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Retirees push for 'senior zone' on busy corridor near USF

At least 70 other locations with large senior populations could be candidates for similar zones.

By By AMBER MOBLEY
Published July 7, 2006

UNIVERSITY AREA - John Knox Village residents say the heavy, speeding traffic on E Fletcher Avenue is curbing their independence.

"It's virtually impossible to get in and out," said 74-year-old Tom Vann, who has lived in the independent living retirement community for five years. "The speed limit says 45 but a lot of times people will go 55."

That means white knuckles and near misses for the 1,100 people who live, work or visit the complex.

Residents have begged the county for a traffic signal at the community's entrance since 1989.

Last month, County Commissioner Brian Blair suggested a different solution: a senior zone. Similar to a school zone, the senior zone would have signs and flashing lights to warn drivers to reduce their speed from 45 to 30 mph.

The County Commission approved Blair's proposal unanimously, and directed county staff to explore the Fletcher zone as a pilot program. The matter returns to commissioners on Aug. 2.

"We hope it will give us some relief," said Vann, first vice president of the residents' association at John Knox.

Because John Knox Village's entrance is so close to intersections that have traffic signals - where N Palm Drive and N 42nd Street cross Fletcher - county officials were reluctant to spend an estimated $300,000 for another signal.

"Signals are what people consider the ultimate answer, but they're also the ultimate expense," said Traffic Services division director Mike McCarthy.

Blair estimates the senior zone will cost less than $10,000.

Fletcher is one of the county's "worst corridors for crashes," said McCarthy.

While the John Knox Village entrance has had no reported crashes in the past two years, records show 206 crashes occurring on the 1-mile stretch of Fletcher from its intersection with Maple Drive to its intersection with N 31st Street in the past two years.

That's one crash every three and a half days.

John Knox Village's entrance is in between those intersections, half a mile from each.

And deputies issued nearly 500 speeding tickets on Fletcher between N 50th Street and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, a 1½-mile stretch that also runs in front of John Knox Village, from May 2005 to May 2006.

"We definitely needed this kind of concentrated response," McCarthy said.

The county is still finalizing details for the senior zone, but McCarthy hopes its physical boundaries will include some of the highly used nearby crosswalks to make the area safer for University of South Florida students and other pedestrian traffic as well.

"It's all intertwining and hopefully it'll all work together," McCarthy said.

To McCarthy's knowledge, the senior zone will be one of the first of its kind in the nation, but not for long. At least 70 other locations throughout Hillsborough with large senior populations could be candidates for similar zones.

These might include the intersection of W Waters Avenue and Northbridge Boulevard in Town 'N Country, McCarthy said.

Joseph A. Way, an 81-year-old amputee who lives in the Rocky Creek Village retirement community, was struck and killed by a car at that intersection on June 13 as he crossed Waters on his motorized scooter.

County staffers are scheduled to present plans to commissioners in December for the countywide senior zone program, and a prioritized locations list for senior zones.

Amber Mobley can be reached at 813 269-5311 or amobley@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 5, 2006, 13:37:07]