Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
The extension of Highwoods Preserve Parkway to New Tampa Boulevard lets motorists bypass the busiest sections of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
By SUSAN THURSTON
© St. Petersburg Times, published July 30, 2001
WEST MEADOWS -- Tom Leechin is a happy commuter in New Tampa. So is Jennifer Schmidt.
Sound impossible? Not really, thanks to a new shortcut between West Meadows and Richmond Place.
The developer of West Meadows recently finished a half-mile extension of Highwoods Preserve Parkway to New Tampa Boulevard. For the first time, drivers can bypass the busiest sections of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard to get to Interstate 75 and to local businesses.
"It's so convenient," said Leechin, who uses the shortcut to get to work on Harbor Island and to take his son to the movies. "You don't even think about getting on Bruce B. Downs."
The road offers drivers a second way in and out of West Meadows. Before, the only access was along New Tampa Boulevard and Bruce B. Downs, resulting in long delays at the intersection.
"It's been quite a mess," said Schmidt, who used to wait 10 to 15 minutes to exit West Meadows during morning rush hour.
Schmidt estimates the new road shaves several minutes off her daily commute. She avoids the intersection and reaches the interstate without sitting in traffic and at stoplights on Bruce B. Downs.
"It's so much better for me. I absolutely love that road," said Schmidt, secretary of Citizens for West Meadows, a group formed in opposition to a proposed east-west highway through the community.
Since the shortcut opened last month, traffic has steadily increased. Most of the users are people from West Meadows heading south toward Tampa or to places like Muvico and Intermedia in Highwoods Preserve. Richmond Place residents also use it to get to the Publix shopping center near West Meadows.
"I was able to get down to the (Veterans') hospital in 15 minutes. It used to take 30," said Roger Griffey of West Meadows. "I thought I was going to be late but I wasn't. It was great."
Jim Martin takes the road when he goes downtown, especially during rush hour. It's scenic, and the traffic is light.
"It's a heck of a lot less stressful than having to navigate the intersection at New Tampa Boulevard and Bruce B. Downs," said Martin, vice president of the citizens' group.
The road marks one of the first significant connections in New Tampa. It had been on the books for years, but became a priority last year when Mobley Homes of Florida bought West Meadows from Atlantic Gulf Communities Corp.
Although some people feared it would bring additional traffic from Cross Creek and other communities in northern New Tampa, that hasn't seemed to happen. For people outside of West Meadows, taking the cut-through is about 2 miles longer than taking Bruce B. Downs.
Harry Lerner, president of the company that manages West Meadows, said the shortcut helps, but doesn't solve New Tampa's traffic problems.
"I think everyone's really excited that it's open," he said. "It's definitely moving the traffic closer to the interchange where (people) want to be."