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KATHY SAUNDERSTreasure Island offers a four-sprig olive branch but keeps two options open, and decides to keep a trail and scrap a parking lot.
TREASURE ISLAND - Hoping to make peace with their St. Petersburg neighbors, commissioners on Tuesday settled on a four-lane toll plaza for the new Causeway Bridge - but left room for two more lanes if necessary.
Commissioners also decided to keep most of the bridge's design extras, including a 10-foot-wide recreational trail that was in jeopardy of being narrowed by half.
A $4-million federal grant may pay for the trail. The city recently learned of the grant, which is meant to promote air quality and encourage fewer cars on the roads. Treasure Island and St. Petersburg officials hope to connect the Pinellas Trail to the gulf beaches via the new bridge.
City commissioners are expected to take final action on the bridge designs at their meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
Mark Consigny, association president of the Causeway Isles neighborhood, which is the eastern touchdown for the bridge, said neighbors were happy to learn that the new plaza will open with four lanes rather than six.
"But I know that's not going to be enough," Consigny said.
Causeway Isles residents have objected to any expansion of the toll plaza and any proposal to reduce the size of the trail. They enlisted St. Petersburg City Council member Rick Kriseman and Mayor Rick Baker to represent their wishes in the past month of negotiations.
"I cannot see the need for a two-story toll plaza," said resident Joanne Castelano. "I can't think of any other bridge that has such a thing. I don't think a two-story building is in keeping with the surrounding homes. Why should the toll plaza be the focal point of the design?"
Treasure Island City Manager Chuck Coward said the existing 300-square-foot building is a 1950s structure that is no longer sufficient.
"It doesn't even meet current minimum standards for employees," he told commissioners Tuesday night. The new, 1,000-square-foot plaza would have space for computers and toll collection equipment as well as a restroom and small lounge for employees. The proposed plaza will be 33 feet tall, 2 feet under the height allowance for that St. Petersburg neighborhood, Coward said.
He said the city moved the plaza farther west in response to neighborhood concerns, paying their architect extra "to design a residentially compatible structure."
With two fewer lanes, Treasure Island will have no need for parking spaces on residential property on the north side of the bridge, Coward said - another proposal opposed by Causeway Isles.
With the parking issue settled, Coward said he doesn't think Treasure Island will need to go before St. Petersburg's Environmental Development Commission for approval of the toll plaza.
Treasure Island will save about $400,000 with the four-lane plaza. Two lanes will be reserved for cars with annual passes.
Anyone can buy a pass, which will cost $80, starting Dec. 15 at City Hall, 120 108th Ave. The individual toll will go from 50 cents each way to $1 beginning Jan. 1.
The new bridge, scheduled for completion in 2007, is expected to cost $65-million. Treasure Island likely will borrow $25- to $28-million to complete the project.