The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District One completed safety improvements on State Road (SR) 33 (Lakeland Hills Boulevard) from North Iowa Avenue to Parkview Place in Lakeland in late January 2024. The project design added a raised grass median and concrete traffic separators to replace the two-way, left turn lane on SR 33 within the project limits. 

To reduce the number of potential conflicts and crashes, access to and from some of the side streets was changed.  The changes include:

North Iowa Avenue: Motorists will be able to turn right in/right out at North Iowa Avenue but left in/left out turns are restricted.

East Garden Street: A full median opening with dedicated left turn lanes allows access for motorists to turn in either direction at the traffic signal at East Garden Street.

Buena Vista Street: Motorists are able to turn right in/right out at Buena Vista Street but left in/left out turns are restricted.

El Paseo: Motorists are able to turn right or left into El Paseo and right out of El Paseo but are no longer able to turn left out of El Paseo.

An open house style public meeting was held on January 13, 2022, to present an opportunity for attendees to view project exhibits and speak with FDOT staff about the proposed changes. 

To reduce the number of potential conflicts and crashes, access to and from some of the side streets was changed.  The changes include:

North Iowa Avenue: Motorists will be able to turn right in/right out at North Iowa Avenue but left in/left out turns are restricted.

East Garden Street: A full median opening with dedicated left turn lanes allows access for motorists to turn in either direction at the traffic signal at East Garden Street.

Buena Vista Street: Motorists are able to turn right in/right out at Buena Vista Street but left in/left out turns are restricted.

El Paseo: Motorists are able to turn right or left into El Paseo and right out of El Paseo but are no longer able to turn left out of El Paseo.