A new poll shows support is eroding for The Lens to replace the Pyramid along the St. Petersburg waterfront. The latest poll could portend a crippling blow for the ambitious project.
The poll shows a majority of St. Petersburg voters oppose building the Lens to replace the city's iconic upside-down pyramid. The WUSF/Tampa Bay Times/Bay News 9 poll shows 55 percent of those polled oppose the over-the-water walkway. About 37 percent of the 810 people polled "support" building the Lens, with about eight percent undecided. With a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points, that puts the "no" vote in the driver's seat for the Aug. 27 referendum.
Of those who oppose The Lens, around 37 percent favor restoring the current early 1970's-vintage Pyramid. A majority of 54 percent favor an alternative to BOTH the Lens and the Pyramid. About five percent percent of those polled weren't sure. This part of the poll of 445 city residents has a margin of error of four and a half percentage points.
The city has allocated $50 million for the Lens. It would cost an estimated $70 million to restore inverted Pyramid, which city officials closed because of deteriorating pillars on the causeway leading from downtown.
