LAND O’ LAKES — Around Pasco County government, Seth Weightman has picked up a new nickname: “Sidewalk Seth.”
The District 2 commissioner has spent the past three years chasing local, state and federal money to put sidewalks where students walk. He has secured more than $22 million so far — enough to build 14.5 miles of sidewalk at elementary, middle and high schools across the county under the Safe Routes to School program.
The first shovels went in the ground Aug. 19, when Weightman and Pasco County Schools officials broke ground on 2.6 miles of sidewalk along Collier Parkway and Parkway Boulevard serving Pineview Elementary and Pineview Middle schools. The eight-month, $1.6 million project is the first of 14 planned countywide.
The county started at Pineview because it was deemed the most dangerous of the sites. There are no sidewalks there now, and the schools sit beside a county bus garage that sends buses through the area throughout the day. Students walking from Lake Padgett Estates East, as well as Dupree Lakes, Dupree Gardens Estates and Conners Lake Front Estates, will use the new segments.
“We, the Board of Commissioners, and the county worked closely with the school district,” Weightman said, “to identify the locations that needed it the most in a true collaboration of government agencies that worked together to get safe routes. Since 2023, we have been able to capture funds for these projects and future projects for safe sidewalk routes.”
The work includes about a half-mile stretch running north from Pineview Elementary to Collier Parkway and roughly 2 miles along Parkway Boulevard to Shining Star Drive. Crews will also install safety features such as flashing signals at crossings.
Next up is Shady Hills Road, where 2.13 miles of sidewalk will run to Bosley Drive for Crews Lake Middle and Mary Giella Elementary schools. After that, the county turns to Wesley Chapel for 1.7 miles along Curley and Wells roads serving Wesley Chapel High, Wesley Chapel Elementary and Thomas E. Weightman Middle — named for the commissioner’s great-uncle.
Other planned projects:
• 0.1 mile on Mentmore Boulevard from Dunstable Drive to the west entrance of Rushe Middle in Land O’ Lakes.
• 0.9 mile on Fort King Road from Hester Avenue to north of Coleman Avenue for Pasco High, Pasco Middle and Pasco Elementary in Dade City.
• 0.14 mile at the State Road 54 and Mitchell Ranch Road intersection and along Mitchell Ranch Road for Seven Springs Elementary in Trinity.
• 1.2 miles on Ballantrae Boulevard, north and south of Straton Place to Bud Bexley Parkway, for Bexley Elementary in Land O’ Lakes.
• 1 mile on Zimmerman Road from Ranch Road to State Road 52 for Gulf Highlands Elementary in Port Richey.
• 0.6 mile on Seven Springs Boulevard from Perrine Ranch Road to Chester McKay Drive for Imagine School at Trinity and Athenian Academy of Technology and the Arts in Trinity.
• 0.6 mile on Mitchell Boulevard from Church Hill Parkway to Trinity Oaks Boulevard for Trinity Oaks Elementary in Trinity.
• 1 mile on Centennial Road from U.S. 301 to Newsome Road for Centennial Middle and Centennial Elementary in Dade City.
• 1.74 miles on Kitten Trail from Hicks Road to Giddyup Lane for Hudson Middle, Hudson High and Hudson Primary Academy in Hudson.
• Improvements at the Star Trail and Little Road intersection for Schrader Elementary and Bayonet Point Middle in New Port Richey.
Weightman said he and fellow commissioners will keep pursuing money in upcoming legislative sessions, but much of the funding comes from Penny for Pasco, the voter-approved 1% infrastructure sales surtax that applies to the first $5,000 of a purchase. Twice renewed, it now runs through December 2039. The tax generated more than $1 billion from 2005 through 2024 and is projected to bring in another $1.9 billion by 2039. Twenty percent of that revenue is dedicated to public safety.
“We are glad to be able to address what is considered the most dangerous site in the county,” Weightman said. “And we found and will continue to find funding every year to solve the sidewalk problem.”