The local, county and state governments' poor decisions on Pinellas County's road system make it frightening to envision what Pinellas County will look like 20 years from now.
The infrastructure decisions of the past have a far greater effect on the county than just traffic gridlock. Since the decision was made not to create a north/south highway through Pinellas County, but to widen existing residential roads like Belcher, Keene/Starkey/Park and Alt. U.S. 19, government has created an infrastructure cancer that will slowly spread and ultimately destroy the serenity of the county.
The evolution of these once-sleepy residential roads to pseudo highways is the first domino in a line that leads to a regrettable destiny. The stages of the road cancer are quite easy to identify when you examine the history of the area around U.S. 19 where it runs through the city of Pinellas Park.
Stage 1. Residential roads are widened to the point where the road is just feet away from the front door of houses along the road.
Stage 2. Distressed homeowners sell their property at reduced prices because they can't tolerate the noise.
Stage 3. The last residential owner loses his house to a North Carolina bank. The bank sits on the property until law enforcement officials notify the bank that the house has become a haven for drug abusers and prostitutes.
Stage 4. The bank petitions the local zoning board to reclassify the property to light commercial. The petition is unanimously approved.
Stage 5. A limo service sets up shop on the property.
Stage 6. Residents behind the limo service complain about all the cars and noise coming from the business. Please go to Stage 2 and repeat.
The evolution of Pinellas County's road system will undoubtedly play out like death and taxes: It's going to catch you eventually no matter how many shortcuts you take. In time, the common thread of intolerable noise will connect Belcher, Keene/Starkey/Park, Alt. 19 and U.S. 19. Welcome to the future of Pinellas Park County.
-- David Williams, Clearwater
Stop sign at Pinellas Trail delays Morton Plant Hospital workers
It certainly would be nice if we had a more concerned person in charge of traffic control. I cannot understand the thinking of whoever came up with the idea to put a stop sign at the Pinellas Trail at the intersection of Pinellas and Druid streets in Clearwater. I know of no reason why the people who use the trail should have the right of way over the motorized traffic that uses these streets.
Ninety percent of the people who use these streets are employed at Morton Plant Hospital. Each day they are delayed in traffic while trying to get to work to perform their jobs as part of the services that the hospital provides to the community.
These are all key people regardless of the job they perform. They are part of a system that is on the job 24 hours a day to see to our health needs and be there for us in case of any kind of emergency. Delaying these people in a traffic jam, just minutes away from their assigned duties, could mean the difference between life and death.
So why is a person out for a morning stroll considered more important than a person able to make the difference between a life or death situation? The people who use the trail should take on the normal responsibility as they do crossing any other intersection.
So, traffic controllers, let's get these folks on the job so that if an emergency comes up in your circle of loved ones, there will be that special someone there to take care of all the needs of your loved one. Retiming the stoplights at Druid and Pinellas streets would help greatly, too.
-- Don Corvin, Largo
Long waits at post office show poor planning, service
Re: Waiting their turn at the post office, story, Dec. 8.
As a resident of Oldsmar, I share in the frustration regarding our postal office. I served for more than 21 years for the United States Postal Service in southern New Jersey and worked for one year at a contract station in Clearwater after I moved here in 1999. Contract stations do not employ USPS employees, but the services offered pretty much parallel those one can get at an official post office.
As for the degree and quality of service, contract stations, like official post offices, depend upon how competent and how personally satisfied the employee is with his job.
The town in South Jersey I moved from had just about the same population as Oldsmar. That post office had four counters/windows, of which two were staffed, even at peak times. This was a fairly new facility, so as in Oldsmar's case, the USPS continues its longstanding practice of poor planning when it comes to building to serve projected growth in a community.
Postal employees are very nicely compensated but are hardly even noticed for any service above and beyond the call of duty. A good majority get by with just the minimum and it is very difficult to discipline for poor performance. I am presently most satisfied working with teenage substance abusers at about 35 percent of my former postal wages. I actually look forward to going to work!
My personal solution to the Oldsmar snail (mail) lines is to drive the few miles to Ozona, where the little "one-horse town" post office has people who are very friendly and efficient. Granted, Ozona is off the beaten path, but waiting in a line of three people there is better than the 30-minute lines in Oldsmar.
My apologies to the nice people at the Ozona post office if I am in any way responsible for increasing your lines.
-- Kenn Sidorewich, Oldsmar
Remember, buying puppies or kittens means commitment
Before you buy a puppy or kitten this Christmas, make sure you are ready for a 15-20 year commitment. Some 40,000 animals a year are turned in to our local shelters in Pinellas County. People fall in love with the cute puppies and kittens and buy them on impulse, then when the puppies get to be about a year old and haven't had any training and are about 50-100 pounds, the owner turns them in to the shelter.
This could be avoided by properly training your puppy in just 10 minutes a day for a few weeks and researching the breed to know the temperament, activity level and traits to see if it will fit into your lifestyle.
Cats get turned in because they start reproducing as early as 4 months old and start spraying and marking your furniture. This could be fixed by spaying and neutering your pets. Unfortunately, most cats don't even make it to the shelters. They are dumped at parks and empty lots to survive on their own. This is a death sentence for cats because if Animal Services picks up these cats, they will be killed and not adopted because they are considered feral when left to survive on their own.
If you want a new pet this year, please be prepared, research the breed, make the 15-20 year commitment and save a life - adopt from your local purebred rescue or shelter. There are thousands of beautiful cats and dogs waiting for a forever home for the holidays!
-- Pamela Borres, Pinellas Park
Story on crash victim brought back memories of personal loss
Re: Recalling a victory and a tragedy: Each stop honors a life, story, Nov. 26.
The story about the late David A. Martin dredged up a sad memory for me, too. Our David was not an athlete, but he was bright, well-liked by his peers and so full of a zest for life. He was attending St. Petersburg Junior College, getting good grades and working part time as an electrician's assistant. In his spare time, which there was too little of, he loved to go fishing.
In the early hours of Jan. 2, 1989, he was rear-ended and subsequently died from multiple injuries, having been hit by a speeding young drunk. To have this happen to a child is a parent's worst nightmare.
Especially at this time of year, I miss him so, but thank God time tends to heal/soften most wounds/losses, as has happened with me.
-- Joseph P. Corell, Safety Harbor
Motorcycle rider was victim, but paper focused on helmet
Re: Motorcyclist injured in morning accident, story, Dec. 5.
Why does your paper continue to focus on the fact that the motorcyclist was legally not wearing a helmet? Instead, why do you not quote statistics on how many drivers over the age of 80 hit and injure motorcyclists? After all, the biker was injured after the elderly person was unable to see another vehicle on the road.
Remember, the biker was the victim and yet you fault him as if he was asking for it because he legally chose to ride without a helmet. Why can you not report about the tens of thousands of elderly drivers in this state who can no longer safely drive, but the state refuses to do anything?
-- Mikki Robinson, Clearwater
Note to readers:
With local election campaigns under way in several North Pinellas cities, it is time to remind our readers of the St. Petersburg Times' policy regarding election-related letters to the editor: The Times does not print letters that endorse or criticize announced candidates for city offices; however, the Times is happy to receive and print letters that focus on campaign issues.
