Streets are the most visible part of the CRA’s work — and the part residents feel every day. In FY24, the CRA invested $483,121 to resurface 2.41 miles of road across 16 west Bartow streets, addressing pavement that had fallen below a Pavement Condition Index of 51%. Below that mark, asphalt is no longer just rough; it actively deteriorates, costing more to repair the longer it sits.
This was the largest concentrated paving effort in the District in years. Working in partnership with the City of Bartow Public Works Department, the CRA prioritized streets where conditions had reached a tipping point — neighborhood corridors used every day by residents getting to work, school, and church, and by drivers traveling through the District.
The work touched corners of west Bartow that had waited a long time for attention. Both segments of MLK Jr. Boulevard — west and east of the railroad — were resurfaced. So were Carver, Macon, Stanford, Hooker, Davidson, Church, Boulevard, Bay, 9th, 10th, and Golfview. Together, they form a network that connects homes, businesses, and public spaces across the District.
For neighborhoods, the impact is straightforward: smoother drives, safer walking and biking, better drainage, and a cleaner look from the curb. For the CRA, it’s an investment that protects everything else — the homes the Owner Occupied Rehabilitation program is fixing, the storefronts the Facade Grant is improving, the public spaces the District depends on.
Infrastructure investment is rarely glamorous. It is one of the clearest ways the CRA shows up for the people who already live here.
