Volume 21 Issue 16
Inside: Skating Under The Stars In Flatwoods Park!
Aug 3, 2013
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Toll Study Approved For Proposed Elevated Lanes Along S.R. 54/56 Corridor By Matt Wiley A study will soon be under way to determine how much funding could be generated using tolls for the potential future construction of elevated lanes above the S.R. 54/56 corridor (which we have reported about previously), stretching from U.S. 19 in New Port Richey to Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. in Wesley Chapel (see map). During the July 9 Pasco County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) meeting, commissioners unanimously approved the $218,785 study, which is being funded by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and carried out by the URS (United Research Services) Corp. The study is expected to take about eight months to complete. “They (URS) are experts in toll facilities,” says Richard Gehring, planning and development administrator for Pasco. “They’re going to study what the toll (revenue) projections are going to be. How much revenue will the tolls produce? How long will it take (toll road usage) to ramp up? When you put a toll facility in place,
people have to sort of learn how to use it. They don’t initially want to pay to go from point A to B.” The idea behind the study is to determine if the project could be funded with bonded toll revenue generated by the proposed elevated lanes along the median of the 25-mile S.R. 54/56 corridor that also eventually would include some form of bus mass transit. Local traffic would still move at ground level, but regional traffic, or people trying to quickly move from one side of Pasco to the other, would use the elevated toll lanes. If the toll road is determined to be financially feasible, the County could bond the toll revenue. Gehring explains that, if built, the corridor could handle more than 150,000 vehicles per day. Now, he says, the corridor is capped at about 75,000 per day. “The corridor has taken on tremendous traffic,” Gehring explains. “A lot of (traffic) projections show that we could never build enough lanes (along the corridor) to keep up with the demand. You can only make a road so wide. The corridor has become regionally significant. It’s not just
Pasco traffic anymore.” Ming Gao, a planning manager for FDOT, explains that during the toll study, URS researchers will look at a variety of factors to develop future traffic projections, in- Elevated toll lanes could span the S.R. 54/56 corridor in the future. cluding current road Bonded toll revenue could help fund the project. Photo: TBARTA usage, population kind of facility,” says Gao. growth, employment growth and land use. The project is part of the Tampa Bay “This is basically a planning study,” Area Regional Transportation Authority Gao says. “(FDOT goes) through a plan- (TBARTA)’s Regional Transportation ning process to find out when it’s feasible 2050 Master Plan and was designated a to start funding projects.” “priority project” in 2009. Gao says that by looking at both curGehring says that this project will not rent traffic and projected growth, along only benefit transportation, but the local with the other factors, a sophisticated traffic economy, as well. forecast is made to help determine a toll rate “The market’s recovering, so the idea that could pay for the project. Depending is to get this (project) done now,” Gehring upon usage, tolls could fluctuate through- explains. “If we do get this done, it will out the day during peak traffic hours. make Pasco County much more attractive “You look at how much traffic you will for employment.” generate and then determine how much For more information about the revenue you could generate from that traffic proposed S.R. 54/56 project, please visit to determine if it’s feasible to construct this TBARTA.com.
“I’m really excited for the new school year,” Atkins says. “I’ve only been in the building for two weeks (at our press time), but the staff is fantastic.” Atkins, who has two Master’s degrees (in both guidance and leadership) from the University of South Florida (USF), has been in the Pasco County School District (PCSD) for 18 years as a teacher and guidance counselor, but has spent the past 11 years as an administrator, most recently at Double Branch.
“I’m happy to still be in the Meadow Pointe community,” Atkins says. The plan for the new school year, he explains, will be to continue the work of former principal Cluff and current assistant principal Karyn Kinzie, using collaborative planning to attack the State of Florida’s more strict education standards. Left: New Sand Pine Elementary principal Scott Atkins. “I’m walking into a good Right: New WRH principal Robyn White (Photo: PCSD) school with a strong staff,” Atkins says of began at the end of the previous school year SPE, which received an “A” grade from the when then-assistant principal Robyn White State Department of Education (DOE) for took over for long-time WRH principal Ray the past two years. “I’ve been learning the Bonti, who took a job with the District as culture since I got here and it seems like no executive director for support services. one leaves once they start teaching here. See “Principals” on page 4. The turnover rate is very low. That says a lot about the school. Everyone is very dedicated.” WRH also has undergone an administration change, although technically it
New Principals At Sand Pine, WRH Prep For 2013-14 School Year
NEIGHBORHOOD MAGAZINE!
WRH Student Arrested For Child Porn, Roller Skaters & Bikers Join Creatures Of The North Tampa Behavioral Health Facility To Night On Flatwoods Park Trails, Some Out-OfOpen In October, Boys Burgle Rifle From FBI Area Dining Destinations, Plus More Agent’s Car & Lots Of Business Features! Neighborhood Nibbles & Biz Bytes!
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Pages 27-36
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With the 2013-14 school year set to begin in Pasco County on August 19, Sand Pine Elementary (SPE) and Wiregrass Ranch High (WRH) will both have new principals. At SPE in Meadow Pointe, Scott Atkins, a previous assistant principal at nearby Double Branch Elementary (also in Meadow Pointe), has taken over for former principal Todd Cluff.
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By Matt Wiley