If you love a great Broadway musical, there are only four performances left this weekend to see the New Tampa Players (NTP)’s production of the Tony Award-winning Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods.” Starring the outstanding Richard Brown (last seen as Seymour in NTP’s “Little Shop of Horrors”) as The Baker and amazing NTP newcomer Hope Lelekacs as The Baker’s Wife, NTP’s “Into the Woods” also re-introduces you to a whole slew of beloved fairy tale characters, including Cinderella (Genesis Rodriguez) and her stepmother (Kayla Bennett), Jack (Blake Boles), known for his magic beanstalk beans, scene-stealer Lena Wigfall as Little Red Ridinghood, plus NTP veterans Makayla Raines as “Witch,” Dylan Fidler as Rapunzel’s Prince, Kristin Nelson and Alexandra Greenberg as Cinderella’s stepsisters Florinda and Lucinda, respectively, and too many more great performances to include here (sorry).
Photographer Charmaine George, who took these pictures during last weekend’s opening night, says “Into the Woods” is one of NTP’s best shows, with singing, dancing, costumes and sets that are all “spot on!” Don’t miss it!
Tickets are still available to to all four performances of “Into the Woods” this weekend — Friday, April 4, at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 5, at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 6, at 3 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit NewTampaPlayers.org.
Will The ‘Rural’ Road’s Flooding Following Hurricane Milton & Clear Need For Widening Ever Be Addressed?
This is Morris Bridge Rd. looking south from the entrance to Cory Lake Isles on a usual weekday morning. For those who live along this formerly rural roadway, the daily commute to Tampa can be an absolute nightmare. So, what, if anything, is being done about it? (Photo by Joel Provenzano)
What are some of the things New Tampa and Wesley Chapel have in common?
In addition to car washes, nail salons and self-storage facilities, both rely heavily on two “major” north-south roadways — the eight- (in New Tampa) or six-lane (in Wesley Chapel) Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and the mostly two-lane Morris Bridge (MB) Rd — as important daily travel routes.
Due to the explosive growth in both K-Bar Ranch/Easton Park in New Tampa and, especially, in the plethora of new developments in and near Wesley Chapel, dependence upon MB Rd. has continued to grow year after year.
However, traveling on the winding, two-lane MB Rd. from the Fletcher Ave. exit off I-75 in Hillsborough up into Pasco County can be a white-knuckle experience for any motorist, bicyclist or pedestrian — and for more than just one reason.
Development has caused this formerly rural roadway to be plagued by flooding (resulting in closures), as well as by heavy traffic, safety concerns, poor road conditions and some other silly stuff that commuters in both New Tampa and Wesley Chapel have to deal with every day.
With three mattresses tied to a roof, even a single Nissan Altima going 25 mph at rush hour can create havoc on MB Rd., generating a quarter-mile-long backup of angry drivers, all inching over the centerline to see if they can pass. Yes, we observed this while standing outside our vehicle and taking photos from the entrance to Cory Lake Isles!
We reached out to both Hillsborough County and City of Tampa governmental officials to find out their thoughts, and if there are any “real” projects actually moving forward to improve MB Rd. We provided them with a list of questions that did generate some responses.
We specifically asked if there were any planned capacity or safety improvement projects in the works, especially any widening plans to handle future volumes, or how the county (since MB Rd. is a county road that serves both city and county residents, as does BBD) plans to handle those traffic volumes that are expected to significantly increase over next few years, due to development on the north end — primarily the continuing expansion of K-Bar Ranch and the massive Two Rivers development, which is really just getting started building near MB Rd. both north and south of the Hillsborough-Pasco county line.
In short, much-needed flooding countermeasures have been installed (following the multi-week shutdown of MB Rd. north of Cross Creek [CC] Blvd. following Hurricane Milton last October) and both a safety project and resurfacing project are coming, but any real vehicle capacity/ modernization projects are still up in the air. District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, in his final term in his seat, at least has an idea about how to address the everyday traffic on MB Rd.
Councilman Viera’s Perspective
Although MB Rd. is entirely a county roadway, roughly 1/3 of the people living along the roadway live within Tampa’s city limits, with all of those residents (at least until the Hillsborough portion of Two Rivers begins building) living in the city-based New Tampa developments of Cory Lake Isles, Easton Park and K-Bar Ranch.
As such, we were grateful to interview Viera to get his opinion about some of the county’s responses, and what he’d like to see done as a proven champion of innovative intergovernmental (meaning city and county) collaboration.
He specifically notes that there’s a, “Need to modernize Morris Bridge. The City has to work with the county on long- term solutions,” indicating that county officials can’t, and shouldn’t have to, try to fix MB Rd. all by themselves.
Viera believes that one of the biggest issues in the past (in regards to capacity improvements) has been the obvious environmental concerns, since MB Rd. winds past thousands of acres of multiple county parks (Flatwoods, Morris Bridge Park, etc.). He explains that, “We need to be respectful of the environment, but the environmental issues have been the biggest roadblock (to improving MB Rd.).”
Viera clearly believes that NOW is the time for a change. “You know what?,” he says. “Next week [the week of March 24, or after we went to press with this issue], I’m going to make a motion to City Council,” in regards to creating a shared vision for MB Rd. by having the city reach out to the county.
Since the road actually winds through two counties, Viera says he also plans to reach out to District 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (who represents the portion of Wesley Chapel directly to the west and north of the county line at MB Rd.) to also try to get Pasco’s buy-in and help with that shared vision.
Since several places of worship, and multiple new businesses and communities are quickly popping up along the route, he feels the “rural nature” of the road isn’t keeping up with the times or its now more modern suburban context.
A Little History
While the original Morris “Bridge” is long gone, a bridge that was originally located just north of the Pasco County line (near where an underwhelming box culvert now sits), MB Rd. still exists as an “old” rural road abutted by suburban communities.
How old? Apparently, more than 100 years old! In fact, MB Rd. may be one of the oldest surviving (and continually used) county arterial roads in Tampa, coming from a time when maps of the county and state were more likely to show railroads than roads, because that was the primary form of transportation for those traveling long distances.
Without these primitive roads being shown on maps, their existence, location, and purpose had to be shared by word of mouth and/or in newspaper articles, especially for newer routes. What was written over a hundred years ago about Morris Bridge as a fledgling route was absolutely fascinating.
In its June 1, 1923, edition, The Dade City Banner (photo, left) had the following article:
GOOD ROUTE OPEN TO TAMPA
BY WAY OF MORRIS BRIDGE
“The recent heavy rains having made the route [where S.R. 39 sits today] to Tampa by way of Crystal Springs and Plant City impassable, there has been considerable inquiry as to another route that could be used by parties who found it necessary to visit the South Florida metropolis and did not care to avail themselves of the convenient train schedules. A number of people have been making the trip lately by way of the Morris Bridge and pronounce that route not only perfectly passable but a surprisingly good one. It is about 12 miles shorter than by way of Plant City.
To follow this route one turns west at the railroad crossing at Zephyrhills, goes to Will Ryals farm, about a mile from town, from there to Jim Hills’ place. Here take a plain road running southwest and at all forks take the one running in that direction. This road is said to be graded the entire distance and, from the Morris Bridge at the county line to Harney has been clayen [sand-clay]. From Harney a brick road leads to Tampa.”
This is funny, because to this day, Morris Bridge Rd. still becomes Harney Rd. at its very southern terminus in Temple Terrace.
Flooding Concerns
Speaking of flooding and impassable roads, our field review showed where repairs had been done when the road was flooded (and closed) multiple times last year. We asked Hillsborough County staffers if these repairs were permanent fixes that will reduce flooding and road closures in the future, or just temporary fixes to repair the damage?
Todd Pratt, who is with the Hillsborough County Media Relations Department, says that, “The repairs done after Milton were permanent fixes that consisted of replacing culverts that convey water under and across Morris Bridge Rd. These culverts had collapsed/washed out during the hurricane.”
Time, and the next major rainy season, will tell if these repairs will hold, or if new ones will be needed.
Safety Improvement Project
Regarding MB Rd. safety projects, Hillsborough senior media relations strategist Chris Wilkerson says that, “Morris Bridge Road has a planned safety improvement project (see below) slated to begin later this year. The contract for the project is planned to go before the BOCC (Board of County Commissioners) in April. If approved, the project would address safety concerns on the roadway, including documented consistent high rates of speed and distracted drivers. The project is designed to address speeding and motorist lane departure crashes.”
Proposed Safety Improvements – $2.1 million:
• No Passing Zones w/Vertical Delineators
• Reflective & Profiled Lane Line Markings
• Speed Feedback Signs, Flashing Beacons for Intersection Ahead & Curve Warning & Signal Head Back Plates
• Bike Lane & Safety Enhancements at Bridge over Hillsborough River
• Bicycle Signs and Lane Markings & Wildlife Signs
Meanwhile, Viera says that, “$2.1 million is wonderful, but we need to push that envelope!,” although he says he is really happy to see that “speed feedback signs” and “no passing” enhancements, are part of the safety project, as these would address issues his constituents have discussed with him.
Prior 1% Surtax to Fund Resurfacing
The last time MB Rd. (at least north of CC Blvd.) was resurfaced was way back in 2002. The portion south of CC Blvd. is in somewhat better shape, as it was last resurfaced in 2017.
A physical review we conducted of the corridor noted aging/deteriorating pavement with potholes, multiple patches, narrow, worn or no shoulders, no sidewalks (except self-funded ones in front of a few businesses) and very narrow lane widths at a few points (mostly north of Cory Lake Isles approaching and into Pasco County).
So, is MB Rd. on the county’s list of roadways to be resurfaced? We hadn’t previously seen or heard of MB Rd. as being on any 3R (Resurfacing, Restoration, Rehabilitation) project list.
But, Pratt told us, “The Florida Legislature has identified repaving projects to be completed in Hillsborough County using a portion of the previously collected Transportation Surtax funds (see below). One of the roads to be repaved is Morris Bridge Road. The County will need to coordinate this paving to be done in conjunction with the safety improvement project.”
Confused? You may recall that back in 2018, Hillsborough County voters had passed a one-cent sales tax to fund needed transportation projects. This tax ended up being legally challenged, and was found to be unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court in March 2021. But, by then, the county had already collected about $589 million from local taxpayers.
After the tax was eliminated, state lawmakers went ahead and made a plan to split that collected money up between county road improvement projects, a Hillsborough tax holiday, reimbursement of the county’s legal fees, and a settlement fund that would allow Hillsborough taxpayers and residents to receive refunds (up to $100 without showing any receipts).
That plan began about a year ago, when county commissioners met to start dividing up the funds. It was decided that about $256 million would go towards road projects (including road resurfacing). At the beginning of March of this year, the first $17 million of that money started being distributed, with all of the funds expected to reach the long list of target projects by 2030.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is slated to make sure the county completes these projects by the deadline. That overall plan will be up for approval at one of the upcoming BOCC meetings in April.
Capacity Concerns
At our press time, county officials had not yet responded to our most pressing question — How does the county plan to handle MB Rd. volumes that surely will significantly increase over next few years due to development on the north end of the road (from K-Bar Ranch, Two Rivers and other Pasco developments), and what those forecasted volumes (if they’ve been forecasted through traffic studies or other models) might be, compared with recent historic volumes (meaning, how much growth in percentage or number of vehicles is expected?).
Current state data shows an annual average daily traffic (or AADT) of 15,000 vehicles per day for MB Rd.. (Note-AADT is the total number, in both directions, of vehicular trips taken on that road each day, divided by 365 days in a year.)
Based on our preliminary calculations, it would not be unreasonable to see an increase of 20% in the traffic volumes over the next few years, given the size of the future developments that will be connected to the road.
As we had written in a previous article from April of 2024, the final phase of K-Bar Ranch in Hillsborough will add hundreds more homes, and open up ALL of K-Bar to MB Rd. via an extension of K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. to the east, past Easton Park. Once that extension has been completed, this also will subsequently open all of the Union Park and Meadow Pointe developments in Wesley Chapel to MB Rd. as well, via the planned Wyndfields Blvd. extension to the south, and the existing Meadow Pointe Blvd. extension.
The 6,000-acre Two Rivers development on the edge of Wesley Chapel and New Tampa (although it actually is located in Zephyrhills in Pasco and Thonotosassa in Hillsborough) will be adding an estimated 7,500 more residences, plus commercial developments, the Peak Surf Park and schools, with its north-south traffic to be split between U.S. Hwy. 301 and MB Rd. But, as anyone living in the area might imagine, it will still have a significant impact on MB Rd.
Bridge Scouring
The current bridge over the Hillsborough River on MB Rd. was built in 1963. Since then, its piers have experienced significant base erosion, which is referred to as “scouring,” a critical problem that can affect the bridge’s structural sturdiness if not properly addressed.
Based on a fact sheet put out in January 2025,Hillsborough plans to spend roughly $864,000 to, “install an articulating concrete block revetment system as a scour countermeasure.” Revetment is just a fancy way of saying a sloping structure that is usually made of stone or concrete, used to protect the riverbed around piers from erosion caused by river currents or other forces. Otherwise, the piers can become unstable if too much of the bed is eroded, which is why this is a critical repair.
Construction of the revetment system is expected to be completed by early 2027.
So, How Can I Get Involved?
Believe it or not, your elected officials actually want — or even, make that need — to hear your traffic and safety concerns about MB Rd.
So, how can you get involved? In addition to contacting your local county representative — District 2 Commissioner Ken Hagan — Councilman Viera wants everyone to know that he has an upcoming New Tampa Community public meeting, on Tuesday, April 15, 5:45 p.m., at the Easton Park Community Pool Clubhouse (10776 Pictorial Park Dr., Tampa).
Viera says he will be on hand at that meeting to receive input, answer questions, and talk about MB Rd., as well as about crime, education, housing, the progress on the planned park in K-Bar Ranch and pretty much anything else New Tampa or even Tampa-related.
Viera will be joined by a representative of the Tampa Police Department at that Town Hall-style event, as well as by District 6 (countywide) Hillsborough School Board member Karen Perez.
For more information about that meeting, email luis.viera@tampagov.net.
A jury of six people found former Olympus Pools owner and New Tampa resident James Staten guilty on 35 of 36 counts of willingly defrauding customers by accepting money from them knowing he would not fulfill the contracts to build their pools.
Staten, who opened Olympus Pools in 2013, will be sentenced by Circuit Judge Mary Handsel on May 7 and the minimum sentence he can receive is 20 years, but Judge Handsel said that, based on sentencing guidelines, she can sentence Staten to up to 285 years in prison.
Among the felony charges Staten was found guilty of are fraud, misapplication of construction funds of more than $100,000, having an organized scheme to defraud and aggravated white-collar crime. The only charge he was not convicted of was one of the grand theft charges.
Investigators said that Staten, who did take the stand in his own defense on the last of ten days of testimony in the trial, stole more than $1.5 million of his clients’ money to fund a lavish lifestyle that included multiple trips, jewelry and Super Bowl tickets.
Prosecutors Stephanie Bergen and Panagiota Papakos of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office told the jury that Staten continued to instruct his sales people to accept large down payments from customers even though he had no intention of building their pools. Dozens of those customers were left with holes in the ground on their respective properties and many had no work started at all.
The jurors were apparently unimpressed with defense attorney Dino Michaels’ argument that Staten didn’t intend to defraud his customers: “If you have a business plan, that’s just not a scheme to defraud. It’s a business plan. To sell more pools, unfortunately, is a bad business plan. And so, this company failed.” It took only four hours for the jury to reach their verdict on all 36 counts, with 35 of those coming back as “guilty” verdicts.
According to a press release dated March 17, Uthmeier previously “took civil action to shut down Olympus Pools, permanently shuttering the company. As a result of the civil action, [Olympus] is enjoined permanently from conducting business, and Staten is banned for life from operating a pool company in Florida.”
Obviously, Staten, 42, is facing a much more stringent penalty now, as he could spend the rest of his life in prison, depending upon how long Judge Handsel decides to sentence him to serve on May 7. — GN
The updated site plan submitted to Pasco County for a five-building commercial plaza in the Meadow Pointe area of Wesley Chapel that is expected to include a Whole Foods market. (Source: Pasco County)
Whole Foods Moving Forward?
In mid-February, updated plans were submitted to Pasco County for a high-end retail center on the long-vacant land north of Aronwood Blvd. and east of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel that previously was announced as having both a Whole Foods grocery store and a Life Time Fitness center. Those original plans, filed in March of 2024, were withdrawn two days later.
The new plans — submitted by privately held commercial developer SJC Ventures — do not mention any of the proposed tenants, but they look similar enough to the former site plan that did include Whole Foods and Life Time for some local news media to assume that those major tenants are likely still part of the new five-building (totalling 160,468 sq. ft.) plans (see site plan, above).
The new plan calls for “Major Tenant A,” believed to be Whole Foods, occupying a 35,518-sq.-ft. building, with “Major Tenant B,” believed to be Life Time Fitness, in the site’s easternmost 84,500-sq.-ft. building. Other buildings included in the new site plan are a 10,416-sq. ft. “Shops” building adjacent to Major Tenant A, and two additional “Shops” buildings of 16,017 and 14,017 sq. ft. at the southwest corner of the site.
If ultimately approved by Pasco, which is expected, the new plaza likely won’t be ready to open until 2027.
Tampa Palms Joann Fabrics Closing?
Also in mid-February, a judge approved the second declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy by Joann Fabrics & Crafts that will allow the retailer to close 500 of its 800 U.S. stores.
Among the locations already holding a “Going Out of Business” sale is the Joann’s located at 6234 Commerce Palms Blvd., in the Market Square at Tampa Palms plaza (photo left).
“Right-sizing our store footprint is a critical part of our efforts to ensure the best path forward for Joann,” the company said in a prepared news release on Feb. 14. “We anticipate the store closures to occur over the next few months, although some stores may close within a shorter or longer time period.” We had not heard at our press time when the Tampa Palms Joann’s will actually close.
For more information, call (813) 910-8996 or visit Joann.com.
New Tampa Winn-Dixie Will Become An Aldi!
We reported a couple of issues ago that the Winn-Dixie supermarket located at 6425 County Line Rd. had closed and was being converted to an Aldi market, since Aldi had purchased all of the remaining links in the Winn-Dixie chain.
However, Aldi sold 170 of its Winn-Dixie stores to a private consortium of investors in Feb. However, we now have it on good authority from another tenant in the same plaza that Aldi has, in fact, signed a long-term lease for the former New Tampa Winn-Dixie.
We did not know at our press time, however, when the conversion will be completed or when the third Aldi in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area is expected to open.
Nothing Bundt Cakes Is Open!
If your sweet tooth has been acting up, local residents can now get their fix of Nothing Bundt Cakes, which opened in mid-February in the City Plaza at Tampa Palms shopping center at 16047 Tampa Palms Blvd. W (right photo).
The new store — the second in our distribution areas (the other is in the Shops at Wiregrass mall) — features the same delicious bundt cakes in a variety of sizes and flavors (with that delectable icing) as the chain’s 600+ other stores in the U.S. and Canada.
Founded in Las Vegas in 1997 by Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz, Nothing Bundt Cakes has been named the #1 Favorite Brand in America, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
I got to sample the new Reese’s Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor on my first visit to the new bakery. I’ll definitely be visiting again soon!
Luis Viera, the New Tampa resident who has served for more than eight years in New Tampa’s District 7 on the Tampa City Council, says he has hosted about 85 town hall meetings during his tenure on the Council. And, even though not all of those town hall events have been located in — or focused on — New Tampa, Viera has made his home zip code of 33647 a top priority, especially over the past year or so, when there has been an increase in headline-grabbing homicides in our area.
Viera’s most recent town hall, held on March 3 at the Compton Park at Tampa Palms clubhouse, was again attended by nearly 50 local residents, as Viera brought Tampa Police Department (TPD) Capt. Benjamin Brown and two TPD sergeants to discuss public safety, as well as Viera’s plans for his future (as we reported in our March 4 New Tampa issue).
Among the topics Viera discussed:
Politics – “I am not rot running for Mayor. Running for that office is a full-time job and I have a full-time job as an attorney, so this is not my time. But, I certainly am going to be running for something else, which will likely be County Commissioner or State Representative. My friend, State Rep. Fentrice Driskell is term-limited in 2026, so that is likely where I’ll be running, but an announcement will be forthcoming.”
Overview of what he’s been working on in City Council –
Hurricane Relief – “I got $3.5 million for North Tampa for hurricane relief, hoping for $1 million more from City Council.”
All For Transportation (AFT) sales tax money that was being held by the State Legislature — “It’s going to be released shortly. We’re inquiring about what the City will do with its share of the funds. I would like to see some of it go to two things — New Tampa Blvd. and finishing up Tampa Palms (TP) Blvd. We got the $3-$4 mill investment for the first half of TP Blvd. 3-4 years ago. Now we have to finish what we started. I’ve also heard that the county will use AFT funds for Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. from Fowler Ave. to Bearss Ave.”
Parks – “I got $1 million for the design of the park at K-Bar funded with Community Investment Tax (CIT) funds. I’m also not going to be here after 2027, maybe even 2026, so whoever is in this position after me will need to get the funding in the budget to build that park. A big part of that will be a cricket field, something important to the large Indian -American population in New Tampa. I’m very proud to have gotten over the last eight years almost $10 mill in new city parks funded — including expanding the New Tampa Rec Ctr, adding Tampa’s first All Abilities Park (the first city-funded park that caters to people with disabilities — autism, intellectual & physical), plus the additional expansion of the courts at Liberty Middle School (a joint project between the Hillsborough School Board and the city).”
Harrison Boonstoppel – “I made a motion at City Council to have the All Abilities Park renamed for 20-year-old Harrison Boonstoppel, who was killed in Oct. 2023 by the crossfire of rival gangs shooting at each other in Ybor City. Haarrison had some physical and mental disabilities but he was the type of young man, with the help of his family, who really maximized all of his potential. He was a special human being. And, with the support of the neighborhoods, including Tampa Palms, New Tampa, as well as Pepin Academies (where he went to school) and different special needs advocates, we’re trying to see if we can have that park named after Harrison because his life, God rest his soul, really reflects what that park is all about.”
Stafford Park, Tampa Palms – “There’s about five acres that was originally supposed to be the location of the All-Abilities Park, but the park got moved because it was very near the interstate, which would not be good for a sensory park. I’m trying to see if we can get design money in the next budget for a soft, neighborhood ‘pocket park’ at that location. Just making sure that before they sell that property to Walmart or whoever, that we look into using it for a city use.”
Penguin Project – “I got the city to give $150,000 for this arts program for people with intellectual disabilities to be able to do plays and arts. another way to promote New Tampa. It’s funny that I get tagged as being anti-arts because I voted against giving $25 million to the Straz Center and $25 million for the Tampa Museum of Art, because I thought that kind of money could be used elsewhere, but the Penguin Project is the kind of arts funding that I can support.”
Fire Rescue – “One of the big things that I really always try to fight for on Tampa City Council is public safety. In 2017, I got Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 23 in Grand Hampton funded, and then Station No. 25 in North Tampa to help out with Station 13, and recently, we were able to fund Station No. 24 on Whiteway near Temple Terrace. I still really want to fix response times in K-Bar Ranch. I’ve been having a disagreement with the administration on K-Bar Ranch response times and I’ve been trying to figure out how to remedy that. Chief Tripp says she’s going to put an additional vehicle out at Station No. 22 in Cross Creek. We build and build and build but you have to have corresponding infrastructure, mobility & public safety to go along with that. It’s just common sense.”
Capt. Brown, who is with TPD’s Special Operations Division downtown, said his division handles “traffic, traffic homicide, the motor unit, the SWAT (Special Weapons & Tactics) team, bomb squad, helicopters, dogs, horses, boats — anything that’s not normal patrol.” Here are some of the items he discussed:
Speeding on Tampa Palms Blvd. —“I was told to talk about speeding on Tampa Palms Blvd., but as Councilman Viera said, there are things our mobility department can do to reduce speeding, but speeding is an epidemic, not just on Tampa Palms Blvd. or in New Tampa, but everywhere. I live up here too, so it’s a big concern of mine. I see this problem all the time — to work, home from work…and it leads to everything from fights to road rage to shootings. We obviously don’t want that in our neighborhoods. But, stopping people, writing tickets, deters some people but not everyone. In February alone, in zip code 33647, there were over 700 traffic stops. You can imagine the amount of manpower and time that takes to work in [those stops] with calls for service…people who need help. With those traffic stops, some were citations, some were arrests, some were warnings, but the fact of it is the motor squad, the patrol units, they do a lot of traffic stops up here and we still have the problems we have. ‘Environmental’ changes we can make — include creating speed zones, traffic circles, reduced speed limits. Those are some of the things that can be done to slow down traffic.”
Capt. Brown also discussed some different vehicles that are definitely growing in popularity, not just in New Tampa, but all over.
Ebikes & Scooters – “I was asked to talk about the laws when it comes to ebikes, scooters, mopeds, those kinds of things. For ebikes , the legislation and laws haven’t really caught up with that yet. You do not need a license or registration to drive an ebike, which is a bicycle that has motor of some sort on it. It can be completely propelled by the motor or kick started by pedal power. There’s three classes — Class 1 is a pedal assist only and can only go up to 20 mph. Class 2 is a throttle assist, no pedaling. You just pull a throttle and it goes, and those are only supposed to go up to 20 mph. Class 3 is a pedal assist that can go up to 28 mph. These ebikes still must adhere to whatever the speed limits are on the street they’re on. Helmets are mandatory for anyone under age16 and they must adhere to all rules of the roadway just like a bicycle. They can be on the sidewalks, but pedestrians always have the right of way on sidewalks.”
Golf Carts & Low-Speed Vehicles – “We’re all aware of the trend in certain neighborhoods where golf carts have gotten very popular. They are easy to charge and easy to get around the neighborhood. There’s three classes of these, too. There are golf carts, which go less than 20 mph; low-speed vehicles, which go 20-25 mph, and are basically a hybrid between cars & golf carts; and there are regular cars. Low-speed vehicles look like golf carts but are capable of higher speeds. They can be registered, and they have to adhere to safety protocols that cars have — stop lamps, turn signals, head lamps, tail lamps, parking brakes, seat belts, etc. You can get tags for these vehicles and they can be driven on the streets, but then, they must be registered and you must carry insurance for them. Those aren’t something we’re going to go out & attack if they’re being safe, when we have speeders and people being reckless. Low-speed vehicles can be driven on the street as long as the road speed limit is no higher than 35 mph and the vehicle is capable of going at least 20 mph. If they’re registered and you’re a licensed driver, you can drive those on the streets. Golf carts & low-speed vehicles can not go on sidewalks unless they’re designated paths/cart-ways. There will be signs if a sidewalk is designated for that.”
Electric Scooters – “These are the ones that the kids are riding, but you actually have to be 16 or older to drive one of those. I’ll admit, though, that I am in violation of that. My daughter, I’m trying to convince her to get off the road and on the sidewalk and, like many parents, I am in violation of that. But, the scooters can’t be on the street, and they can not be registered, but they can go on sidewalks & designated pathways, but not on streets.”
School Bus Info – Capt. Brown also said he was asked to discuss school bus rules. “If the school bus is stopped with its ‘arms’ out and there is no median or a very thin median, cars in both directions have to stop. The only time you don’t have to stop is when there is at least a six-foot-wide raised median,. Then, the oncoming traffic does not have to stop. But obviously, everybody wants to use caution. We’re going to start implementing a school speed safety program. No schools in this area are listed yet but I’m expecting this program to expand and what it does is put cameras in the school zones that are going to pick up those speeding through it . Whether your view of camera-enforced traffic is positive or negative, I don’t think anyone could argue that protecting those school zones and our children is a paramount thing that we should be doing. That should be coming out in August of next year.”
Some of the questions the officers and Viera answered following their presentations will be included when this story appears in the April 1 edition of New Tampa Neighborhood News.
