By KENNETH KNIGHT, The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 13, 2008
TEMPLE CREST - The road to resolve a longstanding dispute over
ways to slow traffic on Riverhills Drive has been filled with starts
and stops.
Thursday, the path went through the Tampa City Council, and the
outcome was more talks for city officials and Temple Crest residents
who have complained about speeding on the scenic drive.
The council directed city transportation manager Tony Rodriguez
and the police department to continue discussions with residents on
ways to resolve the issue.
"Let's give them an opportunity to do their job," City Council
Chairwoman Gwen Miller said.
She urged patience from fellow council members while the two
sides work out their differences.
"They are working with the neighborhood," Miller said. "They
can't solve the problem overnight."
Longtime residents say the traffic issue on Riverhills has been a
pestering problem for years.
Temple Crest Civic Association President Terry Neal and his
neighbors have written letters to city officials and cornered them
at city hall with pleas for help over their concerns about the
stretch of Riverhills from 40th Street to 50th Street.
Their demands have led to greater police presence and traffic law
enforcement on the drive, but residents say more needs to be done.
Their latest attempt started in the fall when Neal asked the city
to consider reclassifying Riverhills to local roadway status, which
makes it easier to justify installing traffic-calming devices, such
as speed humps and speed tables. The drive is designated a collector
road in the city's comprehensive plan. It channels traffic from
other residential streets on the north side of the Hillsborough
River to major intersections, mainly 40th Street to the west and
56th Street to the east.
Riverhills does not warrant a classification change because of
its traffic volume and access to major streets, Rodriguez said.
He added that the road does not qualify for traffic-calming
devices, such as speed humps, because a traffic study conducted last
year showed that 85 percent of motorists on Riverhills were not
exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph and more. The January 2007 study
showed 85 percent of the drivers exceeded the 30 mph speed limit by
an average of 8 mph.
Councilwoman Mary Mulhern asked Rodriguez whether the city had
any flexibility with the 85 percent standard.
Rodriguez said the city should stick with the well-established
national standard used by other cities and counties in the Tampa Bay
area.
"We feel that the 10 mph spread works for our community," he
said, adding that lowering the standard could mean problems
enforcing the speeding citations in court.
Mulhern and Councilman Tom Scott asked Rodriguez and the police
department to consider the cries from the community.
"You have a community that's been complaining about this a long
time to us," Mulhern said.
Councilman Joseph Caetano, serving his first term, said he was
mystified as to why the council would consider getting involved in
regulating neighborhood speed limits.
"I don't think we should be meddling in that. It's not our
business." Caetano said.
Caetano said he worried council action could open a floodgate of
petitions from other neighborhoods, with residents seeking to reduce
speed limits on their streets.
Riverhills Drive resident Linda Hewitt said she considers the
traffic problem a matter of life and death.
"We have lived here since 1968. I could tell you about the number
of accidents," she said in an interview.
Hewitt said motorists have caused so much damage to her family's
property over the years that her insurance company threatened to
cancel her policy if another claim was filed.
"We love it where we are," Hewitt said. "Why try to drive us
out?"
Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813)
865-4842 or at
kknight@tampatrib.com
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