Project To Fix Dangerous Median Opening Under Way

Sonny’s BBQ owner Jim Hoff has seen his fair share of accidents on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in front of his restaurant, mostly from cars trying to cut across the busy road to get through an opening in the BBD median (see map) so they can head south.

That opening, however, is in the process of being closed, and Hoff says he is happy to see it.

“It’s going to be better,” Hoff says. “Without that traffic trying to go back and forth across that median, it’s got to be better.”

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has finally started work near arguably Wesley Chapel’s most dangerous intersection at S.R. 54 and BBD. 

The project centers around the northbound and southbound median just south of the actual BBD/54 intersection. Work on the project, which will cost just over $2 million, was scheduled to begin prep work on Sept. 22.

The median currently has an opening allowing motorists to cross from exits between the Sonny’s BBQ and Truist Bank (on what is called Paradise Tree Dr.) adjacent to the Publix-anchored Hollybrook Plaza to southbound BBD or straight across to the west, to Advance Auto Parts, Twistee Treat and the Wesley Chapel Village Market shopping center.

Drivers also frequently drive through the median leaving the Village Market to northbound BBD or straight across both directions on BBD to the Hollybrook Plaza.

The median should be blocked soon (if it’s not already as you’re reading this).

“The median will be closed…with traffic control devices — such as drums and closure signs — to allow the permanent traffic separator to be constructed,” said FDOT spokesperson John McShaffrey in an email to the Neighborhood News.

According to FDOT, the median project was initiated by an intersection study that showed 233 “crashes” had been reported in that area from 2011-15.

In a 2015-19 District 7 crash summary report, there were 90 total crashes reported at the intersection of BBD and S.R. 54, eight with serious injuries and one fatality. At the Village Market and BBD intersection, 15 crashes were reported, three of them with serious injuries.

It is not an uncommon sight to see an accident at the northbound side in front of the Sonny’s BBQ or Taco Bell, where traffic is much heavier than on the Village Market side.

A Neighborhood News Reader Survey in 2017 voted the BBD/54 intersection as the second-worst in Wesley Chapel, behind the I-75 and S.R. 56 intersection (which now has a much safer and smoothly running Diverging Diamond Interchange).

The plan to make the location safer centers around closing the split median and constructing one long median from Eagleston Blvd. to the south all the way north to S.R. 54.

Under the current set up, the northbound far left turn lane, when filled during busy traffic hours, extends beyond the median opening and blocks those trying to cross BBD.  That makes getting across from the Hollybrook Plaza exit to southbound BBD akin to a game of Frogger for area commuters.

The median closure will mean that drivers leaving the Sonny’s/Truist exit will only be able to turn right, and drivers leaving the Village Market will only be able to head south.

There will be a number of ways those who need to go south after leaving Sonny’s can do so, but it will take planning by drivers, Hoff says.

“You’re going to have to reeducate your guests on how to access (and leave) the complex (Hollybrook Plaza),” Hoff says.

The single, longer median also will create an extended left turn lane onto S.R. 54, which will accommodate more vehicles, which also is expected to  reduce congestion.

There also will be a new traffic signal installed at Eagleston Blvd., and new roadway lighting added to the northbound lanes, as well as some resurfacing.

At the southbound end of the new median, where a new traffic signal will be installed at Eagleston Blvd., a dedicated U-turn lane will be built for motorists wanting to go north out of Village Market.

Hoff still has questions about northbound drivers doing U-turns at S.R. 54 and BBD. No additional work, like adding a “No U-Turn” sign, is scheduled for BBD and S.R. 54.

“The project plans do not include any changes to the existing signs or signals at the intersection of Bruce B. Downs Blvd. and SR 54,” said McShaffrey in his email to the Neighborhood News. “Northbound U-Turns at the S.R. 54 signal will still be permitted. There is no intent to restrict that movement, as U-Turns at traffic signals are generally part of the access management plans.”

Hoff is hoping most drivers will just take the longer way, turning right onto 54 and then U-turning at Wiregrass Ranch Blvd. and turning left at BBD.

“People who drive are going to have to figure this out,” Hoff says. “Talk to me once they get that median blocked. You’ll be able to tell how this is going to work then.”

A CENTURY OF LOVE!

More than 200 people (including her daughter & party organizer, Ellen Fiss, right, and grandson Garrett Fiss, right) were on hand to celebrate Marion Brodarick’s 100th Birthday!

Considering that she has lived in Pebble Creek for almost 42 years and has entered pretty much every contest we’ve ever run in the Neighborhood News the last 29 (and has regularly called our office to tell us about any number of news stories in her neighborhood), I’ve long considered Marion Brodarick to be a cherished member of my newspaper family.

I therefore was thrilled when Florence Bronner, a member of the bridge club Marion has been a part of since she first moved to New Tampa from her native Chicago, called me to invite me to the bridge club’s celebration of Marion’s 100th birthday at Heritage Isles Golf Club (photo, near right, by Charmaine George).

I was even more excited that Jannah and I were then invited to attend Marion’s “real” 100th birthday bash, thrown for her by her daughter (and long-time publicist for Tampa General Hospital and Fox-13 TV before that) Ellen Fiss. The party was held over Labor Day weekend at The Orlo, a 100+-year-old house in downtown Tampa that has been converted into a spectacular event venue.

Marion was transported to the event in her “Birthday Express,” a beautiful 1920s-style car (right), and was escorted into The Orlo by Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin (or, at least, great impersonators of them; there also were Audrey Hepburn and Elvis impersonators on hand). Inside, Ellen had tables of beautiful, signed photos from not only local newscasters, but celebrities such as Julie Andrews, Johnny Depp, Carol Burnett, Jerry Seinfeld and others, as well as commendations from Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd and the Tampa Bay Bucs, plus many other artifacts of Marion’s life, including photos from her wedding to her husband of 58 years, Urban “Brod” Brodarick, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 86.

During her speech at the party, Ellen said that more than 200 people were in attendance (many of whom wore 1920s-era costumes), including more than 50 relatives, who came from 15 states to be there. Former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco (photo on next page) and his wife, Dr. Linda McClintock, were among those who attended in person, while other dignitaries sent videos, including Santiago Corrada of Visit Tampa Bay (where Marion worked for three decades when it was called the Tampa Convention & Visitors Bureau; she also volunteered for 30+ years at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts), Fox-13 anchors Russell Rhodes and Jen Epstein, News Channel 8’s Stacy Schaible and Josh Benson and others. 

There was dancing to the music of the 12-piece Don Juceam Orchestra, a quartet from Palma Ceia United Methodist Church (where Ellen and her husband Herb Fiss are members) who sang all of the theme songs of the U.S. military, a letter from Marion’s relatives in Croatia that was read by her granddaughter Olivia Fiss, delicious food by private chef Justin Fedin and the most wonderful feeling Jannah and I have ever felt attending a birthday party. 

Congrats, Marion. We love you!

Florida Cancer Specialists Breaks Ground

Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) has big plans to expand its cancer services, breaking ground on Sept. 20 on a new facility at the southwest corner of Hueland Pond Blvd. and S.R. 56, just east of Beach House Assisted Living.

Currently located in a 5,000-sq.-ft. building on Tanic Dr. (off Cypress Ridge Blvd.), FCS’s new center will be two stories and 45,000 square feet. That is even larger than the 28,000-sq.-ft. Moffitt Cancer Center at AdventHealth Wesley Chapel, which opened in May 2021.

The new FCS building will offer expanded cancer care patient access of the first floor, plus 27 exam rooms and more than 65 treatment chairs, with both semi-private and private infusion suites for those receiving chemo treatments.

The latest clinical trials also will be available at the new FCS center once it is established.

“We have a rich history in Florida, with almost 38 years of caring for cancer patients, and we are really proud of our mission of world class care close to home,” said chief operating officer Jason Coe (far left in photo). “This is what we do — we bring care close to home so patients don’t have to travel.”

The FCS building is expected to be completed by early 2024. — JCC

Old Courts To Be Turned Into Fields For Public Use

Townhalls and other community meetings may sound boring to many, but sometimes, they produce action that otherwise wouldn’t happen.

Alexandra Gilmore, a Tampa Palms resident since 2007, attended one hosted by Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and other city planners back in 2020 and when she took the mic, she wanted to know why there weren’t more — or any, actually — public basketball courts in New Tampa.

Her boys, Caleb and Bryce, had searched for places to play, but were always booted off the courts.

“You have to live in a community that has them, or a certain neighborhood, or have a membership somewhere,” Alexandra remembers telling city officials. She told Viera and the others there were courts and space behind Liberty Middle School that could be used but were fenced off to keep kids out.

“Why can’t those be public?,” she asked.

It was a great question, and one that finally got answered on Aug. 25, when the Tampa City Council voted 5-0 to pitch in with the Hillsborough County School District to spend $1 million to upgrade the aged tennis courts behind Liberty.

 Gilmore had no idea her suggestion had even become a reality until the Neighborhood News called her.

“Oh my goodness,” she said. “You’re kidding me! This is absolutely amazing!”

Gilmore stayed in touch with Viera via email while the councilman did the pushing behind the scenes to initiate the project. The Tampa City Council agreed to enter into an interlocal agreement with the School District to improve some of the athletic facilities that adjoin Liberty and Freedom High.

The current facilities — six hard court tennis courts — between the two schools will receive a new design and a court cover to shield those playing from the elements. 

The “all-fields facility,” as it is called, will feature three resurfaced and outfitted courts for basketball, tennis, pickleball or volleyball, depending on the needs. The other three existing tennis courts will be replaced by an artificial multi-purpose turf field and will be covered. Restrooms also will be a part of the new facility. 

The School District will control access to the fields and their usage — most likely for recess and other school-related activities — during daytime hours when Liberty and Freedom are in session. The city will control public access in the evening hours and on weekends.

“Utilizing unused school space for recreation activities for the larger communities, including basketball…is going to be a great thing,” said Viera, who represents the New Tampa area in District 7.

The cost of upgrading the courts is expected to be roughly $1 million, and the City Council voted that the city would pay up to 50 percent, or $500,000, of those costs, using Capital Improvement Plan funds.

During the public comments portion of the City Council meeting, only one person, South Tampa’s Stephanie Poynter, commented and she was in favor of making the courts open to the public. 

“If the City of Tampa is paying half for the basketball courts at Liberty and Freedom schools, those courts should be accessible 24 hours a day if the schools are not in session,” she said. “This is the only place I have ever lived where every single school has a fence between it and the kids who live around it. I’ll never understand that.”

Before the vote took place, the motion was pulled for discussion by District 3 Council member Lynn Hurtak. She favored the interlocal agreement, and asked that the city’s Parks & Recreation Department explore more opportunities like this. 

“How when many of us when we were kids, that at our neighborhood school, after school, we could go play on the playground, in the field, on the basketball courts, do it on the weekends, do it all summer?,” Hurtak asked. “Now, with the advent of school shootings, many of those open spaces have been fenced off for student security, and they don’t allow the public to utilize those facilities, which is a bigger strain on our parks system. So, when I saw this interlocal agreement, I was really excited about it. “

Viera made a point of crediting Gilmore during the meeting. 

“This is going to be a wonderful thing,” Viera told the Council.

Gilmore agrees.

“I remember a couple of people reached out to me after that meeting in 2020 to thank me,” said Gilmore, who was running for the Hillsborough County School Board at the time. “This will be great for kids in the local neighborhoods to have a place to play.”

Is Proposed Recreation Center At Cross Creek Park A Slam Dunk?

Is the proposed recreation center at Cross Creek Park a slam dunk (preferably on an indoor basket in a potential air-conditioned facility!), as District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan hopes?

You would think so, considering the $8-million price tag and number of proposed amenities for what would be the first county-owned public indoor recreation center in New Tampa.

At the very least, it’s a three-point swish, according to online polling.

As the county proceeds on the new upgrades at Cross Creek Park, which is located next to Pride Elementary (at 19025 Bassett Creek Dr.), it continues to gauge support for the endeavor. 

The project would potentially include things like an indoor facility for basketball, volleyball and pickleball (as well as senior and adult programming), bathrooms and after-school and summer programs for children, a new shaded playground and upgraded outdoor basketball court, a splash pad, a walking trail and more.

Of the 179 responses filled out online, 84% of respondents said they were in favor of the upgrades at the park, 10% were opposed and 7% percent said they were undecided.

When it came to what amenities respondents were most interested in, 66% wanted an upgraded playground, 64% favored a recreation center with programming, 59% wanted a walking trail, 55% wanted a splash pad and 35% chose some of the other amenities.

One of the respondents wrote that they would like to see more of the wide-open field — which gets a lot of use by people playing soccer, cricket, flag football and flying kites — preserved, despite early renderings showing that much of it would be eliminated and replaced by a retention pond under the county’s plan.

A lot of commentors agreed and suggested that the pond could be moved across the street to replace two overgrown baseball fields that are almost never used.

Others loved the idea of upgrades, and chimed in with their own suggestions, most of them advocating for a skate park, dog park or tennis courts.

However, when the county held a public input meeting on Aug. 15 in the lunchroom at Pride Elementary, only five residents, including two couples, attended. Most of the questions at that meeting centered around preserving the park’s green space.

Pride principal Paulette English attended the meeting that night, and voiced her support. 

“I think it’s a very positive thing for the community and school as well,” English said. “It opens some after-school programs for kids that they don’t otherwise have access to, and having staff there will keep it a safer place for kids to be.”

English said that her school gets a lot of requests for after-school programs and club-type activities. The school offered a drama and tennis club this year “and it filled up just like that,” she said.

Pride has waiting lists of roughly 30 students for each of those clubs.

While Hagan said the online support for the rec center has been great, K-Bar Ranch resident Beth Bodai was one of the residents at an Aug. 22 community meeting in K-Bar Ranch attended by Hagan (story on pg. 4) who questioned whether the county would be able to handle a new park. Cross Creek Park has a dirt parking lot, overgrown baseball fields and no bathrooms, along with other issues.

“It sounds fantastic, but who will maintain it, because you haven’t maintained what you have now,” Bodai said. 

Bodai also said that the park is often called the “Forgotten Park” by residents. She cited the dirt parking lot and lack of lighting at night, leading to a number of cars parking in the unpatrolled lot after dark, the porta-potties being turned over numerous times every weekend, and the playground equipment being too hot, due to a lack of shade, so that it can’t be used. “And the (baseball) fields are a disgrace,” she said.

Hagan explained that the county would maintain the upgraded park, at a cost of roughly $100,000 a year, and would employ full-time attendants. 

He even said he would look into having the parking lot lights installed now.

However, another resident in attendance at the K-Bar Ranch meeting expressed concern the park would end up being a burden to taxpayers. And Bodai, who said she hopes the park is everything Hagan says it will be, is still a skeptic.

Hagan promised it would be a facility that K-Bar Ranch (a City of Tampa development) and the rest of New Tampa would be proud of. “I can tell you, If NT doesn’t want this facility, I promise you there are a million other communities that will,” he said.

Regardless of whether Cross Creek Park gets upgraded, the traffic and road study that comes with the planning could result in the kind of positive change that those who drive in the area have been seeking. Many of those who participated in the online forum (see next pg.) said the area’s already tangled transportation woes prevented them from fully supporting the new park. 

If Hagan wants his slam dunk, that will have to be an issue that gets resolved in conjunction with a new rec center.

“And we understand that,” he says. “We’re taking a close look at everything.”

LOCALS CHIME IN
Here are some of the online comments submitted for local (presumably) residents on what they think of the new upgrades proposed for Cross Creek Park, and what other things they would like to see at the park.

It would be great for the gym to have pickleball courts. Adding lights to the basketball courts would also be a plus, as a lot of kids play basketball there in the evenings. For being a little park it gets a lot of use. (Would) love to see these improvements going in.

New Tampa desperately needs public tennis courts and public soccer fields (doesn’t have to be regulation size). Benito soccer fields are under lock and key by the Chargers program and not available for public use.

There are no public tennis courts in this area. Need one in this park.

Please add a skate park!!

I think this is a brilliant plan! This is a major community that needs these improvements. The splash pad intrigues me the most. Considering we live in the Sunshine State, there aren’t many places to cool down for kids. I also agree with everyone on an updated playground with shade!

Park definitely needs an update. Splash pad would be great for those hot summers. None nearby.

Love this idea! The current playground is run down, it needs an upgrade as it’s used daily (by) neighborhood kids. An adjacent splash pad seems like a great idea, too, as those are popular in many other communities across Tampa. The area is in desperate need of lighting also.

I would like to see a dog park, and obviously more covered picnic tables with bathroom facilities

Many people use the extensive field space currently for field sports such as ultimate frisbee, football, soccer, cricket, baseball, kickball, and others. It appears that the proposed plan will cut down on field space to the point that field sports will not have enough space to be played. As a hub for local kids playing sports, this field space is particularly important as it is the only park with this space in the area. 

Shaded play area is needed

Paved parking lot and shaded areas.

Why would we need additional basket ball courts while we have two existing courts?

Tennis court and a leveled kickball field

The parking lot needs to be paved and there needs to be restrooms. Shaded play area. Litter pick up not just trash can pickup because people can’t put trash in trash cans.

Please add more trees

The roadway is already too crowded by the park. Consideration would need to be taken if any changes are to be made, to deal with additional traffic.

The traffic by this area is already too much. This will cause too much congestion and people who live in Basset Creek will (have) too much traffic traveling in and out of their home area.

Please preserve the open field space at Cross Creek Park. Numerous individuals and organized groups regularly use the space for games and training. Move the retention pond, parking lot, and building across the street. 

This “improvement” is a terrible idea. The park is already amazing and I use it all the time with my friends. We love the large field that we can play any sport on, as well as exercise. Sprint workouts, football, frisbee, kickball, baseball and many other sports are only possible because of these fields. You cannot play on a small field, rec center, or retention pond.

Paint the basketball courts so it’s smoother and not the basic concrete.

This is a great plan to upgrade the park. It does look very old.

Traffic is high speed through there, and there’s already school traffic. Plus additional traffic from current development in KBar 3 and 4. People currently can take their dogs there to exercise, and it would limit the park to children’s use primarily. There’s already a city park being developed in KBar and Mistflower (?) for kids.