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Belleair Beach council weighs cutting Gulf Boulevard speed to 30 mph; agrees to a resident survey
Summary
Council members debated reducing Gulf Boulevard from 35 to 30 mph (and side streets from 25 to 20), citing safety concerns and limited single-day speed data; the council agreed to run a short electronic survey and return results at the next workshop.
City staff summarized limited speed and crash data from Pinellas County and FDOT and said the data suggested the area could be treated as a 30 mph zone but that the county's counts were only one day of sampling. Vice Mayor Roberts argued lowering the limit is a common-sense safety measure and urged a citywide approach; Roberts also suggested targeting 20 mph on narrower side streets. Vice Mayor Roberts said, "Slower is better," and recommended clear, simple survey questions to solicit resident input.
Other council members supported holding a short electronic survey before making changes, citing past surveys that had failed to muster broad public support. Some members asked staff to include context about new vehicle types (golf carts, e-bikes, scooters) in the survey and to present results quickly so the council could act within the budget cycle.
