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Crash Renews Push For Speed Humps

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By KENNETH KNIGHT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 13, 2008

TEMPLE CREST - A hit-and-run driver has given Terry Neal more ammunition to push for lower speed limits on River Hills Drive.

The mailbox in front of the neighborhood leader's house was hit and destroyed by a vehicle before dawn Aug. 2, leaving behind a car bumper and frayed nerves.

Neal said he thinks the driver was speeding because the mailbox was attached to the top of a 500-pound anchor near the street curb. The iron base was found 10 feet away in a neighbor's yard.

"It had to be a serious accident," said Neal, president of the Temple Crest Civic Association. "We found the bumper about 20 feet down the road."

Neal, Linda Hewitt and other Temple Crest Civic Association members have tried for nearly 20 years to persuade Tampa's transportation department to install traffic-calming devices, such as speed humps, on River Hills Drive east of 40th Street. In addition, they want the speed limit lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph or lower.

"They are saying it is a 30 mph road," Neal said. "That's insane."

City transportation officials have said River Hills Drive between 40th and 52nd streets is a connector road, so speed humps are prohibited, and 30 mph is an appropriate speed for the traffic it handles.

Neal said he plans to continue petitioning City Hall to take action. City Councilwoman Mary Mulhern has accepted an invitation to attend the civic association's Sept. 8 meeting, where the issue is bound to be raised.

The latest incident on River Hills Drive, he said, should convince city officials that something needs to be done.

Neal was asleep and didn't hear the impact. He learned of the missing mailbox when the mailman attempted to make a delivery hours later.

"The mailman came up the driveway and said, 'Where's your mailbox?'" Neal said.

"I said, 'What do you mean?'"

They walked to the spot where the mailbox had been anchored, and it was gone. The crumpled mailbox, bent anchor and an abandoned front bumper were found during a brief search.

Later that day, Neal sent an e-mail to Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, other city and county elected officials, and members of the city's transportation staff to inform them of the incident.

"We do not have an ordinary mailbox," the e-mail said. "Our anchor doesn't budge when cars bump it.

"Whoever hit our anchor mailbox must have been going at an incredibly high rate of speed."

Neal filed a police report. He said a Tampa police officer told him that there was no report of an accident near his house early Aug. 2.

"We really do have a terrible traffic problem out here on River Hills Drive and something must be done," the e-mail said.

Resident demands have led to greater police presence and traffic enforcement on River Hills Drive.

"We are doing traffic enforcement on River Hills Drive on a regular basis," Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. "If there was a movement to reduce the speed limit, we would certainly be there enforcing that."

River Hills Drive is designated a collector road in the city's comprehensive plan. It channels traffic from other residential streets to major intersections at 40th Street to the west and 56th Street to the east.

City transportation manager Tony Rodriguez could not be reached for comment.

In an interview in March, Rodriguez said River Hills Drive does not qualify for traffic-calming devices because a January 2007 traffic study showed that 85 percent of motorists on the road were not exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph and more. The study showed that 85 percent of the drivers exceeded the 30 mph speed limit by an average of 8 mph.

Reporter Kenneth Knight can be reached at (813) 865-4842 or kknight@tampatrib.com.

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