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Harbour Island

Residents lose battle over city's traffic plan

The city decides to go ahead with work to reconfigure a stretch of Franklin Street despite protests from homeowners.

By SHERRI DAY
Published February 4, 2005

In an ongoing dispute that pitted Harbour Island homeowners against city planners, the residents have conceded defeat.

Harbour Island homeowners opposed the city's plan to improve the flow of traffic leading into their community, saying the proposal favored pedestrians, tourists and conventioneers. But ultimately, the residents' protests accomplished little.

At a public hearing last month, city officials pledged to go forward with their plans to reconfigure the lanes in front of the Tampa Convention Center at the base of the Harbour Island bridge. Franklin Street's facelift begins Monday.

"The city did not want to hear a thing about the residents' concerns," said Dave Schlingman, president of the Harbour Island Community Service Association, which says it represents more than 4,000 residents. "Their vision is that we don't need to worry about taking some traffic lanes away because we're going to make it a pedestrian-friendly city, and we don't need to provide for automobiles. Well, we do."

At issue is the stretch of Franklin Street between Channelside Drive and St. Pete Times Forum Drive. Residents say the city's proposal, which includes removing one southbound lane and adding a northbound lane, would result in a traffic nightmare.

Islanders blame the TECO line streetcar, which stretches from Ybor City to Franklin Street, for their traffic woes because the neighborhood lost a lane to the trolley track. Any extension of the streetcar line would further complicate traffic patterns, residents said.

Steve Daignault, the city's public works administrator, said Harbour Island homeowners' concerns are unfounded. And, he said, residents' voices have been heard. When the residents complained about adding a traffic light along Franklin Street next to the Waterside Marriott, city officials decided to scrap it - as long as traffic doesn't go up at the intersection.

"It's not going to be nearly as bad for them . . . as they're trying to make it out to be," Daignault said. "I believe it's going to satisfy or actually improve some of their traffic flow."

Instead of the traffic light, officials now envision a center median that would help pedestrians safely cross the street. They also plan to reconfigure Franklin Street's existing medians to create two traffic lanes on each side.

City officials expect the $300,000 project to take between 60 to 90 days to complete.

John G. Moors, the Tampa Convention Center's administrator, supports the city's plan.

"The number one thing we have to do is protect the pedestrians and slow the traffic down," Moors said. "These improvements are going to help that."

Harbour Island resident Joyce Schauer said she and her neighbors may have lost the Franklin Street battle, but they gained a commitment to activism.

"This is a sleeping giant," said Schauer, the association's spokeswoman. "And you probably know some of the people who live on the island. Once we get rolling, the city is going to hear us roar."

Sherri Day can be reached at 226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com

[Last modified February 3, 2005, 10:01:08]