Calling Traffic Planners in Tampa

Okay, normally I don't use this bully pulpit of mine to comment on mundane affairs such as the traffic of my city, but it is past due. Today's blog entry will be about the pitiful state of traffic design in Tampa. This is not meant as a personal insult to anyone (as I assume most of the people responsible for the problem are dead, or the actions are past the statute of limitations period). That said, there are some major traffic issues in Tampa that need addressing, and that do not appear to be a high priority in my city. For those who want to read an amusing rant, go right ahead. If you're fellow residents of Tampa or a city that behaves much like Tampa, all the better.

Tampa suffers from many problems involving traffic flow and control, and these merit serious examination. Obviously, my rant on traffic cannot be considered as a complete list of even the serious transportation problems in the city. One could add public transportation to the list, but I'm referring to this mainly as a driver of a vehicle. Public transportation, itself a nightmare, can be left for others to tell, but it is even more bothersome than private transit, and perhaps more insoluble of a problem. The main issues this blog will address are: connectivity, traffic flow, continuity. In many ways, these problems may intersect (sadly, unlike many of the roads in Tampa). However, each of them is worthy of discussion in their own right.

1. Connectivity

Tampa is, unbeknownst to most people, a river city. Tampa's river is the modest, humble, and not particularly wide Hillsborough River. One would think that bridging the river would be a breeze. However, there are few roads in Tampa that cross the river. To make matters more annoying, the Hillsborough River is not particularly straight. Instead, the river goes north for a few miles, curves east, and then curves north again. North of Tampa, it curves east again and then goes northeast into some forbidding Green Swamp, from whence it proceeds. The stairstep trip of the Hillsborough River tends to greatly inhibit travel from one part of the city to another. In addition, even mundane factors such as railroad crossings inhibit travel in Tampa (which is really annoying), as do Interstates (particularly I-275) and other limited-access roads. This connectivity means only a few roads are particularly useful from east to west and from north to south. It will be the purpose of this part of the rant to detail the few roads that are useful over a long distance, and detail their weaknesses.

North-South:

I-275: Let's see, it's crowded, it's facing construction problems, and it's really slow in rush hour traffic. Also, it seems to be a magnet for stupid drivers, though all of the other streets in Tampa have that problem, and it appears nothing can be done about that. The frequent amount of merges and exit only lanes make this a hazardous, and bothersome, through-route. On the plus side, there are no stoplights.

Suncoast Freeway/Veteran's Expressway: This one is strictly of use if you live in the part of Tampa Bay from Cheval and northwards. It's pretty useful, but somewhat expensive, and if you go at the wrong time you have to pay and wait. That's a bad combination. Nonetheless, when no one is on it, this is the best way to get from Northwest Hillsborough County and points beyond to Tampa.

Dale Mabry: Ugg, this road is a pain. It's always slow, even on Sundays, and has way too many red lights. Nonetheless, it is a really long and continuous road, so sometimes you have to bite the bullet and use it. It's not a very pleasant drive, forever. Warning: This road also passes Raymond James Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Bucs play.

Armenia: Well, this road ends a little south for my tastes (it doesn't reach Fletcher), but it is a relatively solid route for much of Tampa. It becomes a 2-lane road north of Sligh, though, and this makes the going somewhat slow.

Florida & Nebraska: These two roads are different, but are parallel roads on either side of 275, and are nearly identical in going through really sketchy red-light districts, with slow traffic, and really shady characters. These roads eventually merge in the far north of Tampa, but before they do they pass some of the most unfriendly territory in Tampa, and that's saying a lot.

40th Street: This is a nice street, and relatively fast. It is a major street south of Hillsborough, but it goes north all the way to Fowler, where it enters USF. Overall, this is a pretty good route, even if it doesn't go all the way into far North Tampa.

56 Street: This is a beautiful street, going from Fletcher almost as far you can go down West Florida (it becomes US 41 all the way to Naples). It's a bit slow at parts and at times, but it's an enjoyable drive, for the most part, and passes my old high school. It morphs into 50th Street, and comes very close to where I live. Don't get any ideas, buddy.

East-West:

Crosstown Expressway: Ugg, this road is slow and expensive. Nothing more needs to be said.

SR 60: Slow, but only marginally slower than the interstate. Plus, it goes right thorugh downtown.

I-4/I-275: See above comment: It's slow, drivers are stupid, and construction. Grrr....

Columbus: The bridge over the river is closed right now, and it's right underneath the I-275-I-4 junction. This route could be in serious trouble for a long time due to the constr

MLK: This road passes right by the stadium, and through lots of ghetto territory. It's somewhat slow, and has way too many buses and trucks. Plus, it doesn't go far enough west to take it beyond Dale Mabry.

Hillsborough: This road is to be avoided like the plague. It's super-slow, and way too crowded (the two are related).

Sligh: This road doesn't go all the way through to 40th, but it's a good route through most of the city.

Busch/Waters: Neither of these two is good enough on their own, but together they are forminable across Tampa, even if they are somewhat slow.

Fowler/Fletcher: Both of these are pretty good routes, I must admit. They're really far north, though.

Sadly, due to time constraints, the other two issues will have to wait until a further rant, hopefully tomorrow...