Pasco County is preparing to build a sidewalk along Parkway Boulevard in Land O' Lakes, a route the county has identified as its most dangerous school pedestrian corridor.
Project Details and Timeline
The state-funded project will extend from the end of the existing sidewalk near Pineview Elementary School to Parkway Boulevard's intersection with Collier Parkway, according to WTSP. It will include a new crosswalk and is expected to take about 200 days to complete. The county has not announced a construction start date, so a completion date cannot yet be projected, Yahoo reported.
Parents Describe Unsafe Walking Conditions
The corridor serves Pineview Elementary and Pineview Middle School. Parents told WTSP that children currently walk, ride e-bikes and use scooters along the stretch without a sidewalk.
"There are no sidewalks, the areas that they have to walk by aren't well lit often in the morning when the time changes. There are also strangers that are out and about along the woodsy area," parent Ashleigh Joseph told WTSP.
Colleen Beaudoin told WTSP that distracted children on phones and distracted drivers compound the danger along the route. Walter Joseph, Ashleigh Joseph's husband, said drivers sometimes come around corners quickly without heeding school-zone lights.
Busing Cuts and Driver Shortage
Pasco County Schools ended "unfunded" courtesy busing in 2022 for middle and high school students who live within two miles of school and have a safe walking route. The district said the move responded to a bus-driver shortage; students whose routes meet state hazardous-walking conditions remain eligible for transportation, according to Bay News 9.
As of December 2025, 49 of the district's 297 bus routes lacked permanent drivers, according to a Hoodline report. STN Online reported the district has since rolled out new incentives to address the shortage.
County Officials on Funding
Erin Swanson, a project manager with Pasco County's transportation engineering department, said the county was grateful for the state appropriation funding the project. The appropriation amount has not been publicly disclosed, Yahoo reported.
The Parkway Boulevard project is part of a broader county effort to add nearly 15 miles of sidewalks near 22 schools during 2026 and 2027, including 11 elementary schools, seven middle schools and four high schools, according to a Pasco County Facebook post.
Pasco County's Metropolitan Planning Organization adopted the Safe Streets Pasco Safety Action Plan in July. The plan uses crash data and safety analysis to identify projects and strategies aimed at reducing serious and fatal crashes, according to a Pasco County Facebook post.
Regional Pedestrian Safety Ranking
The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, which includes Pasco County, ranked eighth among the nation's 101 largest metro areas for pedestrian fatality rate in Smart Growth America's 2026 "Dangerous by Design" report. The region recorded 618 pedestrian deaths from 2020 through 2024, a rate of 3.74 deaths per 100,000 people annually, according to the Smart Growth America report.
What Comes Next
Ashleigh Joseph said she hopes crossing guards will be added near the new sidewalk. WTSP reported that the Pasco Sheriff's Office had not responded to its inquiry about crossing guards as of Aug. 19, Yahoo reported.
