Safety improvements to a Clearwater bridge are underway after two pedestrians were hit and killed this year.
Officials say bicycling and walking along the Clearwater Memorial Causeway is about to get much safer. In early 2014, $300,000 in safety measures will be implemented along the causeway.
In September, Rob Lemon and Hilary Michalak were hit and killed while riding their tandem bike on the causeway. The suspect, Christopher Weed, is in jail.
Kris Carson, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Transportation says after the accident, a team assessed the area to see how safety could be improved.
Carson said signs will encourage bike riders to use the city trail on the south side while pavement markings will help differentiate space on the bridge.
"On the actual Clearwater Memorial Bridge we are going to have some stamped pavement markings out there that’ll differentiate for bicyclists and pedestrians where they should be,"said Carson. "So there will be a bike lane symbol or a bicycle symbol and then a pedestrian symbol.”
Some travel lanes leading to Clearwater beach will be narrowed, making room for a new bike path.
“Because you don’t want bicyclists coming down the bridge too fast and colliding with pedestrians," said Carson.
According to FDOT, bicycle and pedestrian fatalities for 2013 are actually on track to decrease by about 25 percent and adding safety measures like these will hopefully keep those numbers down.