Benito parents, staff fret over Kinnan and Cross Creek intersection

Wendy Arroyo, parent of a 7th grader, and her mother Elsie were among those holding signs last week urging drivers to be more careful.

Nearly a dozen Benito Middle School parents and teacher lined the roads that run by their children’s school last week with bright yellow signs blaring simple messages:

Be Careful.

Slow Down.

Phones Down.

Drive Like Your Kids Live Here.

Teaming up with Vision Zero Hillsborough, the Benito parents hoped to shine a light on a growing problem in this congested section of New Tampa. About a month into the new school year, parents are saying the conditions in which their kids walk and bike to school are becoming more and more dangerous.

With the school situated on the south side of busy Cross Creek Blvd., the tail end of the morning commute is made more difficult by hundreds of students walking and biking — with many of them having to cross the busy street — to get to Benito.

While flashing lights are present along Cross Creek, notifying drivers that the speed limit is 20 miles per hour during the times students are walking to school, drivers leaving Kinnan St. and turning east or west onto Cross Creek don’t see those signs.

The intersection is congested with those heading to work and parents trying to get into the car line to drop their children off at school. Because there are cars entering the Benito parking lot from both directions on Cross Creek, the entrance can get backed up, leaving drivers trying to cross over from Kinnan St. to have to wait an extra light cycle, sometimes two.

That can lead to bad decisions by drivers who are in a hurry, while also creating backups in both directions along Cross Creek Blvd.

Ironically, about an hour before parents and Vision Zero Hillsborough showed up with their signs, as if to highlight the dangers of Kinnan and Cross Creek, an accident in the middle of the intersection backed up morning traffic and sent debris like broken glass flying into the crosswalk. Fortunately, it happened before schooltime pedestrian traffic.

Cars making a left turn onto Cross Creek Blvd. from Kinnan St. are sometimes failing to yield to kids crossing to school.

The most sometimes-heart-stopping concern, Benito principal John Sanders says, results from drivers leaving Kinnan Street and making a left onto Cross Creek heading east.

“Kids are in that crosswalk while cars are turning,” says Sanders. “The cars go right in front of them or right behind them — by feet and sometimes inches.”

The problem is that when the crosswalk light is green, giving the pedestrians the right of way to cross the street, drivers making a left onto Cross Creek also have the same green light. Legally, they have to yield to the pedestrians in the crosswalk, but it appears many drivers are acting as if they have a green arrow instead, and don’t notice or aren’t checking to make sure that there aren’t pedestrians in (or entering) the crosswalk.

“It’s not a safe crosswalk for students because of so much traffic coming from so many different directions, and people aren’t paying attention,” says Jenny Giraldo, whose daughter attends Benito. “Signage is lacking on so many levels, drivers aren’t really made aware. They need to be woken up.”
Sanders adds that he is hopeful that changes will be made.

On Friday, September 7(the day this issue hits mailboxes), a meeting is scheduled with representatives from the City of Tampa and the Hillsborough County School Board to discuss possible changes to lights and signs in the area.

“I think that the light situation needs to change,” says Benito Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) president Cindy Walton. “There needs to be no turn on red or the light for walking needs to be longer, while other lights aren’t green. It causes children to walk at the same time cars want to go, and cars don’t yield to pedestrians the way they should.”

To address the cars not yielding to pedestrians — or not being aware of the situation — the PTSA invited Vision Zero Hillsborough to hold the rally along Cross Creek Blvd. during the morning drop-off time on Aug. 31.

The Vision Zero Action Plan was developed by the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Policy Committee, and has organized similar efforts at other dangerous areas in Tampa, most recently Seminole Heights.

“Vision Zero is an organization that is trying to eliminate traffic deaths,” Walton explains. “The event is to raise awareness that there are children, and drivers need to obey traffic laws, yield to pedestrians and slow down.”

While the school administrators and PTSA are working to educate parents and students at the school, Walton says Vision Zero was brought in to bring awareness to those drivers who are not part of the school.

“We knew we needed to reach out to the (entire) community, versus just our parents,” says Walton. “We need to have that awareness within our own community that students are walking along Cross Creek Blvd. and drivers need to watch out.”

Sanders agrees that the issue needs to be addressed in multiple ways.

“Part of it is educating the children who are walking to do everything in their power and control to keep themselves safe at that intersection,” he says. “Some of them are crossing in the crosswalk, assuming that they’re safe, and they’re not.”

To drivers — both those parents in the car line and those who are just trying to get to work through the mess of traffic, Sanders makes this plea: “Please exercise patience,” he says. “Especially from about 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., exercise extreme caution in the area. Please, if you’re turning left onto Cross Creek from Kinnan, be aware that green light happens while kids are in the crosswalk.”

No Major Incidents…Yet

According to the City of Tampa Police Department (TPD), since school started on Aug. 10, there has been just one minor accident between a student and a driver, which happened the morning of Aug. 16.

An eastbound vehicle turning right into Benito off of Cross Creek didn’t stop for a red light and struck a bicycle with the front bumper of the car. Fortunately, the student was able to attend school that day.

Eddy Durkin, a spokesperson for the TPD, says officers initiated 17 traffic stops —including 15 during school hours — at either the intersection of Cross Creek and Kinnan or directly in front of Benito that week.

“We are hopeful that the balance of education and enforcement being provided regarding vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian safety will assist drivers, riders and walkers in making good decisions,” he says.

Parents are concerned that the next accident might not be so minor.

Giraldo says she recently saw a terrifying incident at that intersection.

A student crossing Cross Creek Blvd. in the crosswalk with a green “walk” signal had no idea that a large pickup truck was making a left-hand turn from Kinnan onto Cross Creek. The vehicle didn’t yield to the student in the crosswalk, and the student didn’t see the truck, as it was coming from behind her.

Giraldo says she was sitting in her car at the intersection and that she saw a woman who happened to be in the intersection grab the child by her backpack and yank her out of the path of the oncoming truck.

“It happened in a split second,” she says, “and it’s horrifying to think what would have happened if that woman hadn’t been standing there.”

Walton and other parents are hopeful that drivers will change their bad habits to make getting to school safer for students.

“Walking is good for them, riding their bike is exercise, and it’s good for them to be outside,” says Walton. “If traffic was aware and slowed down, and if traffic yielded to them, it would absolutely be safe for them to ride to school.”

 

Aggressive Approach Yields Tourism Results

Pasco County has put its tourism department on steroids.

The county’s formerly sleepy, nature-centric manner of attracting visitors is giving way to a high-powered, aggressive approach that, if everything goes according to plan, will soon yield a new brand that is expected to focus on the county’s diverse offerings.

Executive director Adam Thomas of the Pasco County Visitor Bureau has commissioned Tallahassee-based public relations firm Zimmerman Agency, LLC, to help coordinate a brand relaunch at a cost of $481,000. In other words, the motto “Open spaces. Vibrant Places.” could be giving way to something that reaches a broader, more defined audience.

“We are building a platform that is going to springboard us into the future and will make us relevant in the Florida tourism market,” Thomas says.

Working with local leaders, the Zimmerman Agency is expected to unveil a draft plan by Aug. 31, and the new brand for Pasco tourism could launch in early October.

Thomas says his goal is to help develop a “life-cycle” of tourism, where visitors fall in love with the area they are visiting, and decide to relocate their families or businesses here, and feed the ongoing growth of Pasco County.

While the county already boasts a variety of festivals and outdoor activities, as well as a bustling western coastline attractive to those who like water sports like fishing, inland suburban areas like Wesley Chapel have evolved quickly to offer even more, like two thriving shopping malls.

Natalie Taylor of “Tampa Bay’s Morning Blend” talks with Pasco County commissioner Mike Moore, Gordie Zimmerman and Adam Thomas about Pasco County tourism.

If tourism in Pasco County felt somewhat staid in the past, it could have been for a lack of product that is now becoming more ample.

Wesley Chapel already is proving there is fruit on the sports tree, thanks to the overwhelming and immediate success of Florida Hospital Center Ice (FHCI).

Helped by a two-percent increase in the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) last year to help pay for a new sports complex (see below) in Wiregrass Ranch, FHCI deserves to receive at least some of the credit for the recent boost in tourism dollars filling county coffers.

The TDT has raised more than $200,000 every month through June this year, with a high of $355,279 in April. Last year, the most it raised in any month was $157,942.

Managing partner Gordie Zimmermann (no relation to the agency) says FHCI is booked almost every weekend with hockey tournaments and other events, a majority of them requiring at least a two-night stay.

There is a rush to build more hotels (the Hyatt Place just opened and three more are on the way along S.R. 56), so visitors have a place to stay, and FHCI is more than able to fill them. “We didn’t have as many places to stay in Pasco County in the past,” says District 2 Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore. “Now, the visitors that may have come to Pasco for a day trip or to visit family can stay. We now have (hotels).”

Moore also said that in the past, the county has lost out on events, due to a lack of facilities, like FHCI, hotels and even enough shopping options and restaurants.

“Now, we can handle all of those visitors,” says Moore, who lives in Wesley Chapel.

Our area should be prepared to handle even more in 2019 and, as a result, more hotels and restaurants are on the way.

“I don’t know if they have ever seen anything like this in the history of the county, and we’re really just ramping up,” Zimmermann says. “We have a lot of different events coming in 2019 that we didn’t even have in 2018. It’s something every week.”

Even the “American Idol” auditions held last week (and one year ago) produced overnight stays. However, it has been the various ice sports, from youth and adult hockey to figure skating events, driving Wesley Chapel’s increased impact on county-wide tourism.

FHCI recently hosted a roller hockey tournament featuring 200 teams over the course of 10 days. Any number of events the facility has already hosted are the largest Pasco County has ever seen, Zimmermann says.

“I’m not surprised by the increase in tourism right now,” says Hope Allen, the CEO of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. “We can definitely  tip our hat to Gordie for the majority of that.”

Next year, the new RADDSports-developed Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex will enter the tourism market and, like FHCI, is likely to make a huge impact of its own.

Thomas also hopes to shine a spotlight on some of Pasco County’s other treasures, including those that speak to the county’s reputation for open spaces, even if those seem to shrinking.

He said “influencers” in the travel industry will be enlisted to spread the word, even travel bloggers, many of whom have large audiences.

On a recent travel post, a blogger wrote of a trip she took, sponsored by VisitPasco, to the county. She wrote (and posted videos) about staying at the Hilton Garden Inn near the Suncoast Pkwy., where to rent a car or a bike, cycling through Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, enjoying a balloon ride in Land O’Lakes, ziplining at TreeHoppers Aerial Adventure Park in Dade City and enjoying great food at Capital Tacos and Noble Crust in Wesley Chapel.

“Those are the people that can persuade someone’s travel plans,” Thomas says. “It’s all about finding different ways and different strategies.”

A First-Hand Account Of A Ride On New 275LX!

As we reported in a previous issue, although it is based in Hillsborough County, Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) has a brand-new bus route that picks up near Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel in Wiregrass Ranch and transports riders all the way through New Tampa to both downtown Tampa and Tampa International Airport (TIA). The new route is a welcome addition to the area. Prior to the introduction of Route 275LX, Wesley Chapel residents have lacked in public transit that could take them into Tampa but HART is set on fixing that with the new limited-stop service from the Wiregrass Park-’n-Ride lot all the way to TIA.

Neighborhood News and WCNT-tv production assistant Giuliano Ferrara recently rode the bus from Wiregrass to TIA. Below is his first-hand account of that ride.

“For $2 you can ride from New Tampa to the airport, that’s the best deal out there.” said Pedro, my driver for this trip and a public transit driver for more than 30 years.

“The service has changed a lot [in those 30 years],” he adds. With the addition of working air conditioning and heating, power steering, and most important, a nice comfy driver’s seat, Pedro told me that the HART buses have come a long way and that Route 275LX is the first taste of a truly comfortable local public transit experience for Wesley Chapel residents.

My first impressions of the bus were overwhelmingly positive. I noticed first and foremost that the HART bus is, without a doubt, the cleanest bus I have ever ridden.

The bus I boarded was one of the nearly 200 that make up the HART fleet and, if they’re all as clean and comfortable as this one, those who rely on public transit in the area, and even those riding a bus for the very first time, should expect to be satisfied with the service. While the seats still left something to be desired in terms of cushioning, the powerful air conditioning should be able to compensate for any lost comfort during your ride.

I arrived at the Wiregrass Park-’n-Ride lot at 12 p.m, fifteen minutes prior to the departure time, to find that my bus was already there and ready to go. At almost exactly 12:15, the bus left the station and my ride to TIA had begun.

As the bus made its way down Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd., which is the road that makes up more than half of Route 275LX (in terms of scheduled stops), I was skeptical as to how smooth the bus ride would be when traversing the obstacle course of construction that is BBD. By the time we had reached our first stop, which was to pick up one passenger waiting at the HART stop just before the corner of Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. and BBD in New Tampa, I hadn’t felt a single bump in the road or pothole (of which there are plenty) while traveling the route. In fact I was surprised with the ease and speed at which the bus had reached the stop.

As a daily commuter living in Wesley Chapel, I was happy to be able to relax, sit back and trust that the bus would get me down the road safely, giving me time to stare out the window, which is a rarity for those of us in the area who have to deal with BBD traffic on a daily basis.

It was clear that there are still those out there who would prefer not to be at the mercy of a bus schedule, as there were only three passengers, including me, who got on at the Wiregrass Park-’n-Ride and the bus only stopped to pick up three people at the nine scheduled stops in New Tampa. Although HART provides a punctual and efficient service, most of us would still rather take matters into our own hands, even if that means giving up the ability to relax and not have to stress about traffic.

What HART has already done very well, however, is that they’ve made Route 275LX the best deal in town. The fact that $2 can now get you a one-way ticket to TIA from the Wiregrass Park-’n-Ride is astounding. The gas you would burn on the drive would cost far more than the $2 it will take to ride the bus all the way there. If you’re planning on picking someone up from the airport, or just want to go somewhere downtown and come back to Wiregrass, your round-trip will come to a grand total of $4.

For only $2, it took our reporter 1:35 to reach his final destination — TIA — on Route 275LX.

“Two dollars from Wesley Chapel to the airport is an incredible deal,” Pedro reiterated. “An Uber or taxi would cost you $30 to $40, at least.” So, when it comes to value, Route 275LX is definitely the best bang for your buck.

There are some downsides to this otherwise tremendous service, however, the first and foremost being that HART has no facilities to accommodate overnight parking anywhere along Route 275LX. This seemed to be the most pressing concern among those who attended the most recent Economic Development Briefing on July 26th, where HART representatives discussed the new route with the members of the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce.

As it stands, you will still need to get a ride to the bus stop if you plan to take the new route to the airport. The Park-’n-Ride locations take no responsibility when it comes to overnight parking and HART has urged those who wish to utilize this service to not leave their car in these locations overnight. This means that if you have a trip out of town and want to ride the bus to the airport, you will need to sort out some plans for getting back home and may have to rely on someone with a car, regardless of the fact you’re attempting to use public transportation.

Of course, not everyone is going to the airport. I spoke with one passenger who was on her way to the International Mall. Tonya Gonzalez told me she is an infrequent user of HART’s services. She said that the bus was, “a nice way to get to the mall from downtown,” and that, “the $4 round-trip price tag was worth it for a ride.” She also explained that the gas it would take for her to drive from her stop at USF Pine Dr. and BBD in North Tampa to the International Plaza/Westshore Blvd. stop would cost quite a bit more than hopping on a HART bus and would also put wear on her personal vehicle, so the bus is “a convenient alternative.”

At noon on a Wednesday, there were only a handful of passengers who took Route 275LX. Out of the 28 total scheduled stops, we only gathered a total of 10 people, including yours truly, over the course of my trip. This granted me an enjoyably empty bus ride but it could vary depending on the chosen day you wish to ride, as well as what time you do so. A HART representative I spoke with told me that weekdays during rush hour traffic and early in the morning are the busiest times for the route. My bus left on time, rode for exactly 1 hour and 35 minutes, and arrived at the airport right on schedule. While my experience was ideal, I can’t promise that this will always be the case, especially on weekdays during morning rush hour, but it worked out perfectly for me.

As I see it, there are many reasons to take advantage of this new service. I believe that Route 275LX could become a more utilized alternative to driving and could even help alleviate some of the traffic woes that are so prevalent in the area, especially along BBD.

Route 275LX is a step in the right direction and I hope it becomes more widely used. If you have the time, take the bus. It will save you gas and eliminate the unnecessary stress of driving through Tampa.
HART’s Route 275LX leaves the Wiregrass Park-’n-Ride every hour between 6:15 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day.

Making The Grade

Wesley Chapel High senior Kris Chandler wasn’t sure he’d ever see the football field. But, fortitude overcame frustration and he’ll start Friday’s season opener for the Wildcats.

Hidden in what could very well emerge as one of the top rushing attacks in Pasco County is a back that you’ve probably never heard of.

Hitting the holes has never been a problem for Wesley Chapel High (WCH)’s Kris Chandler. Hitting the books, however, has.

But, no longer.

After three years of high school, with each of those football seasons spent practicing with the Wildcats but unable to compete because of academic requirements, Chandler will start tonight’s season opener against Sunlake in a great comeback story.

Chandler originally attended Wharton High in New Tampa, but transferred to Wesley Chapel (WCH) after a semester. That first year in high school after moving from Alabama, however, put him in an academic hole he thought he’d never climb out of.

“My first semester at Wharton was hard,” Chandler said. “We had just moved from Alabama and I didn’t like it here. I was resentful, mad, my whole focus was on going back.”

There was no going back, however. So, Chandler had to move forward. He came to WCH with a 0.7 GPA, making him ineligible to compete in high school sports. While he was still allowed to practice with the team, he could not suit up on Friday nights for games.

Head coach Tony Egan took an interest in Chandler, because he saw enough raw athletic ability that he thought the running back could one day play his way into a college football scholarship.

“I’ve always thought he was good enough to play D1 football,” Egan said. “Athletically, he’s a little raw but he’s as strong as can be. You should see him in tackling drills, he’s just a beast.”

First things first, Egan told Chandler. The coach got with his player’s teachers, sat down with Chandler in front of guidance counselors and helped put him back on track to attaining eligibility.

Egan admits that it was an uphill climb from 0.7. Chandler’s sophomore year went by, but his grade-point-average slowly climbed.

He took summer classes, online classes and retook classes through Apex, an online virtual school. He was still ineligible as a junior, but he kept showing up for practice, and kept showing out in the classroom.

Halfway through his junior year, he had raised his GPA to 1.78. By then, the Chandler project was taken up by his teammates and teachers. He credits science teacher Susan Cullum and SSAP/graduation enhancement counselor Celeste Richter for helping turn things around. Then-teammates Dexter Leverett, Malik Melvin and Isaiah Bolden encouraged him. Assistant coaches Nelson Vazquez and Delroy Lewis worked with him after school.

It turned Chandler’s attitude toward schoolwork on its head.

“I would turn my work in early, so my teachers could check it and make sure I had done everything right,” he says.

This past June, at the end of his junior year, Chandler nervously awaited his grades.

“I went in to the library to check with Ms. Richter, to see if I would have to take summer school again,” he said. “She was sitting there behind the computer, smiling. She told me I had done it. I asked her, ‘Are you sure?’. She turned the computer around and showed me.”

He had climbed all the way out of his hole. The computer monitor displayed a 2.3 GPA.

Chandler left the library and immediately sent his mother a text with the good news. He also sent texts to his sister, older brother and dad. He ran over to the weight room to tell his coaches.

Chandler was cleared to play in 2018, so he could take the summer off and focus on conditioning with the football team.

“It took a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Chandler said. “I think about it every day. I promise you, there’s no danger of sliding back now.”

It’s no secret what Egan likes to do on offense — run the ball down your throat, and Chandler could be his battering ram in 2018.

Egan coached offensive line at River Ridge High when the Royal Knights rushed for more than 3,000 yards in both 2014 (3338) and 2015 (3166). As head coach at WCH, Egan guided Leverett to consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, with Melvin serving as a dangerous complement in the rushing game, building one of the area’s most productive ground attacks.

Chandler’s one year of high school football will be a big one, as he steps into the role vacated by his former teammates.

Egan says that Chandler squats 450 pounds, bench presses 320 and can power clean 285. He also runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. Chandler looks like a high school version of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin — short, with a compact frame and tree trunks for legs. What’s more, Chandler has an awful lot to prove, not just to himself but to all of the people who helped him get to where he is.

He got to pull a game jersey over his head on August 7 for the team pictures. On August 17, as we were going to press with this issue, he saw his first live game action in a preseason matchup against Land O’ Lakes.

But tonight, it’s for real.

Tonight, Chandler officially makes it all the way back.

Fixing Bruce B. Downs Traffic | Solutions & Study

To appreciate what local drivers endure every day and to find ways to fix our traffic problems, traffic engineer Jerry Wentzel had a computer-equipped car make more than 180 runs driving the speed limit through the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. corridor in New Tampa collecting data.

And, perhaps, a few choice words by those frustrated that the car was driving the speed limit.
“If you did see the car, I hope you’re not the people that were giving us obscene gestures,” Wentzel joked. “A lot of drivers in your community don’t think 45 is the right speed limit.”

But, by the end of his presentation to roughly 50 people at Compton Park in Tampa Palms on July 25, the only gesture Wentzel — the Southeast Regional manager for DKS, a transportation planning and engineering firm that recently completed a traffic light study in New Tampa — received was a thumbs up.

Wentzel and Vik Bhide, the chief traffic management engineer for the City of Tampa, told an audience of New Tampa residents, as well as a handful of political hopefuls that not only are changes in the traffic light cycles speeding things up, plans for three additional turn-only signals will continue to ease congestion.
“You should be able to recognize there has already been an improvement,” said Wentzel.

The traffic light study was hatched to address a number of concerns, primarily helping move traffic through side streets like Cross Creek Blvd., Amberly Dr. and Tampa Palms Blvd. onto and off of BBD and facilitating a steady traffic flow during peak hours that would make the roads safer, not just for cars but for cyclists and pedestrians as well.

The lights are also now timed to favor busier traffic at certain times. For example, in the morning, the lights will favor southbound traffic, and in the evening, they will favor northbound traffic.

“In the past….BBD was one giant green (light),” Bhide said. “You were running four-and-a-half-minute cycles. If you were on Bruce B. Downs and got the first green light, you were great. If you were on a side street, you were waiting for a very long time. Our goal was to reduce the delay for everyone.”

Three corridors were studied for improvements in the weekday a.m., midday and p.m. hours, as well as Saturday morning and evening hours. The Saturday results were applied to Sunday, which was not specifically studied.

“In some cases, the signals were really way off,” said Wentzel. “The timings were changed dramatically.”
The four-mile stretch from I-75 to E. Bearss Ave., which has nine traffic signals, saw the largest improvements.

According to the study, by recalibrating the cycles of the signals from an average of 222 seconds (3:42) to 146 seconds (2:26), the average delay was reduced from 139 seconds (2:19) to 73 seconds, or 1:13.

The BBD widening project allowed weekday PM cycle lengths to be reduced from 254 seconds (4:14) to 130 (2:10).
“Because it’s now four lanes, it allowed us to reduce the cycle length and give more time to the side streets and cut the delay for coming off the side streets,” Wentzel said.

The changes also helped increase the average travel speed along BBD from 31.6 miles per hour to 37.6 mph, suggesting a smoother flow of traffic. The biggest increases were seen in the weekday midday hours (31.5 to 39 mph) and Saturday p.m. hours (32 to 43).

“That’s pretty dramatic,” Wentzel said. “People in that corridor should feel the changes, should be driving better, stopping less and spending a lot less time in traffic.”

Requiring minor tweaks in the cycle lengths was the corridor along Cross Creek Blvd. between BBD and Morris Bridge Rd. Improvements there helped reduce the average delay for drivers by 37 percent. Delays getting off the side streets were not as much of an issue, so the improvements focused on the east-west movement along Cross Creek Blvd.

“From one end to the other was 134 seconds (2:14), now down to 85 seconds (1:25),” Wentzel said. “That’s a pretty big reduction and something the average person should feel. We felt those were good results, very positive results.”
The third corridor studied, BBD from Cross Creek Blvd. to I-75, was the trickiest, Wentzel said.

While the signals clearly favored BBD traffic, it did not recognize that 40 percent of the traffic in the corridor was coming off Cross Creek Blvd. The result has been significantly longer cycle times for traffic turning south onto BBD from Cross Creek. That has slowed the average speed in that corridor by 1 percent and increased the average delay by 10 percent, numbers that Wentzel called insignificant.

 

Statistics from study regarding signal timing changes at the Cross Creek/BBD Intersection (Graphic Design: Gavin Olsen)

“If you look at the study results, it didn’t really benefit BBD traffic, because the intention was to help Cross Creek,” he said.
While the study may produce small numbers measured in seconds and minutes, when you multiply that one car by days and then times per month, you get a bigger, brighter picture (see graphic above).

“The cumulative savings to the community are significant, and to the environment are significant” Bhide said.
Bhide also said the light signal changes also will benefit bicyclists and pedestrians, who tend to take risks crossing when they are stuck at long cycles favoring BBD.

Combined with the significant amount of time saved by motorists, as well as the environmental benefits, Bhide said this light study was a success.

“We don’t always see these kind of dramatic results from signal changes,” he said. “This just happened to be a pretty good story for us to tell.”

Right-Turn Signals To Be Added!
In addition to the recently completed traffic light changes, right-turn signals will be installed at northbound BBD and Cross Creek Blvd., as well as eastbound Highwoods Preserve Pkwy. and BBD (where p.m. traffic from the business campuses behind the AMC Highwoods movie theater complex can stretch on and on) over the next 80-90 days.

An Aerial Shot of the Cross Creek & Bruce B Downs Blvd. Intersection in New Tampa. (Photo: Eagle Fly Media)

Both lanes are choke points during peak traffic hours in the evening, and the BBD/Cross Creek Blvd. location in particular has drawn the ire of many local residents.

“We’ve done what we can with signal timing, but the right turns could be going at the same time the lefts are going if we had a signal for it,” Wentzel said.

As for a third left turn lane off Cross Creek Blvd., Wentzel and Bhide both said that’s just a matter of time, and money. While Bhide works for the city, that intersection is a county asset that the city maintains, per an interlocal agreement.

“We have talked to the county about putting that as a project in their capital improvement plan, and tentatively, they are reviewing that and will try to get it funded in the next few years,” Bhide said.

The traffic signal study was hosted by the New Tampa Council (NTC). Along with District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who founded the NTC, the crowd also included a handful of political candidates running for seats, either in the upcoming “mid-term” elections in August and November, or in March 2019, that will represent New Tampa — Angela Birdsong (running for Hillsborough County Commissioner District 2), Joseph Caetano and Joe Citro (Tampa City Council Dist. 1) and Fentrice Driskell, who is running against incumbent Shawn Harrison for the Florida House of Representatives Dist. 63 seat.