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Neighborhood report

No relief in sight for truck traffic

City officials say it'll take time, and money, to enact recommendations of a study.

By SHERRI DAY
Published October 7, 2005

Homeowners and city officials agree on potential solutions for traffic problems in Port Tampa, where more than 1,600 commercial trucks mix with pedestrians and residential drivers every day.

But it will likely take several years before any major improvements reach the area.

At a meeting of the Civic Association of Port Tampa last week, city transportation engineer Taha S. Ataya said the lack of money is to blame.

"I realize that the 1,600 trucks are a problem," he said. "Our problem is how to solve it with the funds that we have."

Ataya, who helped shepherd a $50,000 transportation study of the neighborhood, presented the findings to the group earlier this year. After cataloging community input, transportation officials made their final recommendations to the City Council this spring.

The city's short-term solutions include improving safety at school crossings and stepping up police patrols and speed enforcement on Interbay Boulevard. Burying utilities, adding traffic calming and updating heavily traveled intersections are among the five- to 10-year fixes, Ataya said.

But longer-term projects, such as the installation of a roundabout at Commerce Street and Interbay Boulevard, could take years. Those projects fall behind other city transportation plans, including overhauls of West Shore Boulevard and Manhattan Avenue, Ataya said.

Port Tampa residents complained that their concerns are not high enough on the city's priority list.

"The way they handled the traffic on Bayshore is the way I want it handled here on Interbay," said Al McAdoo, noting Bayshore's electronic speed monitors. "Bayshore's on it. They have all these fancy things."

Other residents questioned the effectiveness of the study, which began in 2003.

"These problems and these solutions are things that this neighborhood has been talking about for years," said homeowner Chris Malzone. "I guess the only positive thing about them spending $50,000 was to get us on the radar for funding."

Neighborhood association president Jill Buford said residents could use the study to petition city leaders and inform developers of the community's needs.

"We need to take the midterm plan, and it needs to be put under short-term," she said. "Just because we're on the end of the peninsula does not mean we are the end of the road."

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

[Last modified October 6, 2005, 08:25:09]