Don't expect star cruisers just yet in 2025 road plans
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published June 27, 2003
By the year 2025, you probably thought you'd be eating soylent green in capsule form while teleporting to a Devil Rays World Series game.
Well, that last part might be a little optimistic. But at least one group out there is already mapping out what Hillsborough County might look like in 2025.
The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization for Transportation - made up of county, city, Department of Transportation, Expressway Authority and Port Authority representatives, among others - has formulated a plan to examine the county's roadway needs over the next 22 years.
The Long Range Transportation Plan, based on a myriad of studies from local government and transportation groups, was adopted a couple of years ago, and the wheels on several of its recommended projects are already in motion.
But what's interesting are the projects that are at least 10 years away.
For example, by 2015, the MPO recommends expanding U.S. 301 to four lanes between Boyette Road in Riverview and State Road 674 in Sun City Center.
The plan outlines intended sidewalks on Bloomingdale Avenue, Lithia-Pinecrest Road and on Turkey Creek Road between 2016 and 2025.
Interestingly, the county is already exploring plans to develop Parsons Avenue between State Road 60 and Oakfield Drive. In all likelihood, the road will be expanded to at least four lanes.
But according to the MPO's plan, the adjoining section of Parsons, from Oakfield to Lumsden Road, won't need to be expanded until 2025.
So while the debate continues about what to do with that first half of Parsons, those who read the plan already know what may someday happen with the second half.
The MPO's estimated total cost of the improvements: a tidy $12.5-billion.
You can purchase or download maps and reports on what to expect over the next 22 years at the MPO's Web site (www.hillsboroughmpo.org)
Sadly, there's no mention in the plan of jet packs, starship cruisers or even robot chauffeurs.
But the Ranger is still holding out hope.
THE LANE RANGER DOESN'T CARE WHAT ANYONE TELLS YOU. You need tires in order to drive a car.
That advice may seem a little over the top, but there are folks out there who could still use it. This week's Axie recipients, for example.
The first winner was driving through Tampa on June 12 when his left rear tire tread separated from the tire, causing him to spin out and nail the median guardrail with his left front bumper.
It's a shame - the sort of thing that could happen to anyone on a rainy day. But you have a much lower chance of spinning out if your car doesn't have three different sizes of tires.
Apparently, the driver had a matching set of tires on the front wheels, and two completely different tires in back. With a setup like that, you'd never expect your wheels to slip up, would you?
But this driver was the Michelin Man compared to another man who crashed on June 18.
To his credit, the accident wasn't his fault. He was hauling a trailer south on Interstate 75 when another driver cut him off in a frenzied attempt to exit onto State Road 60.
His vehicle swerved, and the trailer wobbled toward the median, where both truck and trailer flipped over.
According to the accident report: "The travel trailer he was towing had only three tires on the trailer as one had earlier blown out. . . . I found there was also a cable wrapped around the axle of this tire by the drum. . . . I feel that when the driver made the lane change, with the tire missing, it caused the trailer to roll over."
These two accidents reinforce the notion that so much is indeed riding on your tires.
It's not like you have to reinvent the wheel to drive safely. You just have to drive on four of them.
