TP Blvd. Repaving Nears Completion; Is New Tampa Blvd. Next?

The long-awaited repaving of the east side of Tampa Palms Blvd. (in red on map) is well under way and the City of Tampa expects to complete the repaving project by August or September of this year.

The safety of our children and families is a high priority, not only for the residents of New Tampa, but also for our District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, who always is looking for ways to make the City of Tampa — and especially, the community where he lives — safer.

To that end, Viera helped the city secure a grant to pay for not only the repaving of the circular portion of Tampa Palms Blvd. that winds its way through Tampa Palms Areas 1 & 3 (on the east side of Bruce B. Downs, or BBD, Blvd.), but also is already providing for the installation of eight traffic-slowing speed tables on Tampa Palms Blvd. from the southern intersection of BBD (near Florida Executive Realty (bottom left gold logo on map above) all the way around the 2.91-mile stretch to Tampa Palms Blvd.’s northern intersection with BBD, near Lowe’s Home Improvement (see map above). 

Above is an example of an RRFB (Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon) like the ones on back-order for the Tampa Palms Blvd. repaving project. At right is one of the eight speed tables being installed to slow traffic on the roadway.

The construction of the $4.9-million project already has begun and, when it is fully completed — which Viera and Lara Bouck, the city’s chief production engineer for mobility, believe should be by August or September of this year — the project also will add two sets of three (six total) Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (or RRFBs), which will provide rapidly flashing beacons at marked crosswalks. They believe the RRFBs definitely will enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety at those intersections. There also will be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant ramps installed as part of the project and Bouck says the crews from the project’s contractor — CW Roberts Contracting — currently are installing the speed tables and signs and revising the permanent pavement markings.

Unfortunately, Bouck says, there currently is a 12-20-week wait on the RRFBs. “The latest we heard is that the (RRFB) bases will be shipped to the contractor by the end of July.” However, Bouck says that the bulk of the remaining construction of the project should be completed by May of this year. 

“We got the funds for Tampa Palms Blvd. from a combination of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) and Local Option Gas Tax funds,” says Viera. “I have to thank U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (who represents Florida’s 14th Congressional district) for helping us secure the ARPA funds.”

And, although there was some discussion about narrowing the travel lanes to provide for additional traffic calming through this area, Bouck says, “Travel lanes were not narrowed as a part of this project.”

Is New Tampa Blvd. Next?

Viera says that he is equally concerned about implementing speed-calming improvements on New Tampa Blvd., the main thoroughfare through the West Meadows community.

“New Tampa Blvd. is number one on my priority list for New Tampa for repaving, as I believe it’s long overdue,” Viera says. “So, it’s on the list as next and we have begun seeking some design funding for it, but nothing is concrete yet. However, while we have had (I believe) design forwarded for this for funding, most construction projects for mobility have been put on hold, if they were connected to the penny sales tax and that includes this one.”

Bouck confirms that the New Tampa Blvd. project is not currently funded in the city’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP), but Viera says, “We continue to pursue funding (grants, etc.) to address the resurfacing backlog throughout the city.”

Of course, voters across Hillsborough County passed a 1-cent sales tax referendum (with 57% of the voters voting for it) to fund its capital improvements in 2018, only to have the referendum shot down in court due to ballot language issues. A similar referendum on the Nov. 2022 ballot was not passed by the voters, but millions in 2018 sales tax funds were already being collected. It is now up to the state to decide how those funds should be distributed. Once that issue is resolved, however, Viera is hopeful that the city will receive enough of the money to fund the improvements for New Tampa Blvd. We’ll keep you posted.

Path Is Clear For Tampa Palms Blvd. Repaving Project

New signs and crossings will bring added safety to the Compton Dr. intersection with Tampa Palms Blvd., one of Tampa Palms’ most dangerous, according to the City of Tampa.

The City of Tampa may have had some grander plans for Tampa Palms Blvd., but after some back and forth with residents, the road to getting the project completed appears to be…well…paved.

A second online presentation by the city went better than the first and, barring any major changes, the plans for repaving and adding safety enhancements to Tampa Palms Blvd. should be ready by October. If the city can settle on two contractors — bids are in, so it should be a timely process — for the roadwork, the $3-million-plus project should begin sometime in the first half of 2023, if not sooner, and will be completed by the end of next year.

One full-depth reclamation project contractor will be hired to basically churn up the base material, take out all of the old asphalt and repack it, while a paving contractor will “come in and makes it look all pretty,” said Cal Hardie, the City of Tampa’s capital projects manager, who added that the repaving should only take roughly three months.

“The good news is that Mayor Jane Castor has put some ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act Grant Program) money into the project, so we’re able to expedite the repaving,” Hardie told those participating in the online presentation. “It’s a high priority.”

The repaving of Tampa Palms Blvd. will go forward in two segments — the south loop (or Segment 1), which runs from the north intersection of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. to the south intersection through Tampa Palms Area 3, and the north loop, or Segment 2, which runs from the south intersection of BBD to Ebensburg Dr. in Tampa Palms Area 2.

Not only will the road — which is showing its nearly-40-year-old (in some sections) age and has been labeled “failed” by a few city officials — be repaved, a number of enhancements will be added in the hopes of addressing a number of concerns, including speeding, intersection safety, pedestrian access and school pick-ups and drop-offs.

The multimodal paths, used by pedestrians, skaters, bikers and even golf carts, will not be reconditioned as part of the project.

“We only have the budget for inside the curbs,” Hardie said. “I’m reserving funds because construction costs are skyrocketing. Even though we have a healthy budget, I’m actually a little nervous about being able to fund everything once the bids come in. There is no extra money.”

The city is proposing narrowing the width of the four road lanes to 10 feet each, making room for 2-foot striped buffer on the outside of each lane (curb and median sides).

And, while residents previously shot down the idea of losing a lane which would have made room for a dedicated bike path, there will be shared lane markings added to the outside lanes as a reminder to drivers that bicyclists also may use the lanes.

Hardie said the biggest and most common complaints the city receives about Tampa Palms Blvd. is speeding. The speed limits in various parts of the 4-mile loop are 35 and 40 miles per hour, and the city is recommending a 35 mph speed limit throughout.

There likely will be speed tables or removable street cushions placed at key locations. The removable street cushions are rubber speed tables that are uniquely spaced to allow emergency vehicles (with their wider wheel base) and bikes to pass through unimpeded. If it is determined they would be effective in a different area, they can be easily transferred, unlike your typical cement speed table.

Hardie said enhanced crossings will be added throughout the road at key points. He showed a map that had four marked crossings, and two marked crossings with Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, or RRFBs, at Compton Dr. (southern intersection) and Tampa Palms Trail (the TECO easement). However, since the trail at the TECO easement is not an official road and is on private property, a few residents suggested moving the RRFB to another location, with which Hardie said he agreed.

RRFBs are pedestrian-activated, and Hardie said St. Petersburg installed quite a few of them and found that they were effective in increasing the numbers of cars yielding for pedestrians.

“They (RRFBs) do work very well,” Hardie said.

RRFBs will be a good option at Compton Dr. and Tampa Palms Blvd., which Hardie says is the most dangerous intersection along the roadway. A roundabout was suggested by a few residents.

“A roundabout is not off the table,” Hardie said, “but, with safety needs across the city, we’d have to have a crash history study to fund a roundabout because they are quite expensive. We’re not saying no, but they are not a part of this project.”

The residents online for the presentation, which was followed by a Q-n-A session, seemed in favor of most of what Hardie had to say, a far cry from the first online presentation in September 2021. At that presentation, Hardie pitched the idea to convert the four-lane Tampa Palms Blvd. into two lanes — one in each direction — as a traffic-calming measure. That concept, however, was soundly rejected by residents, who sent more than 100 emails of displeasure to the city.

Tampa Palms Blvd. Repaving In Line For A Budget Boost

When City of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor presented her $1.8-billion fiscal year 2022 budget to the Tampa City Council on August 5, it did not include any money for one of Council member Luis Viera’s sought-after projects — the repaving of Tampa Palms Blvd.

Viera, who represents District 7 (which includes most of North Tampa and all of incorporated New Tampa), was crestfallen. But, while he understood some of the budget constraints, he didn’t give up hope.

With the urging of community activists and Tampa Palms residents — many of them the same folks who fought for the funding for the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC) a few years ago — as well as plenty of Viera’s own door pounding, Mayor Castor announced on August 24 that an additional $3.3 million would be added to the budget to repave and rejuvenate Tampa Palms Blvd.’s south loop.

“That is a really, really, really big thing,” Viera says. “It’s a big win for our area.”

For the south loop, or segment 1, the price tag is $2.3 million. The north loop, which runs from Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. to Ebensburg Dr., will cost is $1 million.

The final public meeting on the budget is scheduled for Tuesday, September 28.

Luis Viera

Money for the Tampa Palms Blvd. repaving was originally expected to come from the $500 million raised via the All for Transportation one-cent surtax. However, the penny surtax was struck down by the Florida Supreme Court in February, ironically a day after Viera met with Tampa Palms residents at a town hall.

“I promised the residents that night that if the penny sales tax failed that I would fight really hard for it in this year’s budget,” Viera said. “Flipping it into the budget when it wasn’t originally there was a big ask.”

 Viera pushed for the money, with an assist from local activists — who made phone calls and sent emails to Mayor Castor.

One Tampa Palms resident, Mike Marlowe, wrote to Castor on Aug. 21 that his community had been promised repaving of the road “which now looks like a quilt instead of a roadway” — last year. He added that in 22 years of living in New Tampa, he has “never seen the road this bad.”

A week later, Brandie Miklus, the city’s infrastructure and mobility program coordinator, responded to Marlowe with the good news — that the city’s mobility department was moving forward with resurfacing plans.

In her address to the City Council, Castor seemed determined not to let the Florida Supreme Court decision freeze her efforts to improve the city’s infrastructure needs.

“I won’t sugar coat how big a blow it was to lose the All for Transportation money that was so overwhelmingly supported by our constituents,” Mayor Castor said. “I will provide a path to forge ahead on our own, one that includes a citywide mobility plan.”

Castor’s budget includes $22 million for road safety and maintenance. “We’ve all heard the calls from our community to make our streets, sidewalks and trails safe and to improve our road maintenance,” she said.

A refreshed Tampa Palms Blvd., which Viera says is presently “a failed road,” is currently in the design phase (the money for which was in last year’s budget), with actual construction occurring in two phases and expected to begin within the next year. 

According to Miklus, it will include resurfacing, multimodal and safety improvements, traffic calming, enhanced crosswalks with Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs) and separated bicycle lanes.

After years of complaints about being ignored by the City of Tampa, this could be a year in which New Tampa’s cup runneth over, as a number of New Tampa projects are in the city’s plans to receive money. In fact, after the first public hearing on Sept. 13, Viera was pleased enough to say this year’s budget could be the best for New Tampa in recent memory, if not ever.

The budget has $1.67 million scheduled for the long-awaitd inclusive playground, which will have play elements, wheelchair access and autism-friendly features, to be built near the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC).

The FY 2022 budget also includes $650,000 to begin the planning and design of  Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 24, which will be located in the K-Bar Ranch area. Another $11.5 million is expected to be allocated in the FY 2023 budget for construction of what would be New Tampa’s fifth fire station.

Until then, Viera says he also is working on the construction of a possible road off Morris Bridge Rd. that would allow for quicker access into K-Bar Ranch to help reduce some of the response times of the two fire stations on Cross Creek Blvd., both of which rank among the slowest in the entire Tampa Bay area.

Viera also said the budget includes $50,000 to design New Tampa Blvd.’s future renovation ($50,000), hopefully leading to its repaving in the next year or two. Like Tampa Palms Blvd., New Tampa Blvd. was initially slated for improvements using All For Transportation money. 

As backers of the NTRC know, just because the money is in the budget for a project doesn’t mean it can’t be moved or taken out. 

The budget has to be approved by Friday, October 1.