Port Tampa Lacks Trucking Solution

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Wrecking Crew To Demolish Piece Of Port Tampa's History
By DULCINEA CUELLAR dcuellar@tampatrib.com
Published: Mar 25, 2006

William "Dick" Carter remembers attending Port Tampa City Council meetings in the small white-stucco building at Interbay and West Shore boulevards.

"We had lots of meetings in that old building," said Carter, 78, who served on the council for two years before the town was annexed by Tampa in 1961. "It was very small ... but it served its purpose."

Crews are set to begin demolishing the former city hall, administration building and city library Tuesday because of mold and asbestos.

Lisa Wilson remembers going to story time at the library in the mid-1970s.

"We would all sit in a semicircle and listen to the storyteller," she said. "There are so few buildings left of our history and our sense of community; it's so sad.

"It's very unfortunate it couldn't be used as anything else," the 35-year-old Port Tampa resident said.

The demolition will be completed by Wednesday at a cost of $11,326, including asbestos abatement, according to Kimmins Contracting Corp.

The city has no plans for the property, said Randy Crowder, real estate contract specialist.

Jill Buford, president of the Civic Association of Port Tampa, said she hoped the city would do something with the building, which had been left to rot.

"Now it's a big box of mold," she said. "For the old-timers, it's just another piece of old Port Tampa being removed."

The 1947 building, 8611 Interbay Blvd., isn't a designated historical structure.

But Carter's wife, Ethel, said it has sentimental value for her and other longtime residents.

"And I took my granddaughter there for story time," she said.

Port Tampa Lacks Trucking Solution
By MICHAEL H. SAMUELS
msamuels@tampatrib.com

PORT TAMPA - Residents must continue dealing with trucks rumbling through their neighborhood.

A long-awaited report from an engineering company showed there's no easy solution to mitigating tractor- trailers passing through Port Tampa.

Many carry jet fuel from the port and speed along Interbay Boulevard on their way to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, said Martin Peate, senior transportation planner for URS Corp.

``Regretfully, it's through a neighborhood,'' Peate said. ``It's difficult to get out of the neighborhood.''

The $50,000 study, paid for by the city, was to take six months but lasted 18 months because of hurricanes and other delays.

After receiving public input, the report will be presented to the city council next year.

Peate said engineers looked at suggestions, including building a bridge from Port Tampa to the Gandy Bridge, which could cost $65 million.

Other suggestions included building a trucks-only road next to the CSX right of way; installing traffic-calming devices on Interbay, Dale Mabry Highway and West Shore Boulevard; burying utility lines; and improving school crossings.

According to the study, a new road next to the CSX right of way would cost $15 million to $20 million, traffic calming would cost $1 million to $2 million, and burying utility lines would cost $500,000 to $1 million a mile.

Peate said low-cost solutions such as improving school crossings are first on the list because money may be available within three years.

Solutions such as traffic calming are midterm possibilities, taking five to 10 years to find the money.

``There's only so many ways out of this neighborhood,'' Peate said. ``There's no easy solution.''

He said trucks would slow down if police enforced the speed limit on Interbay at least once a month.

About 25 residents attended the Civic Association of Port Tampa meeting this week to hear the study's findings. They called for a full public hearing, possibly at the civic group's next meeting.

``We've been pushing this study for a long time,'' civic association President Scott Davis said. ``There's a lot of people concerned about it.''

The association meets at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 at the Port Tampa Recreation Center, 4700 Lancaster Ave.

Reporter Michael H. Samuels can be reached at (813) 835-2109.

New CAPT bylaws

Please Pardon our dust, website under construction

Wrecking Crew To Demolish Piece Of Port Tampa's History By DULCINEA CUELLAR dcuellar@tampatrib.com Published: Mar 25, 2006

Port Tampa Lacks Trucking Solution By MICHAEL H. SAMUELS msamuels@tampatrib.com PORT TAMPA - Residents must continue dealing with trucks rumbling through their neighborhood.

Wrecking Crew To Demolish Piece Of Port Tampa's History
By DULCINEA CUELLAR dcuellar@tampatrib.com
Published: Mar 25, 2006

Port Tampa Lacks Trucking Solution
By MICHAEL H. SAMUELS
msamuels@tampatrib.com

PORT TAMPA - Residents must continue dealing with trucks rumbling through their neighborhood.