 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Communications device or . . . alien contraption?By JEAN HELLER © St. Petersburg Times, published October 1, 2000 Good grief! Have you seen that . . . that thing . . . at the west end of the Howard Frankland Bridge, right where Fourth Street merges with I-275? It looks like a giant space needle. It is much bigger than those super-sized light poles being installed along the interstate construction area between Roosevelt and Gandy boulevards. It is 30 to 40 feet tall and looks like a giant spike buried head first in a chunk of concrete approximately the size of Rhode Island. Even Jessie, who has never showed much interest in giant upside-down spikes buried in state-sized chunks of concrete, perked up at the sight. It appeared to us that this "thing" had been erected in Florida Department of Transportation right-of-way, so we called the state roadies and asked them, "Whatever is it?" They had no idea. But they promised to check and get back to us. And they did. They claimed, and we emphasize that not all of us believe this, that it is a communications tower identical to one at the intersection of Interstate 75 and U.S. 301 in Hillsborough County. The tower is said to support cellular phone and pager service and can be used to support FDOT's roadside emergency telephone system, too. Since all of the towers like it statewide are in state highway easements, the roadies say they're even making a little profit on the deal. Me, I was inclined to lend credence to this tale. Jessie, on the other hand, believes the tower is an alien contraption channeling Jovian propaganda to Tampa Bay. We get more mail about the downtown lane configuration changes to First avenues N and S than any other traffic issue in the area. The preponderance of those we hear from don't like the lane reductions or the speed reductions or the new timing of the traffic signals. Most recently, however, the complaints have involved difficulty in identifying exactly where the new lanes are. When the new lane lines were painted, the old lane lines were ground off the street surfaces, leaving large dark dotted lines. We have seen on several occasions that some drivers find two sets of lane lines, one dark gray and one white, confusing. We asked St. Petersburg's street guru, Angelo Rao, what might be done about this and found him totally exhausted by the question. It seems to be one of the biggest issues confronting him every day, too. "We've done everything we can," Angelo said. "We double-painted the white lines. We put in raised pavement markers. The problem is that the surface of the asphalt fades to light gray in the sun. When we grind off the old paint lines, the grinder penetrates down to where the asphalt is still dark gray. We've used all the technology we have at our disposal, and it's frustrating because I hear about this every day." Angelo said his department is looking at two alternatives for the future: a water pressure system that flakes off the old paint and another type of grinder that doesn't penetrate the asphalt as deeply. It's all a matter of what the city budget will bear, and that's not much. The reconfigurations of the First avenues and Central Avenue, complete with angle parking, are an experiment that will be closely watched for the next six to 12 months. "We're trying to find out if it's a good thing," he said. "Do people feel safe within the new lanes? Is the additional parking being used? Is the business community benefiting? What does the rest of the community think?" At the end of the test period, the city will decide which of the changes to keep. At that point, Angelo said, it is possible the streets will be repaved and the lane lines painted more permanently. One thing Rao would like to do but cannot afford is to acquire a line-painting truck that could put down triple-line lane markings, such as those on parts of the Bayside and Howard Frankland bridges: a solid white dash bracketed by narrower black lines. It is a system that improves visibility noticeably. "When I first saw the triple striping on the Howard Frankland about a year ago, I was very jealous of it," he said. "But our equipment isn't capable of doing that. I liked it so much, I even considered having a truck put down the white lines and painting the black borders manually. But that isn't practical. "The other thing I like about the bridges is that they're built of concrete, and concrete doesn't bleach. When the surface is ground down, you can hardly see it." The city of St. Petersburg and the state roadies have been contemplating forever whether to get rid of that Tyrone Boulevard hump just west of the mall. The CSX tracks underneath are no longer useful, and the hump is a maintenance nightmare. Before making the final decision to rip it out, FDOT is having one last public session to hear what you think. It is an open house Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Bayfront Center, Sun Pavilion Room. There will be no formal presentation, just a chance for you to be heard. We have co-winners of the Eyeball Jiggler of the Week contest. One of them is a repeat performer, only because conditions have degraded so much. That is I-275 northbound from 54th Avenue N. The humps in the road and the huge chunks of lost concrete make the highway more suitable for an off-road race course than an interstate. If you don't have rattles and squeaks in your car before you drive that route, we guarantee you will have afterward. The other sore spot is on Fourth Street S between First and Second Avenues in the extreme left lane. There's a little sink there that will crunch your teeth if you take it at any speed, as many people do when they're trying to beat a changing light. You know who you are. - Dr. Delay can be reached by e-mail at docdelay@sptimes.com, by fax at (727) 893-8675 or by snail mail at 490 First Ave., S, St. Petersburg 33701.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From the Times South Pinellas desks |
