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I've got a shortcut
Are back roads the way to go? We test-drive three routes to see if shorter is really sweeter.
By AMBER MOBLEY
Published April 28, 2006
CARROLLWOOD Regular commute can be a real hoot when it comes to driving in Florida, a short jot down the street turning into a stop-and-go odyssey of Homeric proportions. But the grief of gridlock often can be calmed by four short words: "I know a shortcut." Much to the chagrin of North Tampa residents, those shortcuts are usually through their neighborhoods - in front of their homes, near their parks and schools and where they and their children bike and walk. The volume and speed of these wayward travelers brings a barrage of concern. Government's answer is something they call "traffic calming" - speed humps, bumps, tables and the like to deflect traffic out of neighborhoods and back onto the main roads where it ostensibly belongs. But despite the arrival of 2,100 traffic calming devices on 350 Hillsborough County streets since 1989, cut-through traffic remains a problem. The county has 13 active neighborhood traffic calming programs and more than 50 other neighborhoods are awaiting their turn. Years of research and mounds of money are going into these programs as the county figures out what deterrents it might introduce next. All of which might cause you to wonder: Are shortcuts really shorter? Could hundreds, if not thousands, of motorists who take to these side streets be driving a lie? In an experiment that is, admittedly, way short on science, the staff at North of Tampa test-drove some popular alternate routes during morning rush hour. Spouses were happy to help out, as what couple have never debated the value of a shortcut? Every one agreed to drive at or only slightly above the speed limit. The flow of traffic, as they say. We tested shortcuts in New Tampa, Original Carrollwood and Lutz as means to avoid Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Busch Boulevard and, naturally, N Dale Mabry Highway. The results may startle you - or not. New TampaOne minute and 35 seconds. That's all the time sports writer John Cotey saved by taking a back road to get from Cross Creek Boulevard and Bruce B. Downs to the intersection of Bruce B. Downs and Highwoods Preserve Parkway. Driving 40 mph on New Tampa Boulevard and then 35 mph along Highwoods Preserve through West Meadows, Cotey was interrupted only by one stop sign. Cotey knows his cut-through could be spoiled if the city of Tampa builds an east-west toll road that will bring thousands of motorists into West Meadows on their way to Interstate 275. But for now, he has an easier time than his wife, reporter Dong-Phuong Nguyen. Nguyen shared that 1.33-mile stretch of Bruce B. Downs with the road's other nearly 63,200 daily commuters. "(It was) stop and go, stop and go," she said. Despite a higher speed limit, Nguyen could go no faster than 19 mph for a brief spurt of her bumper-to-bumper sojourn. She reached the destination in seven minutes and 10 seconds although her route was nearly 2 miles shorter than her husband's. LutzIs it faster to travel from Cheval Boulevard to Van Dyke Road along N Dale Mabry Highway? Or by taking a "shortcut" through Calusa Trace? Times reporter Bill Coats and his wife, Phyllis Coats, found the shortcut was shorter but slower. Hubby Bill took the shortcut, saving one-twentieth of a mile in distance but needing 31 seconds longer to get to their destination on Van Dyke, the All Saints Lutheran Church, 2.5 miles away. With Schwarzkopf Elementary School already in session, Bill didn't have to slow to 20 mph or wait for parents to drop off their children. He passed the school, a jogger, walker, dog-walker, bicyclist and county signs announcing Tuesday night's traffic calming meeting, keeping to a speed limit well below the one on Dale Mabry. Turning onto Van Dyke after a "moment's wait" at a stop sign, Bill completed "a smooth trip" in just under four minutes. "Phyllis' trip was even smoother," Bill said, "despite heavy traffic." Two green lights at Dale Mabry's intersection with the Veterans Expressway and a quick right turn on red onto Van Dyke later, Phyllis was finished in three minutes and 23 seconds. Original CarrollwoodTravel times in Original Carrollwood were the most skewed. The bureau's spouseless reporter Amber Mobley paired with photographer Mike Pease. Starting at the intersection of W Busch at N Armenia Avenue, Pease took W Busch and N Dale Mabry to get to the intersection of W Fletcher at N Dale Mabry. The 3-mile trip should have taken six to seven minutes according to Yahoo Maps and Mapquest directions. But, driving at or under the speed limit and delayed only once by a traffic light on Armenia, Mike needed only 5½ minutes to reach his destination. Mobley took a cut-through route via Orange Grove Drive, a street now being considered for as many as 40 traffic calming devices. While the route was scenic, the road was dotted with nearly half a dozen stop signs. At one four-way stop, other drivers made nerve-racking jack-rabbit stops and seemed confused about who had the right-of-way. While Mobley's route was shorter - 2.7 miles - it took almost twice the time - 10 minutes - as Pease's direct route. What did we learn?First, a word about our inspiration for this experiment. Angelo Rao, the county's traffic calming engineer, has long contended that shortcuts through residential neighborhoods are a perception, not reality. To prove his point, Rao and his assistant took different routes from Linebaugh Avenue and N Dale Mabry Highway to Chamberlain High School on N Boulevard. One took a cut-through while the other took the main roads. They arrived at the same time, Rao said. In engineer-speak, his explanation went like this: "(We) had the same time because the stop-and-go delays on the longer arterial route in two, straight, less obstructed lines were balanced with the circuitous internal route stops - even though the internal route formed the hypotenuse of the 'right-angled triangle' and should be shorter." Ummm, basically, whether it's a line of cars keeping you from going through three cycles of a traffic signal or stop signs at the edge of every other manicured lawn, delays are delays.So let's give this one to the county expert: Shortcuts are not always shorter. Amber Mobley can be reached at (813) 269-5311 or amobley@sptimes.com. MINUTES SAVED/LOSTThe back road was faster in New Tampa. But in Lutz and Carrollwood, drivers made better time on main roads. New TampaStart Cross Creek Boulevard and New Tampa Boulevard Finish Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Highwoods Preserve Parkway Shortcut Distance: 3.1 miles Time: 5 minutes 35 seconds Route: New Tampa Boulevard and Highwoods Preserve Parkway through West Meadows Main route Distance: 1.33 miles Time: 7 minutes 10 seconds Route: Bruce B. Downs Boulevard LutzStart Cheval Boulevard and N Dale Mabry Highway Finish 5315 Van Dyke Road Shortcut Distance: 2.45 miles Time: 3 minutes 54 seconds Route:Calusa Trace Boulevard Main route Distance: 2.5 miles Time: 3 minutes 23 seconds Route: N Dale Mabry Highway Original CarrollwoodStart W Busch Boulevard and N Armenia Avenue Finish W Fletcher and N Dale Mabry Highway Shortcut Distance: 2.7 miles Time: 10 minutes Route: Orange Grove Drive Main route Distance: 3.22 miles Time: 5 minutes 30 seconds Route: Busch Boulevard and N Dale Mabry Highway PLACES WITH PLANSHillsborough County is currently creating traffic control plans in the following 13 locations as part of its Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program. Original Carrollwood Carrollwood Village Lutz area near Idlewild Baptist Church Simmons Loop Swilley Road Calusa Trace BoulevardJ ackson Springs Road Manhattan Avenue Harney Road Harvey Tew Road Pennington Road Wilder Road Windhorst Road Source: Cheryl N. Stacks, manager of traffic calming programs for Hillsborough CountyMORE ABOUT CALMINGThe next meeting about traffic calming plans for Original Carrollwood is scheduled for May 16 at Chamberlain High School, 9401 N Boulevard, at 6:30 p.m.
[Last modified April 27, 2006, 13:27:11]
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