Madeira Beach and transit officials agree to add a trolley stop for passengers trying to reach John's Pass Village.
By AMY WIMMER
Published July 13, 2003
MADEIRA BEACH - The shiny, full-color brochure that promotes the beach trolley depicts John's Pass Village as a fun, waterfront destination for visitors.
What the brochure doesn't mention is that until this week, reaching the village from the southbound trolley required dodging five lanes of traffic on busy Gulf Boulevard.
On Tuesday, Madeira Beach and the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority agreed to add a trolley stop to a safer spot nearby. Passengers now can disembark at the city parking lot across Gulf Boulevard from John's Pass Village, and a pedestrian walkway beneath John's Pass Bridge can deliver them safely into the village.
The dispute over the trolley stop raged for 21/2 years - the same amount of time PSTA's beach trolley has been transporting tourists, residents and employees up and down the beaches. Reaching resolution was an exercise in how slow the wheels of government can turn, particularly when cooperation between different agencies is involved.
What was a common-sense idea to the city of Madeira Beach was perceived as a logistical nightmare by PSTA. Moving the bus stop to a safe location required equal doses of politics, public pressure, traffic engineering and legal negotiations.
"You ask yourself, "What transpired? Why did it take so long? What transpired in the meantime?"' said Roger Sweeney, executive director of PSTA.
The agreement was reached too late for Rebecca Pennington, 50, a Minooka, Ill., woman who stepped off the trolley and into traffic April 29 on her way to catch a fishing charter at John's Pass. She was struck by a small pickup and spent five days unconscious at Bayfront Medical Center before a helicopter flew her to a hospital closer to home.
Today, Pennington lives in an Illinois rehabilitation center, where she is trying to regain her short-term memory and her ability to walk. Her planned June 6 wedding to fiance Bill Pelton has been delayed until her health improves.
Told Thursday about the relocated bus stop, Pelton said: "It's about time."
Madeira Beach first questioned the trolley stop in January 2001 in a letter that combined praise for the new trolley system with concern for John's Pass Village visitors.
"The city of Madeira Beach is very excited about the new Suncoast Trolley and the many potential benefits it offers," City Manager Mike Bonfield wrote. "However, we are very disappointed the route does not run directly through John's Pass Village."
Sweeney's response, written two days later, was succinct: The trolleys cannot safely maneuver through the village and still stay on schedule. If the city could convince the state Department of Transportation to install a stoplight on Gulf Boulevard - a tall order for any city - PSTA would reconsider.
Thus began a campaign of letters, meetings and unmet expectations that lasted until the two sides formalized their agreement Tuesday.
In the beginning, Sweeney said the city had remodeled the village without consulting PSTA, making the tourist shopping district difficult for buses to maneuver. He said the city's bus stop was not handicapped-accessible. He accused the city of trying to squeeze more cars into the village and being unconcerned about bus traffic.
Meanwhile, city officials met with PSTA staff at the village to illustrate that the wheelchair ramps on PSTA buses worked fine with the village bus stops.
In September 2001, everyone who cared about the stop - city officials, PSTA staff and representatives from the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce - met to talk out the situation. Judging from a letter Bonfield wrote to PSTA board members and county commissioners after the meeting, it didn't go well.
"We left that meeting not only disappointed, but shocked by the lack of professionalism displayed by Roger Sweeney," Bonfield wrote. "None of us had ever witnessed a public official conducting himself in such an unprofessional manner."
Soon after, Sweeney offered a compromise to the city. If Madeira Beach would meet three fairly simple conditions, PSTA would begin dropping off passengers closer to the pedestrian walkway beneath the bridge.
But then Madeira Beach lost its city manager, Bonfield, who resigned to take a similar job in St. Pete Beach. The new city manager, Jim Madden, joined the city in April 2002.
"A lot had transpired between the original time ... and when something started happening," Sweeney said. "There was a change in administrations and, I have to assume, it took him some time to get up to speed."
But soon the trolley stop was an issue again. "When I came on board and learned of it," Madden said, "I picked up the ball and started running with it."
By November, both sides thought they had worked out the situation. Then the city was presented with a "hold harmless agreement" the city attorney urged commissioners not to approve. It said the city would assume liability for PSTA buses operating in the city parking lot.
"We said, "No, we can't live with that,"' Madden said.
The two sides went back to the negotiating table. Finally, on Tuesday, the City Commission approved an agreement both can live with.
"Unfortunately, an accident did happen before this was resolved," city Commissioner Doreen Moore said. "But we're just thankful that we are going forward, and it's going to be improved for future traffic."
Cindy Fuller, of Sheridan, Ill., was Pennington's travel companion during the trip to Florida this spring.
Fuller remembers the alarm going off in their hotel room at 5:30 the morning of the accident. Pennington was excited about her deep-sea fishing trip.
"I said, "Hey, I'll give you a ride. You want a ride?"' Fuller recalled. "She said, "No, don't worry about it. You guys sleep. I'll catch the trolley."'
Correspondence on the issue
Jan. 22, 2001, letter from Madeira Beach City Manager Mike Bonfield to Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority: "Expecting them to safely cross four lanes of traffic on Gulf Boulevard without the aid of any traffic control device is obviously not the best situation."
Jan. 24, 2001, letter from Sweeney to Bonfield: "The reason that the trolley cannot operate into John's Pass is because the amount of traffic would not allow us to turn south safely and on schedule."
Feb. 14, 2001, letter from Indian Shores Vice Mayor Jim Lawrence, who also represented the beaches on the PSTA board of directors, to Sweeney: "Of ... concern to me is safety and convenience of our John's Pass-bound riders arriving from the north and those departing to the south. They have to brave those same four lanes of heavy traffic that obviously concern the PSTA staff."
Feb. 23, 2001, letter from Sweeney to Lawrence: "This is an operational nightmare that is a major accident waiting to happen. Operating the trolleys into John's Pass is not only unsafe, but will totally destroy schedule adherence."
March 2, 2001, letter from Lawrence to Madeira Beach Mayor Tom DeCesare: Lawrence explains that he talked to Sweeney personally about the John's Pass Village trolley stop. "I did not sense any softening of his views on the subject," Lawrence wrote.
March 14, 2001, letter from Bonfield to Lawrence: "Every day we witness visitors trying to maneuver their way across Gulf Boulevard and know it is just a matter of time before there will be a serious accident."
Sept. 25, 2001, letter from Bonfield to PSTA board members and county commissioners: "No amount of discussion or suggestions could persuade PSTA staff to consider routing the southbound trolley in any fashion into the village or across the street into the city park, thereby encouraging passengers to walk under the bridge instead of across Gulf Boulevard. The fear of southbound passengers disembarking on the west side of a busy Gulf Boulevard and crossing five lanes of traffic is still a major concern."
Oct. 29, 2001, letter from Sweeney to Bonfield: Sweeney invited Bonfield to reopen the negotiations about moving the trolley stop into a city parking lot across the street from John's Pass Village, where pedestrians can access the village from a pathway beneath the John's Pass Bridge.
Nov. 18, 2002, letter from Madden to Sweeney: "This trolley stop should be activated immediately since we are now entering the tourist season and the safety of our visitor is paramount."
April 29, 2003, from police report detailing Rebecca Pennington's collision with a northbound truck while trying to cross Gulf Boulevard after stepping off a southbound trolley:
"Pedestrian ... exited a PSTA trolley (bus), which was in the southbound lanes of Gulf Boulevard. Pedestrian ... then crossed east on Gulf Boulevard not at a marked crosswalk or intersection. Pedestrian ... struck the side of vehicle.
