News

Two-way the way to grow, they say

In the face of state warnings of gridlock, Tampa wants to foster business on some main arteries.

By JANET ZINK and MIKE BRASSFIELD
Published September 7, 2007

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TAMPA - State transportation officials think it's a bad idea, but two City Council members and neighborhood leaders still want to pursue turning four main drags in Tampa from one-way to two-way streets.

The Florida Department of Transportation says the change would lead to serious gridlock on Howard, Armenia and Florida avenues and Tampa Street. They say it would slow down north-to-south movement through the city, especially with traffic expected to grow in the future.

But council members Mary Mulhern and Linda Saul-Sena say traffic flow isn't the only issue, and economic development and safety also deserve consideration.

"We need to look a little deeper at what the benefits might be," Mulhern said at a City Council meeting Thursday.

Saul-Sena wants urban planners to weigh in.

"What we're talking about is community building, not just transportation," she said. "I don't believe this suggestion has been taken seriously."

The state takes a different view. At the city's request, Transportation Department planner Daniel Lamb studied what would happen to traffic on the "one-way pairs" of Florida Avenue and Tampa Street, which turns into Highland Avenue; and Howard and Armenia avenues.

Each pair has three northbound and southbound lanes. The main problem is that the roads, 34 to 38 feet wide in most places, have no room to grow beyond three lanes. So converting them to two-way would mean running only one lane in each direction, with a center turn lane.

"You've got a corridor with six through lanes, and you're going down to four. You're losing one-third of your total capacity," Lamb said. And by 2030, he said, traffic along the corridors is expected to increase by 50 to 60 percent.

Lamb argues that the ensuing traffic backups would cause more drivers to take shortcuts through surrounding neighborhoods, making them less safe.

Still, neighborhood residents said Thursday that they want their main streets back.

Sherry King, who owns a store on Florida Avenue and is president of the Business Guild of Seminole Heights, told the council that cars zipping down the street prevents commercial development.

"This whole business area has been hobbled for years," she said.

Seminole Heights resident Susan Long said traffic on Florida Avenue is so fast, "it is scary to walk down the sidewalk."

Gary Ellsworth, president of the South Seminole Heights Civic Association, said the Transportation Department cares only about moving cars.

"Our issues as residents and neighbors are completely different," he said. "There's more to look at than how fast we can get traffic through the neighborhoods."

Also, the departmentalready has finished plans for widening Interstate 275, including designs for on/off ramps at Howard and Armenia. Changing those now would delay the project and inflate its costs, officials said.

Saul-Sena was unimpressed by those concerns. "The construction isn't imminent," she said.

Mulhern suggested the city look into taking over Florida Avenue and Tampa streets, which are state roads, if state officials won't accommodate residents' desires.

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.

[Last modified September 7, 2007, 01:19:31]