Save Gandy.com

Ghost Town formally known as Gandy Blvd

From email response Sat, Nov 14, 2009 8:13 am

Subject: Re: Gandy Overhead Expressway
Bill,

Being a Mayor and running a beach community for ten years I’ve evacuated thousands of people from the beach several times. We didn’t need overhead expressways to do it.

To move traffic from the Gandy bridge to the expressway is only one mile, and all you have to do is direct ALL lanes east bound (no west bound) to the expressway. You have two entrances to the expressway, one off gandy and one on Dale Mabry.

There is no reason to disturb a quiet south Tampa neighborhood and destroy properties and values when there are other ways to achieve a solution to the problem.

Don Taber, former Mayor Indian Shores, FL

Video taken 6 February 2007

Al Steenson, President, Gandy Civic Association and member of the MPO Citizens Advisory Committee, testifies before MPO for FULL FUNDING of the Promised Gandy Enhancement.

Toll bridge disaster

Main Steet now affectionately known as Ghost Town

Email dated 11 March 2009

I am looking forward to our next informal meeting tomorrow to discuss action our local residents and merchants can take to avoid and petition the proposed Crosstown Expressway Extension at Gandy.  I copied and attached to this email an old article referring the railroad south of Gandy and its potential for a tollway back in 1987.  Also attached to this email for your review is the formal presentation for the extension now featured on the THEA website.  I believe this proposal will be the end for any business that currently enjoys drive-by and walk-in customers from the Gandy roadway. Tomorrow Mikael and I are meeting with Al Steenson of the Gandy Civic Association to discuss and plan our objections.

The THEA Community Advisory Board was selected by the Hillsborough Crosstown Expressway Authority for the sole purpose of viewing and discussing plans for a toll road.  The final Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for April.  By then, if no public objections are noticed, the toll road could become reality!  We need help.

Because Mikael of Scan Design serves on the Advisory Board, he was forwarded the following email correspondence that originated from me.  This email includes  FOR YOUR FILES AND RECORDS the email addresses for those individuals who serve on this advisory board.  It is imperative our voices are heard! See you all tomorrow and I hope you can bring more signatures for our petitions!

Linda Bell

A dysfunctional toll booth

Email dated 25 February 2009

Dear Project Advisory Group,

This e-mail is being sent to you because Ms. Linda Bell, at the Triage Consignment Shop in Gandy, has asked for the names of the Project Advisory Group (PAG) members so that she may directly discuss the study with you.  I wanted to give you notice that we have provided her with that information (attached).

In our first meeting with you on the Gandy study, THEA emphasized the need for clear, open, and honest communication.  When sharing information, understanding “who said what” can be as important as “what was said.”  Our e-mail below, to Linda, is a good example.

Linda is concerned about the THEA proposal for an elevated bypass of Gandy Boulevard.  Her understanding of the proposal comes from stories and articles that have been in the media. In this case we believe she is referencing a story from Tampa Bay 10 News. The link to that story below is provided for your use.

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid824&catid=8 ***

The reporter’s comments in that story incorrectly attribute the THEA proposal to the PAG.  In our response to Linda we make it clear that the current proposal is THEA’s response to issues and concerns expressed by the PAG.

In our e-mail to Linda we have made this clear.  We also provided Linda with a more complete overview of the proposal, and offered to meet with her and other business owners for additional discussions.

As you know, we are working on additional analysis that will be presented to the PAG in our April 14^th meeting at Monroe Middle School. If you have questions, or would like us to present to your Board or Group before then, we will make ourselves available.

Your hard work on this project is appreciated.

Thanks again,

Joe

813.272.6740 office

Joe Waggoner, Executive Director

Tampa-Hillsborough County

Expressway Authority

The Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority is a public agency subject to Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes concerning public records.

*** Please note: Link provided on original email does not seem to work !!! ??

David B. Miller- CTC District Travel Manager, AAA, & THEA Advisory board member

Dbmiller@aaasouth.com

Some of you are aware that I’m on an Advisory Board for the Hillsborough County Expressway Authority…. You also may be aware that there have been ongoing discussions for years regarding traffic in the Gandy Blvd. corridor.  To paraphrase some very long discussions, it looks very much like there will (finally) be an elevated Gandy extension to the Lee Roy Selmon (crosstown) Expressway.  This will most assuredly be in the form of an elevated two-lane toll road connecting the current (southern) end of the Selmon (at Gandy & Dale Mabry) to Gandy Bridge.  At this point, the best guess for construction to begin is approximately 3 years (or Fall of ’12).

David B. Miller Travel Manager, AAA (813) 681-5761 ext. 2230

Dear Neighborhood Association President,

My name is Mikael,  a business owner in South Tampa located on Gandy Blvd. I am calling upon you to please help your local merchants and residents around South Tampa to preserve our community . Savegandy is a alliance built up of everyday South Tampa residents and business owners trying to stop THEA (generates it’s revenue from tolls), building a concrete elevated toll road on top of Gandy blvd.

The tax payers of Florida just spent 22 million dollars for the beautification on Gandy, and we feel the sole purpose was to lay the foundation for this organization, at our expense. The toll road could never been thought of, until we the taxpayers widened the road. Since we paid for it, we would like the opportunity to see our neighborhood enjoy the new roadway before any further construction process.
Did you also know that THEA (The Hillsbrough County Expressway Authority) will make a decision and said they do not need our voice to decide on this project.They have said they will do it without our vote.
We feel it is every citizens right to have their voice heard I am sure you will agree, so we have developed www.savegandy.com for the voice of the people.

This web site is to educate the public of the pros and cons, and give them the opportunity to sign a petition and so their voice can be heard  and let government know we still have rights in our communities.

Please, I am asking you to please forward this to all association members so we can educate them about the project. Without the knowledge and help from our neighbors, the concrete toll will plow into our neighborhood. Please help us get the word out so people can see what is going on and have the opportunity to be a voice for their community. We would do the same for you and thank you for your time.

Thank You,

Mikael

Remember the much loved Gandy Friendship Trail bridge, which may never re-open, but at least we gained a worthy contender as a consolation prize, yes a shiny new overhead toll bridge, permanently blocking out the sun. A vast improvement, we the community, think not!.

Bill/Tampa

I close on my house this Monday, a house I plan on living in for years to come. It is two blocks north of Gandy. I pray that I do not have to look at a VERY UNWANTED overhead concrete structure running right down the middle of my neighborhood’s main street. How sad that my neighborhood stands to be seriously degraded so an overdeveloped, overpopulated peninsula (Pinellas County) can have a little bit better evacuation system to accommodate people who wait until the last minute to leave their homes. This is the only merit that this overpass has, and to us residents it is not enough. If we are willing to accept rush hour congestion over a super unattractive overhead structure, why not give us what we want? There is no doubt there will still be bad rush hour traffic even if the proposed project is constructed, and it is shameful to think we will sit in that traffic and be in the shadow of a sparsely used overhead road that is only needed for a couple of hours each business day and maybe once every ten years for possible tropical storm/hurricane evacuation.

Please don’t support the ruin of our neighborhood for such a minuscule reason. Think about our quality of life and what makes us happier people. This is what you, as our community leaders, should want for us. If this project was truly needed we would be asking for it and THEA would have been able to easily sell it. But it is not needed and may never be needed which is why we reject it.

Don’t discount the number of people who have signed the petition to stop this project.

Follow-up response to Ray Chairmonte, Executive Director, Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization

Peak Friday evening rush hour with traffic flowing smoothly.
Taken on Gandy Blvd 5:58pm Friday 23 October 2009

Do we really need a concrete monster above our heads creating pollution, noise and blocking out the sun. See the video and imagine a ugly overhead expressway ruining the ambiance of our neighborhood and permanently destroying the South Tampa way of life that we all love and cherish.

Mr. Ray Chiaramonte, MPO Executive Director
Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization