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© St. Petersburg Times, published November 28, 2000
I read with interest an item in the Nov. 14 St. Petersburg Times stating that the mayor of Philadelphia, John Street, has abandoned plans to build the Phillies a stadium in Chinatown because of criticism by neighbors and lawmakers.
This should be of interest to all citizens of Clearwater because our mayor and city commissioners are determined to build these same Phillies an 8,000-seat stadium in the midst of a Clearwater neighborhood -- a neighborhood already engulfed in existing drainage and sinkhole problems that the city of Clearwater has been unwilling and unable to correct.
If only Mayor Brian Aungst could get beyond his ego, he could learn a lesson from Mayor Street in how a mayor who is temporarily charged with representing a city's citizens should have empathy and concern for the quality of life of his citizens and their struggle to protect their homes.
The fact that Mayor Aungst has done all in his power to avoid a referendum on this issue only highlights that he knows who makes political contributions to him and the commissioners.
The good news is that most of these characters -- or to borrow a term Commissioner Bob Clark enjoys using for citizens who disagree with him, bozos -- won't be in office after the next election. The bad news is the lasting damage our mayor and commissioners have brought to the citizens, their quality of life and their homes will already be done.
If this is such a great deal for Clearwater, ask yourself why the citizens of Clearwater did not get a chance to vote on it.
-- R. Padgett, Clearwater
No matter where you put the proposed Phillies stadium, the traffic will have an effect on the vicinity. However, some neighborhoods are better able to handle the volume of traffic than others.
At a recent public meeting, John Timberlake of the Phillies stated that the Jack Russell Stadium traffic dissipates in about 18 minutes. A quick look at a city map shows the many cross streets in the vicinity of Jack Russell enabling the traffic to do so.
However, the proposed site for the new stadium does not offer this advantage. Drew Street, NE Coachman and Old Coachman roads form a triangle surrounding the area, boxing in the stadium with several neighborhoods. These major roads have very few cross streets in this region. Inevitably, the stadium traffic will cut through the neighborhoods, especially Rolling Heights and College Hill which already experience heavy traffic.
The city keeps telling us it will conduct traffic studies, as if this will magically solve all the problems. Will these studies take into consideration the dangerous curves or the intersections with poor visibility within the neighborhoods? Will they ask about accidents or about the lack of sidewalks in some neighborhoods? Children use the streets for bike riding, skateboarding, roller skating, etc., a disturbing thought when you consider that, on occasion, intoxicated people have been allowed to leave the ballgames in full view of the police.
Or will these studies merely recommend widening roads and adding turn lanes? If so, this will not stop traffic from cutting through. After all, widening Drew Street did not stop traffic from using our neighborhoods as shortcuts.
Mr. Timberlake may be interested to know that a number of years ago during spring training, Old Coachman Road was blocked off from Drew Street to Sharkey Road because of a road project. This prevented access to Carpenter Field (Phillies practice facility) on Old Coachman just down from the proposed stadium site. The city or the Phillies had road signs placed on Drew Street directing traffic through Rolling Heights on out to Carpenter Field. Now, if the city and the Phillies organization viewed Rolling Heights as a natural cut-through to Old Coachman Road, wouldn't the general public?
-- Jeanne Johnson, Clearwater
It is hard to believe that Countryside is not a new community but an established part of the city of Clearwater for 30 years. In addition, it has one in every six citizens and pays the same ratio in ad valorem taxes.
Mayor Brian Aungst has brought an administration that incorporates the needs of the city as a whole: the Sand Key fire station (beach), East-West trail and overpass (East Clearwater) Greenwood Recreation Center (downtown), expansion of Countryside Recreation Center (Countryside), not to mention downtown redevelopment. We embrace all the improvements that make the whole city a better place to live.
The new Penny for Pinellas tax money should be directed to the neighborhoods, but in our area, the restroom for Forest Run Park was omitted for funding purposes and should be revisited.
Also, with Countryside Boulevard being the northeast gateway to the city of Clearwater, it is in the city's best interest to add reclaimed water and upgrade the five medians from U.S 19 to State Road 580. Look what an improvement Court Street is with the landscaping of the medians there.
Another suggestion would be to take over the old forest ranger station on SR 580 and create a dog park on that site.
Keep up the good work, mayor and commissioners.
-- John Wiser, Clearwater
Re: Police helpers' duties cut back, Nov. 17 story.
I'm sure the local scofflaws will thank you for staff writer Eric Stirgus' article on the removal of ticketing authority from the Largo Police volunteers. You have just informed them that they can now ignore the handicapped parking restrictions and park wherever they wish with a very small chance of getting a ticket.
Most of the volunteers I know in this program are in it to help the police and to help the citizens of Largo, not to exercise authority. Those who got involved to exercise authority, the wanna-be cops, are long gone.
The article stated that about 60 percent of the tickets written were voided. This is about right. The reason, however, was not because of volunteer error but because of driver error. I know that I, and those I worked with, went out of our way to try to spot the handicapped placard somewhere in the vehicle. Unfortunately, many times the placard was in the glove box or in a lady's purse. One woman said she'd been told to carry it with her at all times. Like the rest of humanity, I was not issued X-ray eyes.
It is quite obvious from the tone of this article that your reporter made no effort to interview any of the volunteers to get their side of the story. Unfortunately, this seems to be the type of one-sided reporting that we've come to expect from the St. Petersburg Times.
-- Charles A. Lyon, Largo
I have observed an increased abuse of vehicle speed limits throughout the area. My primary concern is the increased possibility of serious accidents, even the death of innocent victims. I am deeply concerned that this abuse of posted speed limits may well lead guilty motorists into exceeding the limits of other laws. This practice could eventually lead to a drastic change in human behavior.
Increased surveillance by law enforcement officers might help to control the situation; however, a long-term solution requires an appreciable change in the attitude of the driving public.
Next time you are tempted to exceed the speed limits without just cause, ask yourself whether the time you might save is worth the cost of a human life, perhaps your own or a member of your family, or the life of a good friend.
A related problem is the increased frequency of traffic light violations. Admittedly, the timing of many lights is not optimal for all driving conditions and hours of the day and night. However, the best solution is to comply with them and report the discrepancy to the responsible authorities.
I suggest that those responsible for control of traffic lights make periodic tours of their domain to ensure that the lights are properly timed in sequence and duration to other traffic lights and the time of day. After all, it is risky to sit in an automobile at a prolonged "stop" in remote or isolated areas with no cross traffic, particularly in the middle of the night.
-- Edwin Choate, Clearwater
We hear so much about U.S. 19, but whose responsibility is it to keep it clean?
I refer to the intersection of U.S. 19 and State Road 590 (Coachman Road) where, at the left-turn lanes both north and south, the cigarette-smoking slobs use the road as an ashtray. There are hundreds of butts along the divider.
Is there not a fine for littering our highways? Why don't we arrest and fine those we see littering -- put an orange jacket on them that reads, "I litter your highway with my cigarettes," and make them sweep it up with broom and dustpan.
Come on, let's keep our city clean.
-- J. Brown Stevenson, Clearwater