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Neighborhood report

Traffic relief put on fast track

Commissioners approve a rush measure to cut Carrollwood Village congestion.

By AMBER MOBLEY
Published January 13, 2006

CARROLLWOOD - The lay of the land is changing sooner than expected in a section of Carrollwood Village.

While the traffic control plan that the County Commission approved Tuesday won't begin until later this year, traffic patterns will change this week.

Seven days a week, traffic headed north on Casey Road will not be allowed to turn right onto Old Orchard Drive from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Commissioners hope the change protects southern neighborhoods from cut-through traffic diverted by controls planned for an area the county is calling Sub Area I.

A raised intersection and flattop speed tables are some of the nearly dozen strategies approved for Sub Area I, which includes S Village Drive and Lowell and Casey roads.

Residents there have been working with the county for at least a year on ways to slow speeding and cut down on cut-through traffic seeking to circumvent Ehrlich Road and N Dale Mabry Highway.

The trick, however, is preventing those frustrated drivers from spilling onto side roads, such as Golf Crest Circle and Old Orchard Drive. Commissioner Ken Hagan, whose constituency includes Carrollwood Village, said he had received nearly 30 e-mails from concerned residents in those areas.

After residents spoke out in a December meeting, county officials did an additional study on the impact of what they call traffic calming measures.

Despite study results that showed little, if any, effects on surrounding streets, officials say they do not wish to dismiss the community concerns. Traffic services director Michael McCarthy called the right turn restriction "a low-cost, easy fix - just a sign and some markings."

Carrollwood Village's homeowner associations first complained about cut-through traffic in 1996, according to the Public Works Department. Rapid growth in surrounding neighborhoods fueled more complaints about a year ago. Beyond Sub Area I, county officials are working on ways to control traffic in these Carrollwood areas:

- "Carrollwood Village Sub Area II," bounded by Ehrlich Road, N Dale Mabry Highway, Gunn Highway and Turner Road, minus the section known as Sub Area 1.

- Original Carrollwood, primarily Orange Grove Drive, east of N Dale Mabry.

The three projects are running concurrently because traffic in all locations interacts and should be affected by the development of a Lowe's home improvement store at the Mission Bell Square Shopping Center near Fletcher and N Dale Mabry.

Officials also expect to see increased traffic when the Carrollwood Cultural Center opens in February 2007 at the former St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Casey Road.

- Amber Mobley can be reached at 813269-5311 or amobley@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 12, 2006, 08:39:04]