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Site looks right for school buses

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published December 10, 2006

Re: Site might be right for bus compound editorial, Dec. 3.

I am in favor of this land swap between the city of Clearwater and the Pinellas County School District. Hopefully, the logic of having a school bus compound in North Pinellas that is used only 180 days during the school year and not on weekends has merit.

School buses begin their runs between 5 and 6:30 a.m., before the heavy traffic flow. The afternoon routes are usually completed between 5 and 6 p.m.

The land in question (north of the intersection of McMullen-Booth Road and State Road 580) is next to a sewage treatment plant - not the most desirable place to put anything else. The savings in terms of miles traveled over the present school bus compound in the High Point area would be significant.

A school bus compound is not a prison or a landfill with the associated stigma. As a longtime resident of Countryside, I remember when some residents thought that the Countryside Recreation Center would attract crime, so a police substation was incorporated in the building. Ten years later, the rec center is the busiest in the city and the police substation is used for expanded youth programs.

John Wiser, Clearwater

Re: Site might be right for bus compound editorial, Dec. 3.

Let's not be hasty with bus decision

Perhaps it would be premature for the school district to make any decisions about a new bus compound in North Pinellas. Once things are sorted out after school choice is complete, the district may not need as many as 300 buses for north county. Hopefully, most students will opt for their neighborhood school and will be walking to school.

Wouldn't it be nice to have many fewer buses on the road throughout the day? Also, just think how much the county and state will save on buses, fuel and drivers. Anybody want to buy a used bus?

Paul C. Blatt, Dunedin

Timing of light on U.S. 19 is a hazard

The traffic light at Tampa Road and U.S. 19 needs a major correction to allow traffic to flow smoothly.

On several occasions while traveling eastbound on Tampa Road approaching the left turn lane, the left turn traffic signal turned green after U.S. 19 traffic flowed for a couple of minutes. The left turn signal stayed green only long enough to allow three or four cars in each left turn lane to make the turn northbound. The green light turned red again after merely 20 seconds.

The duration was so short that two or three cars continued to turn even though the light had turned red. As you can readily appreciate, this suicidal action and total lack of safety exercised by impatient drivers is only inviting some major traffic accidents to occur.

To compound the lack of timing for turning traffic at this intersection, on another occasion as I was waiting to pass through the intersection eastbound, the duration of the green light for passing through the U.S. 19 intersection was ridiculously short.

I recognize that U.S. 19 deserves two or three minutes for the large amount of north/south traffic, but the backup of Tampa Road traffic is often 20 or 30 vehicles. Is this normal? I don't think so.

I have contacted the Pinellas traffic department to make whatever adjustments are needed to balance the flow of traffic. The sensor that controls the traffic lights appears to be a common problem at other major intersections as well.

Chris Tingirides, Dunedin

[Last modified December 9, 2006, 21:21:54]