Drivers pulling out of Hollybrook Plaza need to be cautious.
Residents were assured during a sparsely attended virtual public hearing hosted by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in February that the plans to redesign and modify part of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. south of its intersection with S.R. 54 are ongoing.
Construction on the median project is expected to begin in early 2022.
The project centers around the northbound and southbound median just south of the actual intersection.
The median currently has an opening allowing motorists to cross from exits between the Sonny’s BBQ and Sun Trust Bank adjacent to the Publix-anchored Hollybrook Plaza to southbound BBD or straight across to the west, to the Village Market shopping center, and from the Village Market to northbound BBD or across eastbound to the Hollybrook Plaza.
The plan is basically to extend the median and eliminate any cutting across BBD from either side.
The medians along this stretch will be combined into one.
It is not an uncommon sight to see an accident at the northbound side in front of the Sonny’s BBQ or Taco Bell.
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.
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 will have a new Diverging Diamond Interchange by the end of 2021).
The plan to make the location safer centers around closing what is now a 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.
Now, with a single, longer median, that left turn lane will be extended to accommodate more vehicles, which will reduce congestion.
There also will be a new traffic signal installed at Eagleston, and new roadway lighting added to the northbound lanes, as well as some resurfacing.
At the southbound end of the new median where the light will be installed, a dedicated U-turn lane will be built for motorists wanting to get to Hollybrook Plaza (this also can be achieved by merely driving east through the BBD/54 intersection and entering via two entrance points off S.R. 54).
FDOT says it plans to let the project out to bid in October, with construction beginning a few months later.
Some bicycle lanes at and near intersections on Bruce B. Downs Blvd. have been painted green to help make cycling on New Tampa’s busiest major roadway safer. (Photos: Charmaine George.)
New Tampa’s busiest road, whose most identifiable traits are usually cars and congestion, is catching some eyeballs with a new look at some of its busier intersections:
Some sections of the Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. bike lanes have been painted bright green.
The green bike lanes are noticeable at busy intersections with right turns on BBD. The bike lanes, usually marked with just a single white line, are bright green (with thermoplastic, as opposed to actual paint) as the intersections draw near, to indicate they are for bicycle use only.
Then, the solid green transitions into dashes, indicating that vehicles can cautiously move over to make a right turn, but cyclists should still have priority. The lanes then become solid green again.
The green bike lanes are tough to miss. And, that’s the whole idea.
“It sounds like it’s doing its job getting people’s attention,” says Josh Bellotti, Hillsborough County’s director of engineering and operations. “That’s what it is supposed to be doing, alerting drivers that there is a bike lane.”
BBD is among the first county roads to get the colorful lanes, although some similar bike lanes have been in existence in downtown Tampa for a while.
Bellotti says that when all of the painting is done, 94 intersections across the county will have the green bike boxes. There will be 19 total in New Tampa, and will also include some at busy intersections on Cross Creek Blvd., where bike lanes cross right turn lanes.
“We are trying to put them in areas where, when you’re approaching an intersection, there might be some potential conflict,” Bellotti says.
But, do they work?
Well, Teagan Myhre would tell you yes.
The Chiles Elementary fifth-grader did a science project last year on the effectiveness of painted bike lanes, called “Ride in Green to be Seen,” and discovered that, indeed, the green lanes do make an impact on drivers’ habits.
Teagan’s project earned the only Superior rating in the Behavioral Science category for fourth graders at the Hillsborough County STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) Fair, and was named Best of Fair for the 4th grade. The project also won a Creative Problem Solving Award, and a Science Award from the College of Behavioral & Community Sciences at USF.
Teagan, whose father Randy owns Oliver’s Cycle Sports in The Walk at Highwoods Preserve plaza and is an avid cyclist and bike safety activist, started with the hypothesis that motorists would be more likely to see the painted bike lane and give cyclists more room as a result.
So for one week, Teagan sat at the corner of Cypress Preserve Dr. and Tampa Palms Blvd. and watched cars drive by an unpainted bike lane. After 50 tests, she got permission from the City of Tampa and painted the same bike lane green (with old fashioned spray paint) and re-ran her tests.
When the lane wasn’t painted, Teagan found that 4.5 out of every 10 cars had a tire completely inside the bike line or on the white painted line.
With the green lane, that number was reduced to just 1 in 10.
Teagan Myhre won “Best of Fair” and other awards at the 2020 Hillsborough County STEM Fair for her “Ride in Green to be Seen” science project. Even though her project may not be the reason it was done, Teagan is happy that Hillsborough County has painted intersections on BBD green.
Teagan’s project gained some momentum after the annual STEM Fair, and she was even asked to come present her project to the Metropolitan Planning Organization Hillsborough County Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee — which was once chaired by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor — before Covid hit and it had to be canceled.
Teagan’s project wasn’t the reason behind the new green lanes in New Tampa, but the two ideas did seem to cross paths at the same time. Randy is happy to see the portions of painted bike lanes, and says Teagan gets a kick out of seeing them on drives along BBD.
“She thinks it’s great,” Randy says, adding that all the feedback they have gotten has been positive.
And, some parents at Chiles admitted that they didn’t even realize there was a bike line in front of the school until it was painted green.
“That really validated Teagan’s thesis,” Randy says.
Bike safety continues to be an important issue in Tampa, and New Tampa, which has some bike-friendly areas like Flatwoods Park but isn’t generally considered to be very bike friendly overall. In recent years, Tampa-St. Petersburg has been named one of the most dangerous areas for bicyclists in the U.S. by a number of studies, including one by The Wall Street Journal.
Colored treatments on bicycle lanes have been growing in popularity the past decade all across the United States. According to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), a number of studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of color-treated bicycle lanes in intersections and intersection-related areas, where 50%-70% of reported motor vehicle crashes with bicycles occur.
A study of the effectiveness of green lanes used in St. Petersburg, with the area observed and videotaped over multiple days, concluded that an increased percentage of motorists yielded to bicycles, and likewise, a higher percentage of bicyclists looked for vehicles and signaled their intention to turn right after the green-colored pavement had been installed.
According to most of the studies, the changes in both motorist and cyclist behavior and increased awareness have been the primary benefits of the green lanes.
While having a protected bike lane with some kind of physical barrier is widely considered the safest, the cost makes that solution a harder sell.
But, this is a start.
“While we look for long-term safety measures, this is something we can do quicker with what we have,” Bellotti says. “This will provide some additional safety.”
Defensive scores by senior linebackers Ed Marcelin and Steven Joseph (pictured left), a rushing touchdown by 6-foot-4, 325-pound lineman OC Davis and a perfect night of kicking by Zach Godbold gave Wharton a 42-7 win — and New Tampa bragging rights — over Freedom in the annual football showdown between our area’s local high school rivals.
The Wildcats’ win was the second-most lopsided ever (only the 36-0 win in 2006 was worse) against the Patriots, and Wharton now leads the series 11-6.
The Wildcats rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns, with senior Ben Williams leading the way with 155 of them on 13 carries, two for touchdowns. Davis’ touchdown harkened back to William “The Refrigerator” Perry’s days as a member of the Super Bowl XX-winning Chicago Bears, when the defensive lineman was a short yardage sensation. Davis, by the way, is two inches taller than The Fridge in his prime, but about 30 pounds lighter.
Godbold, one of the top junior javelin throwers in the country, also is adept with his right foot. He was 6-for-6 on extra points, and booted three of his seven kickoffs into the end zone. Two others were fielded near the goal line and resulted in Freedom starting drives at their own 11- and 15-yard lines.
The Wildcats snapped a two-game losing streak to Freedom, and improved their overall 2019 record to 3-2 as of our press time. The Patriots, who picked up their first win of the season the week before by defeating Spoto 22-15, fell to 1-3.
One of the best things about working for a local publication are the stories.
Stories that are sometimes about your friends and neighbors and your children’s schoolmates, or the road you drive to work or your favorite local restaurant. And, there are the stories about people you didn’t know, but do now, and maybe you’ll share a wave at Publix that you wouldn’t have otherwise.
Some are happy stories, and some are sad. Too many sad stories, sometimes.
But, almost all of them are memorable, in one way or another.
Here are some of the most popular, according to Facebook and our website, and memorable stories we wrote this year, in no particular order:
CHAMPS!
Hey, everyone likes a winner, right, and in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel we definitely had our share in 2018.
Nelson Agholor
Like Nelson Agholor. It’s doubtful many people even knew the Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver attended Liberty Middle School until he made our cover, and to be honest, we didn’t know either until his Eagles won the Super Bowl.
But sure enough, he was a flag football legend back in the day — and a pretty good hoopster, too — before going on to become a football star and a Super Bowl champ.
And, let’s not forget a little way up the road at Florida Hospital Center Ice, where the U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team trained in preparation for winning their own championship, an Olympic gold medal in South Korea.
The nail-biting shootout win over arch-rival Canada was one of the most classic hockey finishes in Olympic history. Could they have done it without the warm weather and friendly hospitality of New Tampa and Wesley Chapel filling their souls with a strength unlike any other?
We’d like to think not.
And, who has a friend that had a child play on a team that won a championship this year, like the Turner-Bartels boys hoops team winning that school’s first title, or the boys and girls track team winning a first district title for Benito?
*Raises hand*
NEWS
There were so many stories we did on kids winning chess championships and math and debate competitions and starting their own clubs that we lost count (and by the way, keep those stories coming!).
But do you know what people really liked to read and comment on?
Traffic!
(Right?)
But mostly roads. So, which road do we start with?
We could start with Bruce B Downs, which we declared was Bruce B. Done, which was mostly true according to the county, until some paving issues arose, and those finishing touches that were supposed to be completed turned out to be more numerous than expected.
However….it’s still a dramatic improvement and soon, very soon, the big trucks and orange-vested fellows will be gone, and BBD’s completion really is the highlight of many people’s transportation year.
Now, about Kinnan-Mansfield…
Oh, never mind.
Even with 700 new homes okayed for neighboring K-Bar Ranch, Pasco County is standing firm in its opposition to connecting the two roads. It appears hopeless.
That leaves the folks in K-Bar with one way in and out, and that makes for a pretty bleak commuting future for those who can’t afford to put a helicopter pad in their backyards.
COMMUNITY
In with the new and out with old, they say.
Local voters nearly booted Ken Hagan off the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners, but while he survived, long-time resident and political representative Victor Crist did not. Same goes for fellow New Tampa resident Shawn Harrison.
State House District 63 candidate Fentrice Driskell.
But, fresh faces like county commissioner Mariella Smith (she defeated Crist) and State Representative Fentrice Driskell (she beat Harrison) should offer a fresh perspective and some new ideas. Hopefully, they will benefit New Tampa.
District 7 City Council member Luis Viera is running for re-election in 2019, and he had another busy year. We don’t want to say the guy is everywhere and at every event, but we actually saw him bagging groceries at Winn-Dixie, mowing our neighbor’s lawn, handing out programs at a Wharton orchestra event, helping someone find the right flooring at Home Depot, playing trivia at the Fat Rabbit and holding a townhall with three people at a bus stop.
And that was all in the same day!
We will say this — 2018 may have been as busy a year as there has been in terms of activism for bettering our area.
Hillsborough County School Board member Cindy Stuart (left) and Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera.
If you have a complaint, there’s a place for you in New Tampa. There is a New Tampa Council, there is a group that meets to fight for pedestrian safety, there is a group that argued against the re-naming of the New Tampa Library, there were multiple town halls, there were meetings at the library and there were forums and workshops and studies and presentations.
If you really want to know, there’s no excuse not to. It was a good year for New Tampa, as work continues on traffic issues, roads and sidewalks are being studied and the New Tampa Rec Center expansion and autism park steam towards completion — all items that continue to be pushed at the multitude of public events in New Tampa.
EVENTS
A beer tasting event in an event center at Catholic church?
Sign us up!
Seriously, the New Tampa Brew Fest was arguably the best event we attended all year, and not just because they had to kick us out at the end of the night.
Twice.
While there is plenty of room to improve, and we hope they stick around and give it a second shot because New Tampa needs more events like this.
The Taste of New Tampa was, as usual, another wonderful event as well, and nothing beats doing it indoors at the largest skating facility south of New York.
We want more, people. Get to work.
SADNESS
New Tampa has had its fair share of awful tragedy over the years, often making national news, and 2018 was no exception, as sadness gripped the area following the death of West Meadows resident Pedro Aguerreberry in June.
Riding bikes with his 3- and 8-year-old sons, 42-year-old Pedro was struck and killed by mentally ill Mikese Morse (who has since been declared unfit to stand trial).
It was a devastating loss for his family and friends. Pedro was universally loved by everyone who knew him.
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.
