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Forward Pinellas adopts TIP and annual priority lists, including 3 transportation-alternatives additions
Summary
Forward Pinellas unanimously approved the county’s Transportation Improvement Program, its annual multimodal priority list and the Transportation Alternatives priorities; staff highlighted 21 new TIP projects and several bike-and-pedestrian investments, and board members asked for follow-up on timing and interagency coordination.
Forward Pinellas adopted the county’s Transportation Improvement Program and its annual multimodal and transportation-alternatives priority lists at its June 9 meeting, voting unanimously to transmit the documents to state and federal partners for funding and inclusion in the next work programs.
The action matters because the TIP is the short-term programming document that directs how federal and state transportation dollars will be spent in Pinellas County over the coming years. The priority lists guide Florida Department of Transportation and federal funding decisions and set the order in which local projects are considered for available dollars.
Chelsea Favreau, a Forward Pinellas staff member, presented the TIP and told the board: “This is one of the foundational documents for Forward Pinellas as a metropolitan planning organization. The transportation improvement program, or the TIP, is a short term planning document that outlines how federal and state dollars are gonna be spent on transportation projects in Pinellas County.” Favreau said the TIP covers project phases from planning through construction and that, after today’s adoption, projects will be transmitted to FDOT and Federal Highway for incorporation into the coming fiscal year’s budgets.
Staff highlighted the work-program changes from last year: 21 new projects were added, 15 projects were removed (completed or otherwise taken out), 30 projects remained unchanged and 22 projects had changes. Favreau summarized notable bicycle and pedestrian projects included in the TIP such as Pinellas Trail Loop Phase 3 (Ulmerton Road to Haines Bayshore) with construction funded in 2026; the Joe’s Creek Trail (preliminary engineering underway, construction planned for 2025); and a section of the Pinellas Trail Loop (construction funded in 2024). Road projects mentioned included intersection and corridor work on Alt US 19 at Curlew Road (design-build funded in 2025), Forest Lakes Boulevard (construction funded in 2027), and various corridor and intersection operational improvements with funding in outer years.
Board members asked staff to clarify specifics and timing on several projects. Council member Brandy Gabbard asked whether a resurfacing project on Gandy Boulevard would revive earlier discussions about a flyover at a redeveloping site; Favreau said concepts for flyovers exist and the flyover projects remain part of the long-range plan but are currently timed in outer years and delayed to avoid concurrent work on I-275. Gabbard also asked about coordination on a bridge replacement and adjacent trail work; Favreau said Forward Pinellas and the county and city staffs are coordinating so on- and off-bridge trail facilities will match when construction occurs.
The board separately approved the multimodal priority list and a Transportation Alternatives priority list (a small federal grant program for bike/ped projects). New priorities added included a Sixtieth Street sidepath project and several Saint Petersburg pedestrian projects, and staff noted that all Forward Pinellas advisory committees had given unanimous support for the lists.
The board’s action was a formal roll-call adoption and staff will transmit the adopted TIP and priority lists to FDOT and federal partners for review and incorporation into upcoming work programs. Forward Pinellas staff said an interactive map of the TIP will be posted on the agency’s website once final files are processed.
Board members and staff signaled follow-up items: staff will provide more precise schedule information for large projects on request and maintain interagency coordination for projects that touch multiple jurisdictions.
