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Swann Estates celebrates traffic calming plans

By SHERRI DAY
Published February 18, 2005

SWANN ESTATES - For several evenings in December, residents stood along Swann Avenue waving placards outlining their demands for speed tables.

Now it seems the residents will get their wish.

Last week, Tampa transportation officials said crews would put three speed tables on Swann between Lois and Church avenues by the summer.

Improving traffic on the street had long been a city priority. But the neighborhood's request for speed tables was expedited after city officials canceled two other projects, transportation manager Roy C. LaMotte said.

The cancellations made funding available for the $15,000 project along Swann, he said.

Members of the neighborhood are claiming victory.

"We're very, very happy. Countless hours have been spent on this," said Maureen Ulig, president of the Swann Estates Neighborhood Association. "It's not the cure-all. But if it slows the traffic down, it's a little bit of piece of mind."

TAMPA - At least 10 new subdivisions will soon bear the names of fallen firefighters and police officers.

LIST Group Developers, a large builder in South Tampa, plans to name each of its new residential projects after civil servants who died in the line of duty.

Earlier this month, LIST officials asked Tampa's police and fire departments to recommend five deceased employees for recognition. The honorees can come from any time period in Tampa's history, LIST Group consultant Stephen Michelini said.

As new subdivisions take shape, the company plans to alternate naming rights between police officers and firefighters. The subdivisions' namesakes and their personal histories will be listed on property maps and other documents.

"We just really wanted to do something that was going to last, something that would be meaningful and that would live beyond the moment," Michelini said. "It's also a testimonial to those families of those people that have died."

LIST opens 10 and 12 residential projects a year, Michelini said. Most of them are townhomes in South Tampa. The company also has plans for new developments in West Tampa.

[Last modified February 17, 2005, 10:50:08]