The Horizon West Bay project is proposed at the northwest corner of West Bay Drive & 4th Street NW. Horizon West Bay includes 90,500 square feet for City Hall and 19,000 square feet of new retail or restaurant space.
The City of Largo’s traffic engineering consultant, Kimley-Horn and Associates, conducted a Traffic Impact Analysis (traffic study) to evaluate whether there would be impacts on the following roadway segments:
- West Bay Drive from Missouri Avenue to Clearwater Largo Road
- Alt US 19/Missouri Avenue from East Bay Drive to Belleair Road
- Clearwater Largo Road from Belleair Road to Ulmerton Road
- 4th Street NW from West Bay Drive to 4th Avenue NW\
- 1st Avenue NW from 4th Street NW to Clearwater-Largo Road
The study also evaluated traffic impacts at the following intersections:
- West Bay Drive & 5th Street NW
- West Bay Drive & 4th Street NW
- West Bay Drive & Clearwater-Largo Road
- West Bay Drive & Missouri Avenue
- 1st Avenue NW & Clearwater-Largo Road
- 4th Avenue NW & Clearwater-Largo Road
- 1st Street NW & West Bay Drive
The Traffic Impact Analysis looked at vehicular and multimodal features and evaluated current and future traffic. Overall, it was found that the addition of the project is anticipated to have a minimal impact on current traffic. The completed traffic study identified improvements that would help mitigate the nominal impacts of the project.
Details on improvement suggested are below.
5th Street NW is currently one-way (northbound direction) for the first ½ block from West Bay Drive and widens to become two-way in the second ½ block, approaching 1st Avenue NW. Per discussions with City staff, this will be converted to one-way (northbound direction) entire block, from West Bay Drive to1st Avenue NW.
A dedicated left-turn signal for eastbound traffic turning left from West Bay Drive onto 4th Street NW may be required. This will be coordinated with Pinellas County, who maintains traffic signal timing.
The traffic study also analyzed expected motorist use of West Bay Drive & 4th Street NW, specifically whether 4th Street NW could accommodate the future volume of cars turning onto West Bay Drive from the north. The analysis compared the alternatives of a dedicated southbound right-turn lane and combination through/left-lane vs a dedicated southbound left-turn lane and combination through/right-lane. The study concluded a dedicated southbound left-turn lane, with a green left-turn arrow, and a combination through-right lane would most effectively handle vehicle queuing on 4th Street NW. This change too will be coordinated with Pinellas County.
