for 90 days to allow engineers to monitor the functionality before making a permanent transition.

In the meantime, Makas and other parents have even started a petition, hoping the changes can be reversed.

“Ultimately I think putting the lights back the way they were would be the best solution,” Makas said. “But if we can’t have that, I think there should be a way of having beacon lights coming out and signaling the pedestrians walking.”