Mr. Bruce Rooney's home was spared from the county's wrecking ball at Wednesday's Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting, at least for now. You can read more about Mr Rooney, a WWII hero now in his eighties fighting for his land and home to be spared in an effort to accommodate more sprawl in this recent post.
This MPO meeting was to adopt an update on the county's blueprint for transportation in the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). Aside from a plea from environmentalist Mariella Smith for some bike trails and Greenways in South County (because evidently we got left out around here) almost all of the discussion was about a small segment of Lithia Pinecrest Rd from Bloomingdale to Lumsden (Segment B). Can you imagine? The very future of transportation as we know it was there on the table to discuss and yet the majority of time was taken up on a special interest's request on a 2.6 mile stretch of road that goes right through the middle of one of the area's oldest neighborhoods. Uh-huh. I am not blaming the MPO, it just happened to be on their update but those pushing this (The Brandon Chamber) must really have some power.
During public comment Mr. Rooney spoke first and described how he thought his hardest fought battles were behind him during WWII but they were nothing compared to the battle he was having to save his home. His daughter Pam broke down as she told of the hardships that this widening proposal has caused wondering if they should bother to paint the walls or get a new roof while their future was in jeopardy. Where would her elderly parents go if they were displaced from their home that they built over thirty years ago? During her heartfelt speech I looked over at Pam Clouston, President of R-LAND, known for her sunny disposition who was sitting next to me and absolutely sobbing.
Speaker after speaker made the case for Mr. Rooney. Our own CL contributor George Niemann said it best when he suggested he would rather be sitting in two lanes of traffic than four lanes of traffic and he is exactly right. More widening brings more traffic and none of the roads that actually go east and west to 1-75 ( like Bloomingdale or SR60) are scheduled to be widened best I can tell. I don't see Lumsden on any plans either so what difference would this little stretch heading diagonally north and south make? Mr. Rooney is fine with improvements being made for safety but a widening would displace him or worse………..not displace him and have asphalt up to his front door.
Only three people actually spoke at the meeting for the widening of this segment, two of which identified themselves as employees of ……………………..The Brandon Chamber. One was Tammy Bracewell who this article identifies as Chamber President and CEO and according to her comments she lives out in the rural area of Lithia. She described how at first they were not too happy about their new neighbors but since they are here now traffic issues need to be addressed she went on to lobby hard for the widening of section B. Not sure why anyone would be asking for more sprawl. Not sure why they think it is their right to demand somebody's property be taken to help their commute either.
Staff weighed in with the numbers of comments for and against regarding the ongoing PD and E study and comments received on the LRTP. I added those with the petition numbers against the widening which now has almost 300 signatures and it looks to be almost a 4-1 ratio AGAINST the widening (if you are counting). Staff made sure to add that not all of those against it lived in the immediate area but I didn't hear them give that same breakdown of those FOR the widening. Also if this gets approved on the choo choo sales tax where it is unbelievably listed, then every taxpayer in the county would be footing the bill!
Nobody spoke against the widening of section C of Lithia Pinecrest ( from Bloomingdale to Fishhawk ). I am guessing because 1. There seems to be enough room for it. 2. It makes sense since Fishhawk Blvd (where former Commissioners saw fit to house the masses) is only 2 lanes (yep, 2 lanes in the eastern part but I didn't hear the Chamber harping on how horrible that was like they did about Lithia Pinecrest) and if you sit at the intersection of Lithia Pinecrest and Fishhawk you can see exactly where the cars are coming from……..Fishhawk. Improving this road alone which developers are supposed to do would relieve Lithia Pinecrest (again, my dog could tell you this but instead you paid HDR 2.5 million for this study on Lithia Pinecrest).
The proponents of the widening harped on the future needs of this road (they still think more masses are coming despite the fact that the numbers no longer seem to substantiate this). How about the need to get to 1-75 which is clearly the commute pattern? And the first need would seem to be Bloomingdale itself because it is an absolute parking lot during rush hours (and hours). I don't see that on any future plans though so tell me again why this little section of Lithia Pinecrest makes any sense at all? It doesn't and the cost would be astronomical. And increasing to four lanes would most likely turn the whole section commercial. The developers are just waiting. Ride up and down Bloomingdale (OK, walk it is faster) and see how many original homes are now turned into businesses (uh-huh) because who wants to live directly on a four lane road?
The MPO did vote to adopt the current plan which has section B as 2 lanes enhanced. This will bring needed improvements without ruining the neighborhood's character or displacing residents. It was clear that they would entertain amending it to four lanes should the PD and E results recommend four next year (and they will, mark my words). How do I know? Study officials from HDR met with several of us quite a while ago over our concerns regarding the rural area and told us in advance that section B was going to recommended at four lanes. When this officially happens the Chamber will be right back asking for the widening.
Will the Brandon Chamber convince officials to Brandonize this section of Lithia Pinecrest when the PD and E results come it or will officials live up to their own little video promoting the plan that stated widening roads is not the answer during that very meeting! Time will tell but is it even fair for them to be stealing so much of Mr. Rooney's time battling this? I don't think so.
This article appears in Dec 9-15, 2009.