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Residents can vote on plan to curb traffic

Homeowners can expect a voting package by mail. Then they'll have 30 days to register their opinion.

By AMBER MOBLEY
Published July 23, 2006

ORIGINAL CARROLLWOOD - The report is in. Let the voting commence.

Angelo Rao, traffic engineer for the county, has given county officials his final recommendations for controlling traffic in Original Carrollwood.

Rao's report, which can be viewed on the Hillsborough County Web site, includes 147 traffic calming devices for the area - from bike route signs to speed humps. The estimated costs are $598,700.

Homeowners in the affected area can expect a voting package via U.S. mail in the next two weeks and will have about 30 days to cast their decision.

No longer will they be able to pick which devices they want on which streets. Rao is taking no more public comments, and voters have to approve or deny the plan as is.

Long-bothered by speeding cut-through traffic on their neighborhood streets, Original Carrollwood residents consulted the county for help.

Enter the Neighborhood Traffic Calming program.

Traffic calming - narrowed streets, tighter intersections and additional medians to physically control traffic - is the county's solution and one that many in Original Carrollwood requested.

Hundreds of locals attended four public meetings in the past few months to discuss the area's options.

Original Carrollwood is bordered by N Dale Mabry Highway on the west, Lake Carroll on the east, W Busch Boulevard on the south and portions of W Fletcher Avenue, Orange Grove Drive and Lake Ellen Drive.

About 1,600 homeowners in that general area will be eligible to vote on the plan, which includes:

- 26 colorized and textured flat-top "speed tables," which are larger, longer speed humps that plateau in the middle. Five of these are planned for Orange Grove Drive between Busch Boulevard and Fletcher Avenue.

- 24 raised, colorized and textured intersections.

- Six raised, colorized and textured crosswalks.

- Five speed cushions, which are speed humps with wheel cut-outs.

The road obstacles, said Rao, will add seconds to emergency vehicles' response time, but the speed cushions will provide easier access for emergency services. Many residents who attended the public meetings were concerned about the delays.

Rao's plan also includes nonphysical traffic restrictions.

Westbound traffic on Orange Grove will not be able to turn left onto Hampton Place on weekdays from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m.

And, eastbound traffic on Lake Carroll Way will have a stop sign at Carrollwood Drive.

If homeowners in the affected area approve Rao's plan, the county will phase in the devices after officials give it final approval.

Traffic calming in Original Carrollwood is of the county's latest traffic control efforts.

Other areas, such as Carrollwood Village on the west side of Dale Mabry, are further ahead in the process. Homeowners there approved traffic calming plans for their area months ago, and county officials gave the projects the green light. The county is now preparing to hire construction companies for Carrollwood Village traffic calming, said Traffic Services division director Michael McCarthy.

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

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 20:09:47]