The City of Pensacola was awarded a total of $4,872,791 to fund a redesign of 3.5 miles on Cervantes Street to include Complete Street enhancements.
The funds are part of the 2024 RAISE Grants. Pensacola is one of four selected projects in the state and among dozens throughout the U.S.
The grant will fund project development, environmental clearance, and preliminary engineering for the portion of Cervantes from North W Street/North V Street to the Bayou Texar Bridge. Enhancements include lane elimination, speed management, and Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) measures, according to DOT.
The complete street concept is one where streets are designed to enable safe access of travel for all ages and abilities regardless of mode of transportation. In 2021, the City of Pensacola launched a Complete Streets game plan and hired staff to help evaluate a path forward.
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The city has been working to add such improvements, big and small. Late last year, the city submitted a grant to fund 2 miles of paved trails in downtown Pensacola as part of the statewide SUN (Shared Used Nonmotorized) Trail program.
State funding for the Cervantes project has been on the priority list of the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Board for years.
“This is an opportunity to apply for the design money that we would need to explore those desires further and really see what type of reconfiguration of that street would work and really create a complete streets project that improves mobility for all users," Pensacola’s transportation Planner Caitlin Cerame told the PNJ in February.
Other Florida projects awarded 2024 RAISE grants include more than $24 million to the City of Tampa, $1.4 million to Alachua County, and nearly $23 million to the City of Lake Wales.
