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Where will new bridge go?
By LISA GREENE, Times Staff Writer Labrador retriever C.C. swam while bulldog Buster ate french fries Monday afternoon on the south side of Belleair Causeway Bridge. On the north side, Sean Kelly was getting his 15-foot Hobie Jet ready for a ride at a county boat ramp. Just another great day in Florida, with one looming problem. The aging bridge has to be replaced. One option takes it about 75 feet to the south, through a big hunk of one of the few beaches where dogs can play. Another takes it 75 feet to the north, taking out several parking spaces. The third would build a new bridge in the same place. But that has one huge obstacle: It would mean closing the bridge. "People on the north side think it can be moved easily to the south side," said County Commissioner Calvin Harris, whose district includes the bridge. "People on the south side think it can be easily moved to the north side. But in fact, it is a problem either way." As if that weren't enough, commissioners also must decide whether to build a low bridge with a drawbridge or a higher, fixed-span bridge. Residents disagree about that, as well. Commissioners will get a progress report on the $30-million bridge project next week. The county expects to hold a public meeting May 9, and county engineers are set to recommend a route to commissioners in June. Tony Horrnik, the senior county engineer in charge of the project, estimated he's already heard from 200 to 300 people worried about the bridge. The most vocal oppose moving the bridge south, bringing it closer to the Harbor Bluffs neighborhood. Two fingers of Harbor Bluffs homes jut into the water, ending about 330 feet from the current bridge. Residents say the southern choice would make the bridge just too close, bringing traffic noise and environmental damage to their homes. "Any bridge built to the south is going to be out to our neighborhood and silt in the bay," said Jim Larson, a board member of the Harbor Bluff Owners Association and a member of the county citizens committee studying the issue. Horrnik said engineers don't think the southern choice would block the channel. But dog lovers are opposed, as well. "That doesn't seem right," said Patrick Metz, Buster's owner. "This beach has been around for years and years. And this is the only beach you can actually take your dog to." Metz grew up in Largo but now lives in Lakeland. When his son, his girlfriend and her kids came for a visit, they chose the south side of the causeway. It was the one place Metz knew where they could have an impromptu picnic, with Buster scarfing down fries and chicken nuggets and swimming in the bay alongside the four children. Kelly sympathizes. After all, he brings his two dogs there, as well. But the county's boat ramp on the north side already lacks parking he said. There were plenty of empty spaces Monday, but he and friend Gavin Nagatomo said spaces fill up fast on weekends and holidays. Boat owners soon start parking on the south side or at a nearby shopping center, they said. "I've been a boater here my whole life," Kelly said. "This is here and established. If anything, they need more parking." Larson said there are no easy answers. In a perfect world, the bridge wouldn't have to be replaced, he said: "I think all the communities sort of wish we could have our cute little 25-foot bridge with the bascule opening, like old Florida."
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From the Times North Pinellas desks |
