To: Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com
Sent: Fri, Jun 4, 2010 10:20 pm

Office of Governor Charlie Crist
State of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

RE:  US Highway 92 – Gandy Blvd – Tampa, FL

Governor Crist,

Being from St. Petersburg you are familiar, quite familiar probably, with Gandy Blvd. which runs through South Tampa. It is one of Tampa’s gateways from Pinellas County, with the Gandy Bridge being one of the three bridges that cross Tampa Bay and connect Pinellas with Hillsborough.

As you may know the Florida Department of Transportation has recently completed a safety and beautification project on Gandy which has not only made it much more attractive but has also significantly improved the flow of traffic, especially during rush hour times. Being a local resident who lives five streets north of Gandy I could not be more pleased with the results of this project, a project which was long and at times very trying. I have heard nothing but praise for the new Gandy, and the twenty-three million dollars spent to make it happen seems to be no longer discussed. Until you start talking about the possibility of it being unearthed and marred by a currently proposed project, which is why I am writing to you today.

The Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA), a local transportation authority with several board members who have been appointed by you, has proposed an elevated bypass road to be constructed down the middle of Gandy Blvd. which will connect the Selmon Expressway to the Gandy Bridge. This concept has caused quite a stir with a solid majority of the local residents, many of whom live within only hundreds of feet of this proposed structure. I am one of the members of the majority, and the thought of a massive concrete structure running down the middle of my neighborhood’s main street is simply unacceptable.

The defacing of our neighborhood is definitely not necessary at this point in time, and it may never be. The scary traffic counts that have been predicted are nothing but guesses, and we feel speculation alone is not even close to being a good enough reason to ruin the character of our thoroughfare. Gandy is a commercial/retail corridor with neighborhoods one block away on both the north and south sides. This is certainly not the proper place to erect an elevated roadway. It is totally wrong, and this is the main reason why an estimated 75% of the locals soundly reject the idea. If the majority of us, the people who using Gandy the most, are willing to deal with thick rush hour traffic for a few hours five days a week, why force a very unwanted project on us when nobody needs it and everything will still be quite functional without it? In short, the minor benefit to be realized falls way short of the negative impact we will feel, and there is no way we will agree to a project that will deface our neighborhood unless it can be proven to absolutely necessary for reasons of life safety. The sales pitch that it will serve as a better hurricane evacuation route is fooling nobody. The overhead will be just as clogged and backed up as any other route has been in the past and will be in the future.

We have made our case in front of the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough County Commission, and both boards, after seeing that we have over 1,500 names on a grass roots petition that we circulated and also many letters written by businesses on Gandy, have sent a letter to THEA saying that the local residents and businesses do not support the project. They did this because THEA has said since the beginning that they would not do anything the community does not support. Well, we will soon see how sincere they have been with that statement.

Attached are the aforementioned letters from the Tampa City Council and the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners, as well as a letter from Senator Charlie Justice to FDOT Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos. We have reached out to our local leaders in an effort to have our voices heard. A small group of us even went to see Michelle Todd in St. Petersburg, and we were rather disappointed to hear her say that she had not heard of any opposition to the project. Senator Justice said the same to me, and he even added that he had heard it had “all been worked out”. Well, it hasn’t. We are so upset with the prospect of our neighborhood being ruined by an out of place concrete monster that we will not stop opposing until a final decision is made.

We are reaching out to you in hope that you will sympathize with our position and see the connection we feel with our neighborhood. Perhaps your authoratative voice can influence the individuals who are sitting in THEA board seats because of you. We sincerely ask you for your help in preserving the character of our main street and keeping our neighborhood feeling like a neighborhood and not a transit corridor.

Respectfully,

Bill W

From observations, I feel that the extended ramp would not alleviate the traffic. Anyone can sit at the existing on ramps located on Gandy and Dale Mabry to observe what I mean. Most drivers pass up the Cross town on ramps and continue their way onto to Dale Mabry. Even during rush hour, the traffic on the cross town is considerably light.

Secondly, I believe that if the city builds a ramp on Gandy blvd the result would be the death of businesses in the area. Shops along Gandy depend on street traffic for their survival. With reduced traffic, shop keepers will be forced to close down. With shops abandoned, crime would begin to fester and reduce the value of properties.

Thirdly, even though the citizens of Tampa have been against this project for many years, the City of Tampa, elected public servants, has continued to push for this project. I believe that if the Public Officials of Tampa really want to push for this project, then they need to pay the fair market value of each and every business that will be hurt by such a move and their relocation.

Finally, each and every city official will need to be prepared to receive the public out lash at the polls as retaliation for their insubordination toward the desires of the public.

Since I own a business on Gandy, I implore you and the City of Tampa to reevaluate its’ decision to go forth with this project. I vote no to the Cross Town Gandy Project.

Sincerely,
Richard  RML Tanning Supply
4542 W. Gandy Blvd.

by Jeff. M /New Port Richey
via online petition comment

I think the best argument that I have read so far is the fact that we are cutting back on our teachers, firemen, and police, yet our wonderful local politicians somehow manage to “find” the money to build a useless extension of the Crosstown. And if that isn’t enough, the quality of the road construction is ridiculous. Drive the Crosstown sometime. You pay ridiculous fees to drive on some of the roughest, uneven roadway known to mankind. Oh yeah, then there is always that pleasant thought of the upper deck sinking or collapsing (flashback to the Crosstown construction). This is just another attempt to create an atmosphere and appearance like some big city, while totally ignoring the important issues that really should be addressed, like police, firemen and education. But then most of the old fogies deciding these matters don’t have kids in this pathetic education system or they have enough money to send them to a “better” school somewhere. Take care of the basics first, then if there is anything left over, go out and play in your sandboxes creating pretty little sculptures and overpasses and sidewalks leading to nowhere.

Video courtesy of Fox13 News
TV broadcast 4 March 2010

Mike Deeson
Video courtesy of 10connects.com
TV broadcast 4 March 2010

Proponents say adding an elevated roadway along Gandy Boulevard would reduce rush-hour traffic on Gandy and provide another evacuation route from Pinellas County. Critics say it would make businesses less accessible and reduce property values

By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Staff photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Published: March 1, 2010

TAMPA – They’ve gathered hundreds of signatures on petitions, packed dozens of public hearings to voice their outrage and written angry letters to state transportation officials.

Now opponents of a proposed elevated roadway over Gandy Boulevard are turning to the Tampa City Council for support. They argue the project will force business owners into bankruptcy and cause property values in surrounding neighborhoods to tumble.

“This project will turn Gandy Boulevard into a graveyard,” said Linda Bell, owner Triage Consignment Showcase. “We didn’t like the previous plans and we don’t like this one.”

Bell is one of dozens of protestors who plan to converge on council chambers Thursday to voice their concerns about the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority project to the city’s seven-member governing body.

While the city council doesn’t have a vote on the roadway, opponents like Al Steenson, president of the Gandy Civic Association, hope to enlist their help to fight the project.

“We didn’t elect these people to sit on their hands and remain silent,” he said. “They’re supposed to be representing the community’s interests, even if they can’t vote on it.”

Opposition to the project dates back more than two decades. The two-lane elevated roadway, as proposed by the expressway authority, would extend the Selmon Crosstown Expressway over to Gandy Bridge.

The project, which has gone through many changes over the years, is aimed at reducing rush-hour traffic on Gandy and providing another evacuation route from Pinellas County.

The Florida Department of Transportation has given a green light to move ahead with the project and the authority’s board of directors is expected vote on it March 22.

If approved, the $115 million project isn’t expected to break ground until 2013. Funding for the project would come from bonds backed by future revenue from toll collections.

Sue Chrzan, a spokeswoman for the expressway authority, said the new proposal is less invasive than previous designs and would be done in segments to avoid disruptions.

Previous proposals called for destroying nearly 200 homes and businesses, she said, and expressway officials have made every attempt to incorporate the concerns of Gandy business owners and residents into the new conceptual designs for the roadway.

The current proposal also wouldn’t displace any businesses or homes, Chrzan said.

She said there is still opposition to the project, but much less than in previous years.

“There are people in the neighborhood who just don’t want anything,” Chrzan said.

Mark Rubio, who owns several commercial and residential properties along Gandy, said after years of fighting the project, many people feel like it’s “being crammed down their throats.”

He said few believe the project will alleviate traffic congestion along the boulevard, because it will mean more vehicles passing through to get to somewhere else.

“The structure is a massive, concrete, two-story bridge that’s flat-out ugly,” he said. “We just don’t want it.”

The council meets Thursday at 9 a.m. in city hall at 315 E. Kennedy Blvd. in downtown.

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679

Video courtesy of 10connects.com
TV broadcast 8 February 2010

The idea of an elevated road down Gandy is absolutely ridiculous….
1) The argument of it helping St Pete during a hurricane evacuation does not even live up to basic math. When a huge hurricane hits all lanes will be open heading East on the Gandy bridge (like New Orleans did). A 4 lane bridge into a 4 lane road (Gandy “Corridor”) and then into a 4 lane highway (crosstown) as is current. What will two additional lanes 30 feet in the air do for this evacuation route? NOTHING! It will be nothing more than an additional choke point / 30 foot high parking lot. As for traffic needing to head West during this horrible scenario, there are streets to the North and South of Gandy that can facilitate this.
2) The second top argument, of traffic issues for “Gandy Corridor” in the future.” We just got done redesigning the street thanks to the state and traffic is flowing just fine, much better than before. Not to mention the only time there is a traffic problem is 249 days out of the year, 365 days minus weekends and holidays. Of those 249 days you have two hours of heavy traffic in the morning and two hours in the evening, 4 out of 24 hours which turns out to be 16.6% of the time during work days (249) there’s heavy traffic on “Gandy Corridor”. So, the percentage for the whole year is 11.3% of the time there is extra/heavy traffic on Gandy Blvd.

To build an eyesore such as this in close proximity to neighborhoods, to put businesses and local jobs in jeopardy, spend $130 million dollars on a .25 cent, 2 lane, 2 mile toll road all for 11% of time issue is RIDICULOUS!!!