Where sidewalk ends
New homes get sidewalks but are often built next to homes that have been there for decades and have none. Deciding who gets a sidewalk next isn't a simple task.
By SHERRI DAY
Published March 10, 2006
SOUTH TAMPA - Two years ago, Darlene Fincher and her neighbors fought a developer's plan to build three houses on small lots next to her Leona Street home.
They won and only two houses went up.
But what they didn't know later riled them: Sidewalks were built in front of the new homes but stopped at Fincher's property line.
Fincher stood in her driveway Monday evening and gazed disapprovingly at the piecemeal sidewalks.
"I'd like to see continuity," said Fincher, an optician who has lived in her Leona Street home for 19 years. "It's crazy how they add these (sidewalks) and ruin the integrity of the neighborhood. They implement these new laws and rules without checking to see what it does to the other houses."
As in-fill development increases across Tampa, so, too, do seemingly randomly placed sidewalks. They often create havoc for pedestrians, dog walkers, joggers and wheelchair users who must navigate chopped up walkways on streets in neighborhoods from Culbreath Heights to Sulphur Springs.
It's all part of the city's sidewalk construction plan.
"We're tackling the problem very scientifically," said Roy LaMotte, the city's transportation manager. "We've become more professional about the program. Providing these services is more based on the ability to get contracts, the cost of material and the overall community's needs."
Determining exactly where to place new sidewalks is part of a complicated point system. For new developments, there's little room for negotiation. Since 2001, city code has required developers to install sidewalks with all newly constructed buildings.
In rare instances, when an object such as a grand tree or drainage ditch prevents sidewalk construction, builders may apply for permission to contribute to a trust fund. City officials use the money to build sidewalks elsewhere in the area.
Existing property owners who want new sidewalks must make their plea through the city's sidewalk construction and restoration program.
During fiscal year 2005, the city spent more than $815,000 to construct 32,257 linear feet of sidewalks, city records show. Using money from taxes, community development block grants and HARTline, new sidewalks were built along several South Tampa streets including Bayshore Boulevard, Lois Avenue and Azeele Street.
The Transportation Department's 2006 budget calls for spending more than $663,000 to add about 28,500 linear feet of new sidewalks around the city, records show.
Jan Washington, the city's sidewalk and streetlight planner, picks the locations. To ensure objectivity, she created a point system to rank sidewalk requests.
Sidewalk gaps? One point. Near a school route? Five points. HARTline bus route? Three points. Full sidewalk on the opposite side of the street? Negative four points.
Requests also rise on the city's priority list if the site is near a park, fitness route, an assisted-living facility or a collector road, Washington said.
Earlier this week, Washington evaluated sidewalk requests in Temple Crest near Sulphur Springs. Armed with a clipboard, measuring tools and a laptop Tuesday morning, Washington surveyed East 37th Street between Bird and Regnas avenues.
She trudged up and down the block making sure utility poles, fences, mailboxes and signs would not impede a new walkway. Washington also checked whether she could provide at least 8 feet of overhead clearance. The block received high marks for its proximity to Temple Crest Park and the road's high traffic volume. But when Washington looked for places to connect the sidewalk, she came up short. A storm drainage pipe on the next block would prevent the easy, affordable construction of another sidewalk on the next block, Washington said.
Make no mistake, Washington detests sidewalk gaps. She stomachs the ones around in-fill development because the city is betting that future builders will pay for more sidewalk connections.
Final score for the 37th Street block: three points, which ranked it fairly low on the city's priority list.
In Old Seminole Heights, Washington met Patti Palardis who wants the city to repair a series of sidewalk cracks. Recently, Palardis said, her neighbor's child broke her arm after she tripped on the sidewalk while skating. Though aging, the sidewalk also disappears in the middle of the block.
Washington set Palardis at ease by talking about gardening, real estate values and cocker spaniels. She examined the sidewalk and marked its worst spots with orange spray paint. Palardis should expect the city to make the repairs in about a year, Washington said.
An electrical engineer, Washington takes great pride in her work, particularly because she feels charged with providing safe walkways for schoolchildren, the elderly and people with handicaps. As Tampa's sidewalk czar, she shares a dream with former Mayor Nick Nuccio. She wants to see the entire city connected by sidewalks.
Washington and her staff try to inspect each sidewalk or maintenance request within 48 hours. She rarely goes hunting for additional gaps.
"We have so much demand right now for sidewalk construction, if I didn't get another request I probably could build sidewalks for the next 10 years," Washington said.
Back on Leona Street, Fincher has no plans to call Washington. Her neighbors will probably stay quiet too. Some worry that completed sidewalks would bring transients, litter and additional foot traffic onto residential streets.
Those are not Fincher's concerns. She frets about flooding and losing part of her lawn.
"I like my grass," Fincher said. "If I had my druthers, I'd leave it just like this. But it really would look better if we all had sidewalks."
- Sherri Day can be reached at sday@sptimes.com or 226-3405.
The city plans to install more than 37,000 linear feet of sidewalks this year. Here are a few blocks on the list.
* Swann Avenue between Bella Vista Street and Rookmere Road
* Nassau Street between Clark and Lois avenues
* Mississippi Avenue between Howard and Alabama avenues
* Gandy Boulevard between Quincy and Elberon streets
* Georgia Avenue between Neptune Street and Mississippi Avenue
* Juneau Street between Klondyke and Brooks streets