SUBJECT/RECOMMENDATION:
Title
Approve Connecting Clearwater: An Active Transportation Plan for the City of Clearwater, and adopt Resolution 26-04.
Body
SUMMARY:
Connecting Clearwater is the City’s active transportation plan (ATP) proposed for council approval. The plan establishes a citywide framework to identify a low-stress network for walking, bicycling, rolling, and accessing transit, and includes a prioritized list of needs and ten concept-level corridor/crossing plans. The plan guides future planning and coordination and does not select final projects or authorize expenditures. The City will use the plan’s priorities to inform work planning and policy decisions, including potential integration into the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and consideration through the land development process, as resources and funding opportunities allow, with feasibility, scope, and costs refined through engineering design.
Overview and Objectives
The City of Clearwater hired Fehr & Peers in November 2024 to develop an active transportation plan to replace the 2006 Shifting Gears Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Active transportation refers to human-powered methods of travel, such as walking, using wheelchairs and strollers, or bicycling, and the infrastructure that supports those forms of transportation. Connecting Clearwater will serve as a road map to enhance the facilities that support active transportation within the city.
Guided by the policy framework in the city’s Clearwater 2045 Comprehensive Plan and the Complete Streets for Clearwater Implementation Plan, as well as Forward Pinellas’s Advantage Pinellas Active Transportation Plan, Connecting Clearwater has the following key objectives:
1. Identify a citywide low-stress active transportation network that complements other travel modes, especially transit, supports future land use patterns, and connects to active transportation facilities in adjacent communities.
2. Improve transportation safety outcomes for people not traveling in motorized vehicles, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-automobile transportation system users.
3. Develop a feasible project list that can be implemented as stand-alone projects, as part of other planned transportation system improvements, or as part of the land development process.
Plan Development and Key Outputs
To support the development of a low-stress active transportation network, an existing conditions assessment was conducted. Staff also obtained guidance from:
• a technical advisory committee (TAC) comprised of staff from departments that will play a critical role in the implementation of the plan; and
• a formal stakeholder group, including Pinellas County, Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), Amplify Clearwater, local business owners, representatives from the bicycling and walking communities, disability advocates, and others.
General public engagement was also conducted, with almost 450 people participating online and in person through an online survey and map, a facility preference survey, an in-person community workshop, and at special events. Additional detail on the existing conditions assessment and engagement is provided in the Technical Appendix. These initial findings and the proposed prioritization criteria were presented at the City Council Work Session on June 2, 2025.
Based on the results of the existing conditions analysis and public feedback, the project team developed a system to prioritize potential projects based on safety, user comfort, access and connectivity, ease of implementation (including estimated cost and timeframe), and demographics. Applying these criteria citywide produced project rankings for corridors, crossings, and sidewalk gaps on arterial streets (Appendices A - C). Additional detail on the prioritization criteria and the highest-ranked projects is provided in Section 04 - Prioritization.
Once the rankings were completed, the project team developed ten corridor or crossing concept plans for active transportation improvements (Section 06 - Concept Plans). The goal underpinning the prioritization and planning process was to identify and develop a citywide network of facility types that supports people who walk, bike, roll, and access transit, by choice or necessity (Section 02 - Network Development).
Measuring the level of comfort people feel on various types of roads was a key input for proposing the most appropriate facility or countermeasure (pages 18, 72). To support implementation, staff prepared a list of recommended revisions to the Community Development Code (Section 03 - Active Transportation Policy) and identified grant funding opportunities (page 64).
The ATP, priority list, and concepts (Appendix D) were shared with the TAC. The concept plans and their locations received positive feedback. However, some of the highest-ranked projects may not be feasible once engineering design identifies site-specific constraints (Implementation Plan - Section 05). Approval of Connecting Clearwater is the first step toward the selection, design, and construction of these improvements.
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
Connecting Clearwater: An Active Transportation Plan for the City of Clearwater will guide transportation planning and development to expand healthy, affordable travel options in support of Strategic Plan Objectives 1.2, 1.4, 2.4, 3.2, 4.1, and 4.4.
