Squint a little and look into the future of central Pasco's roads, say 20 years ahead.
First-place Minnesota, which led Cleveland by only a game a week ago, took a seven-game lead in the Central. The Indians, who took two of three from the Twins Aug. 13-15, have lost seven in a row, including four to the Twins.
"They played well and took it to us," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "We need to clear our heads and get a fresh start at home."
Brad Radke allowed two unearned runs in seven innings Sunday and hasn't lost since July 16, going 4-0 with three no-decisions.
"We needed to play these guys tough," Radke said. "They kind of got to us a little in Cleveland, and we gave them a little payback."
With the score 2-2 and one out in the fifth, Lew Ford walked on a full count. Hunter then singled to right to put runners on first and third. Justin Morneau followed with a sacrifice fly to center. Hunter made it 7-2 in the sixth with a bases-loaded double off the rightfield wall.
RED SOX 6, WHITE SOX 5: Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz homered on consecutive pitches for visiting Boston, which has won 12 of 15.
Paul Konerko's three-run homer in the fifth pulled Chicago within 4-3, and Carlos Lee's two-run homer in the seventh made it 5-4.
But Ramirez hit Freddy Garcia's first pitch of the eighth for his 33rd homer and third of the series, giving him 11 RBIs in three games. Damaso Marte relieved, and Ortiz hit his first pitch to right-center.
MARINERS 5, TIGERS 3: Willie Bloomquist hit his first homer in more than 13 months, a go-ahead three-run shot in the fifth for visiting Seattle, which avoided a three-game sweep. His previous homer was a grand slam July 13, 2003, against the Devil Rays.
BLUE JAYS 8, ORIOLES 5: Eric Hinske and Vernon Wells homered as Toronto picked up its first road sweep of the season by a combined 32-13 score. Justin Miller earned his first win since May 9.
0987$temp$$STPT$Paper:+Date: 8/23/04+Page: 1+Section: PASCO+Byline: STEVE HEGARTY+Headline: Freeway not far-fetched for SR 54's near future+
There are loads more people. Lots more cars.
Now see if you can envision State Road 54 in that future scenario. Picture it as a bustling freeway with 10 lanes. An overpass over U.S. 41. Or picture a toll road next to it to take the heat off.
Can't see it?
Some local traffic planners can.
Pasco traffic planners have been asked to look forward to the year 2025. They have drawn up a scenario where SR 54 is a six-lane freeway with an additional four lanes for local access. We're talking about a raised freeway, not unlike the interstate, and then some ground-level lanes for local traffic. There have been discussions of a toll road from the Veterans Expressway over to State Road 56.
To which you could only reply: A freeway? A toll road? Are you kidding?
Well, yes and no.
Now for the first of several warnings: This is not in the works in any official way. It is highly speculative.
Having said that, it's an interesting scenario. It tells us that we don't have enough east-west corridors in the area to move all the people who are here and those on their way.
It also tells us that we had better come up with some bright ideas soon. Otherwise, we end up with a monstrous freeway and toll road in 20 years.
Could you imagine what business along SR 54 would be like if it was turned into a massive freeway? And which businesses would survive once the state starts buying up the right-of-way? What would it be like to get out of one of the subdivisions along SR 54 to go to the store?
The best projections available say that there will be nearly 100,000 cars on SR 54 through the Land O'Lakes area daily by 2025. Right now the daily estimate is more in the 25,000 to 30,000 range.
One other question: Is this worth worrying about now?
Yes and no.
Bob Clifford, planning manager for the area's district of the Florida Department of Transportation, downplayed the prospects.
"I don't get too excited when I see lines on a map," Clifford said. Though his department did not draw the lines on the map, Clifford characterized it as a simple needs plan.
"All they've done is said, "Boy, we're going to need a lot of lanes to accommodate all this east-west movement,' " Clifford said.
Some see the hypothetical as worthy of some serious, if not urgent, discussion.
"You can't just put blinders on and say "This isn't going to happen,' " said Christie Zimmer, a Land O'Lakes real estate broker who serves as an alternate on the county's Citizens Advisory Committee for the Metropolitan Planning Organization.
"This would wipe out business along State Road 54," Zimmer said.
The 2025 needs plan drawn up by Pasco's Metropolitan Planning Organization is something of a warning.
It's their job to help find solutions. But first they crunch numbers, look into the future and talk about how we're going to keep things moving in the future. It's their job to put these scenarios out there for discussion.
Looks like they've done their job. So far.
- Want to vent about traffic problems? Drivers' Side welcomes commuters' rants, comments and suggestions. Send e-mail to hegarty@sptimes.com or leave a phone message at 813 909-4610.
