Drivers and bicyclists might welcome a roomier 1.5-mile leg. Some business owners don't.
By ANNE LINDBERG
Published February 22, 2004
LEALMAN - Stretching diagonally from St. Petersburg to Pinellas Park, Haines Road is a raffish microcosm of life with an unconventional charm all its own.
In places, it beguiles with offbeat businesses: feathery Mardi gras costumes and an "electric" chair are among the items to be found. In other areas, it can be dispiriting: a hangout for sad homeless folks.
It could soon become a bit more strait-laced. The county wants to widen Haines by adding sidewalks, curbs, gutters and bike lanes to the 1.5 miles that stretches from Interstate 275 to U.S. 19 N. Work will also be done to improve the intersections at 62nd and 54th avenues N and 28th Street N.
While a wider Haines might please drivers and bicyclists, it's sure to be controversial among business owners, many of whom use the county right of way for parking.
Officials will have a public meeting from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at John Sexton Elementary School, 1997 54th Ave. N, to allow folks to comment on the plan. Staffers from the county's public works department will be available to provide details and receive comment.
Costs and timetables for the changes were not available.
Haines' southernmost point begins in the upscale Allendale section of St. Petersburg. The 1.5-mile St. Petersburg section is mostly residential, but landscaping contractors and George's Meat Market, where yuppies seek delicacies, are found there.
Haines ends 3 miles later next to collectors' mecca H&R Trains, at U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park. The Pinellas Park section, the shortest part of Haines, houses Kenvin's Motel, a haven for folks with little money and no place to stay.
In between, in an area known as Lealman, is the county portion of Haines. In that 1.25 mile stretch can be found fresh vegetables, interior decorating and architectural salvage. Day labor, "discount" beer and used cars can also be found.
Haines is also a place known for traffic - thousands of cars pass by each day. For drivers, it's claustrophobic, with cars parked just inches off the road in places.
Folks who brake to turn into a local business run a real risk of being rear-ended by closely following traffic. Pedestrians and bicyclists travel the road at their own peril.
But even if the county's proposed changes make it safer, they could make it harder for business customers to park.
"Every business on Haines Road on the right hand (east) side is on the right of way ... all their parking lots are," said Stephen Muse, owner of Kathy's Korner Nursery and Tree Farm, 6095 Haines Road.
Taking that right of way will hurt business because customers will have no place to park. If the business creates more parking, then square footage could be lost, Muse said.
"I'm not against pushing all the parking in, if we have a place to put it," he said.
But it's not just taking the right of way that will hurt, he said.
The construction itself will bring business to a halt. When Haines was shut off to direct access from U.S. 19, the construction basically stopped traffic for a year. The full traffic flow never came back, he said.
"We're not going to make any money. None of us," Muse said.
More important, Muse said he thinks the county is wasting money by putting sidewalks and bike lanes on both sides of the road. The money would be better spent, he said, by fixing the drainage and putting sidewalks and bike paths along only one side. A center turning lane would also help, Muse said. Property owners already flood when there's just 2 inches of rain, he said.
"The biggest problem I have is the drainage," Muse said. "Where are you going to put all that water?"
Frank Bowman, who runs the county connection center for the Lealman area, said officials know about the right of way and drainage problems.
"I don't think there's any intent to put anybody out of business," Bowman said.
This is just the beginning of the process, Bowman said, and county officials want to hear the concerns of folks like Muse to make sure the best plan is proposed.
