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Speeding Issue To Have More Discussion

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By Kenneth Knight of The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 8, 2008

Tampa City Council has directed the city transportation department to work with residents to develop plans to reduce speeding on Riverhills Drive between 40th and 50th streets. CREDIT: Photo by Kenneth Knight

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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