Bayshore Blvd. speed limit reduction starts Friday

TAMPA (FOX 13) - The city of Tampa announced Thursday it would reduce the speed limit on Bayshore Boulevard beginning Friday. 

The announcement comes a day after a mother, pushing her daughter in a stroller, was hit and killed along the roadway known for being heavily traveled by pedestrians - and for speeding drivers. 

The city says reducing the speed limit on Bayshore - from 40 to 35 miles-per-hour - will be incorporated into its ongoing effort to calm traffic and increase safety on South Tampa roadways.  

"Over the next few days, the city will speed up an already planned phase of the Bayshore Boulevard project," the city said in a release to the media. "[Tampa Police Department] traffic enforcement will continue and officers will incorporate the new speed limits as the signs are erected."

LINK: Police warn Bayshore Blvd. speeders of increased patrols

Tampa officials say a series of improvements were already planned over the next few months in the Bayshore area.

According to TPD, about 400 drivers have been pulled over for speeding on Bayshore Boulevard since the start of the year. More than 100 of those traffic stops were conducted between May 2 and May 3.

LINK: Three arrested in Bayshore accident that killed mother, injured toddler

"They’re going 60 miles an hour along Bayshore Boulevard," said TPD's Roy Paz in an interview with FOX 13 News on May 9. "Sometimes 65 mph, sometimes 67.”

TPD said many residents began calling to report speeders and asking for a solution to slow traffic.

South Tampa resident Ross Newman said he had been in contact with TPD about the issue. 

"It's not only infuriating but also scary," Newman said.

Newman said he and his neighbors were fed up with feeling unsafe on the roadway billed as being pedestrian-friendly.