Safety upgrades coming to downtown Punta Gorda roadways

As the downtown Punta Gorda area gradually becomes more popular and bringing in more traffic, upgrades are being made to make the highways more safe, for everybody.

Residents who live in the area say the improvements are well over due.

“I think it’s been needed for a long time. You know I’ve been down here since 2000 and not much has happened in all those years so it’s due,” said Robert Livingstone.

Bridget Curtis also lives in Punta Gorda, and says the improvements will benefit everyone in the area.

“I think especially for the elderly people making it safe for them and there’s a lot of families that walk downtown.”

Florida Department of Transportation plans to spend 1.3 million dollars to make the area safer for drivers and people walking.

“At night when its dark there’s some people who have a harder time seeing, adding more light would definitely i think would be a plus,” said Curtis.

Other safety upgrades include replacing traffic signals at Taylor Street, Virginia, Olympia, and Marion Avenue.

FDOT also plans to improve wheel chair accessibility and add more crosswalks like the one along the corridor for pedestrians.

More lighting will also be added to improve visibility.

The city plans to kick in $60,000 for more decorative lights and traffic signals that will blend in with what’s already installed downtown.