Re: Using money for maps won't fix flooding, Oct. 12 letter
Editor: I could not agree more with the letter writer. Here is a little history about Lake Worrel/Bass Lake and the county. In the late 1980s the county approved the building of the Winn-Dixie shopping center on the corner of Little and Ridge roads. That was when we first got flooded.
The water from Lake Worrel/Bass Lake is supposed to flow through and drain where the shopping center is now and across Ridge Road to Magnolia Valley. It also did not help that the county pumped water from Yellow Lake to Lake Worrel/Bass Lake, which caused more flooding for us.
After many meetings with the county and Southwest Florida Water Management District, the county agreed to a temporary fix. Several residents and myself gave up 10 to 15 feet of our property (free) so that it could be used for drainage. They were then supposed to do the study with Swiftmud and come up with a permanent solution. This is now 2004 and nothing has been done.
A person in engineering said they had a plan but were waiting for a year now for Swiftmud to approve it. I find it hard to believe the district would wait a year to approve a plan or a study that was supposed to have been done approximately 15 years ago.
This county wants to use $4.5-million for maps, and wants to tax flood zones. Why? Stop approving permits to build unless they incorporate proper drainage. Make the builders pay for it. And you use the money to improve the areas you promised to improve. There are plenty of vacant lots for sale that could be bought and used for drainage ponds. My area, when I moved here in 1983, was not a flood zone and flood insurance was not required. County-approved building changed that; now all the residents are in a flood zone.
Also, the matter of illegal pumping by businesses and homeowners has not been addressed despite phone calls to the county about the activities, which added to our flooding. Take a ride through the neighborhood and see where our tax money or grant money can be best spent.
-- Patricia Lake, New Port Richey
Schools' traffic problems warrant signal placement
Editor: There are two places on Pasco County roads that pose threats to lives and property. Both places are outside of schools. Both places do not have traffic signals to help reduce the threat of fatalities, injury or damage.
The first is U.S. 41 at Gator Lane outside Land O'Lakes High School and the district administrative offices. The high school carries a student body well over its intended capacity. This has resulted in an extended day schedule requiring many different start times and a higher traffic flow to the school.
Many students, faculty, staff and district employees have to navigate traffic congestion every day. Left turns at the intersection are risky without a traffic signal. Deputies stand in this congestion daily to direct traffic. Their safety is also at risk.
I have been told there are plans to install a traffic light at Gator Lane. The cost of this installation is to be incurred by the Wilderness Lake subdivision. This is great news!
The second dangerous site is on Ridge Road at Pasco-Hernando Community College's west campus. As in Land O'Lakes, there are turns being made to and from campus in a way that has become more risky. There are no police officers to control traffic here.
These two sites need traffic signals. Both places involve students. They both involve residents and working people as well. The intent of this letter is to raise awareness and garner public support for installing traffic signals.
Our county highway department has a Web site that lists crashes in the county. These two sites are included in the statistical report, which states, "This is the second year that traffic fatalities have decreased on Pasco County's roadways while the number of crashes increased."
It's time to take positive action. Please install a traffic signal outside PHCC. On Sept. 28, my daughter was involved in a crash on Ridge Road. Although this crash was not fatal, I cannot wait for someone else to do something. As a mother, teacher and member of this community, I implore you to recognize what little we can do to protect so much.
Please don't wait for a subdivision to be built across from PHCC before a traffic light is added there as well.
-- Sue Baisch, Hudson
Doctors, not Publix, need to have flu vaccinations
Editor: I shop at Publix all the time and think it is a great store. I don't understand why they should get all the flu shots.
There are some people who can stand in line for hours, but there are a lot of people who can't stand that long.
Why can't our family doctors get the shots instead? That way, we can sit and wait.
I guess we are the ones who go without.
-- D. Feltman, Hudson
[Last modified October 15, 2004, 01:31:23]
