Saint Leo mayor wants small-town bypass

Increased traffic on State Road 52 could become a problem and adversely affect the quality of life, she says.

By CHASE SQUIRES

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 22, 2000

SAINT LEO -- Mayor Janis Klingle said Monday she wants to unite Dade City, Saint Leo, San Antonio and the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club to push for a four-lane bypass around the connecting stretch of State Road 52.

Klingle told fellow commissioners that although an expansion of the artery linking the three municipalities to Interstate 75 is not planned, looming growth makes expansion likely. Running a four-lane highway on SR 52's current route would disrupt life in the small east Pasco towns she said.

"We need to get involved before they start planning," Klingle said. "It's important to start banging on this now before it's too late."

The mayor said one possible route would be to use County Road 577/579A as it loops south of San Antonio, then hook up with Clinton Avenue to create a bypass south of all three municipalities, linking motorists directly to U.S. 301.

The road wouldn't replace SR 52, she said, but it would offer an alternative to motorists who want to go south of Dade City.

"It only goes about a mile further out of the way," Klingle said.

"It's a beautiful road around there," Commissioner Donna DeWitt added.

Pasco County officials are already studying the possibility of widening and removing some of the sharp curves from Clinton Avenue, and the state Department of Transportation has announced a plan to widen SR 52 at the I-75 interchange, although there are no immediate plans to widen the rest of the state road.

With the 900-home Lake Jovita project under way and Saint Leo University's announced plans to double enrollment in the next five years, Klingle said traffic on the highway could become a problem and adversely affect the small-town quality of life enjoyed by local residents.

In other business Monday, commissioners agreed unanimously to allow Town Attorney Charles Critton to begin negotiations with the Tampa planning firm Engelhardt, Hammer & Associates. Commissioners agreed the company appeared interested in working for the town, but Critton said some details, such as costs for travel time, needed to be negotiated.

And Klingle urged all residents to fill in their census reports and return them to the federal government. Getting an accurate count is vital to city funding, she said.

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