Re: Improve Tarpon traffic safety, letter, April 1.
Traffic safety concerns are always at the top of the city's priority list, and the safety observations made by the letter writer are valid and timely.
Residents may not know that in Florida, many of the roads within city limits are owned and maintained by the state, such as Alt. U.S. 19 (Pinellas Avenue) and Tarpon Avenue, or are owned and maintained by Pinellas County, such as Klosterman Road, Keystone Road, Riverside Drive, Gulf Road, portions of Florida Avenue and other roadways.
The city aggressively seeks to encourage the state and the county to professionally complete their construction projects in a safe and timely fashion. However, city government has no control of any of these projects.
The city also aggressively seeks input on how these state and county road projects are designed. For example, the city has requested that the state install left-turn signals along Pinellas Avenue at Tarpon Avenue, Orange Street, Lemon Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Dodecanese Boulevard. The state has advised that traffic counts only warrant left-turn signals on Pinellas Avenue at Tarpon Avenue and Orange Street.
On April 6, the Tarpon Springs Board of Commissioners authorized Mayor Beverley Billiris to contact state and county elected officials to help the city with our concerns on these projects. While the mayor, other local officials and city staff will be working on your behalf, we encourage residents to also voice their concerns to the appropriate state and county contacts listed here:
Pinellas County:
Jan Herbst, director of public works, (727) 464-3251;
Jorge Quintas, director of engineering, (727) 464-3353;
General Construction: (727) 464-5200;
Klosterman Road (Pinellas County): Paul Giuliani, (727) 464-5203;
Florida Department of Transportation:
Jim Moulton, district construction engineer, (813) 975-6294;
Pat Stanford, Clearwater construction engineer, (727) 725-7950;
Alt. U.S. 19 at Meres (FDOT): Robert Grimsley, (727) 725-7950;
The commission, the city manager and city staff appreciate all questions and input by our residents, and we continue to be proactive on your behalf.
Charles Attardo, business services specialist, City of Tarpon Springs
Dunedin park "ain't broke,' so don't fix
Re: Dunedin Highlander Park Master Plan and Proposals put open space at Highlander Park in danger, letter, April 13.
In general, the Dunedin City Commission has done a good job of maintaining our "Delightful Dunedin."
There are pros and cons on the Blue Jays stadium, street naming and, now, proposed projects for our parks. The purchase of St. Andrews Links golf course was a superb move, bringing us not only a "playground" but also open space in perpetuity; it also has been greatly improved.
However, the expensive Jays ballpark deal somehow incorporated the loss of use of ball fields at the Fisher complex adjacent to Highlander Park. The fields (six) are all locked to the public.
The Highlander Park Master Plan should not include anything that will encroach on our precious open space. These open spaces, also adjacent to Fisher and Hammock Park, provide incredible habitat for both man and nature's creatures. They act as air purifiers and aquifer recharge areas and provide tranquil, stress-reduction scenes within our overstressed society.
If the activity center demands a more modern structure, rebuild it on the current site, consuming the minimum amount of land. If a softball field cannot be made available at the existing complex, a softball field (in itself an open space) would be suitable and may also be convertible for parking at the many events.
In general, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and Highlander Park "ain't broke."
-- Henry L. King, Dunedin
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