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Efforts continue to reduce perils on Pasco roads

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The number of miles being driven in Pasco County is climbing — and so is the number of transportation-related injuries and deaths.

That’s the essence of a report, “Crash data: The story behind the numbers,” by Tina A. Russo and Johnny Koors, which was delivered to the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) board at its Feb. 10 meeting.

Russso is an active transportation planner for the MPO, specializing in pedestrian and bicycle safety, and Koors is a transportation planner for the agency.

Under federal law, the MPO was required to adopt system performance measures for safety by Feb. 27. Local MPOs could adopt their own or use the state’s targets.

The Pasco MPO team developed its targets for calendar year 2022 based on local data provided by the Florida Department of Transportation.

While the aspirational goal is to have zero deaths and serious injuries, the law requires MPOs to establish targets that are data-driven, realistic and achievable, Russo said.

The report must include:

  • The number of fatalities
  • The rate of fatalities per hundred million miles of vehicle travel
  • The number of serious injuries
  • The rate of serious injuries per miles
  • Non-motorized fatalities and serious injuries

The report indicates five-year averages, to provide a more accurate snapshot, Russo said.

“If we picked one year, especially if it was 2020, those numbers are going to be skewed,” she explained. “So, everything we do is that five-year trend, so we can see what’s really happening.”

The number of vehicle miles traveled influences the number of deaths and serious injuries, she noted.

In other words: “If you have more cars — more people driving — you’re going to have a greater number of fatalities and injuries,” Russo said.

“It’s not only about the fatalities. It’s the serious injuries that people incur and live with those injuries for their whole lives,” she said.

Russo showed the MPO board a map containing red dots, to indicate where the fatalities are occurring in the county.

“If you notice something, they’re all over the place. There’s not a specific area — unless you look at (U.S.) 19, that corridor — they’re all over the place.

“If we could find one intersection that was the worst and work on it, we could do that. But it’s a general behavior that’s going on here that’s happening,” Russo said.

She also noted that based on the report’s data, the county is heading in the wrong direction, when it comes to fatalities. In 2020, it had 107 fatalities from vehicle crashes, compared to 99 in 2019 and in 2018.

“We went from 99 to 107. That’s definitely something we don’t want to see,” she said.

There is a bright spot that’s not reflected in the report, she said.

“Our annual fatalities in 2021, the good news, we went down one. And, considering our miles went up, that’s a good sign for us. That we’re trending, at least, in another direction.

“We went from 107 to 106,” she said. But since the report lags behind a year, ending in 2020, that’s not in the report, she said.

Russo also noted: “Our serious injuries in that five-year period, you can see they’re starting to go down a little bit.”

She continued: “From what we’ve learned … our automobiles have become safer to drive. We’ve got airbags. We’re getting a lot of different things that help save us from those injuries.

“Believe it or not, some of those roundabouts will help with this, too. If we’ve got those lower speeds, in roundabouts …

“We all know that intersections can be very deadly. But roundabouts decrease our speed, so there are lower speed impacts,” Russo said.

She also addressed trends involving deaths and serious injuries involving bicyclists and pedestrians.

“There was a definite increase of more pedestrians being killed in 2020,” she said. At the same time, there was a notable increase in people walking during that COVID-19 period.

She also said that cyclists darting across U.S. 19 contributed to the number of deaths in that category.

Steps to reduce crashes, fatalities and injuries include:

  • Prioritizing projects, with safety in mind
  • Making safety improvements when resurfacing work is done
  • Improving lighting, especially at intersections
  • Adding sidewalks and multi-use paths

Efforts must be persistent and ongoing, according to Russo.

“Things don’t change overnight. It takes a long time to get those numbers to turn in a different direction,” she said.

Targets adopted for 2022
Number of fatalities: 99.8
Rate of fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles: 2.002
Number of serious injuries: 1,058.6
Rate of serious injuries per 100 million vehicle miles: 21.337
Number of combined pedestrian and bicycle fatalities and serious injuries: 125.2

Pasco County traffic fatalities:
2020: 107
2019: 99
2018: 99
2017: 108
2016: 86

Vehicle Miles Traveled (100 million miles)
2020: 49.6
2019: 55.0
2018: 50.9
2017: 48.4
2016: 48.4

Pasco’s five-year trends:
Average annual fatalities
2016-2020: 99.8
2015-2019: 92.4
2014-2018: 86.8
2013-2017: 78.0
2012-2016: 71.54

Average annual serious injuries
2016-2020: 1,058.6
2015-2019: 1,119.4
2014-2018: 1,133.2
2013-2017: 1,145.6
2012-2016: 1,032.6

Published February 16, 2022

Pasco asking for state’s help to combat speeding

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The board of the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is sending a letter to the Pasco County legislative delegation and to Gov. Ron DeSantis seeking additional funding for the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), to support traffic enforcement on the county’s state roads.

The action came at the MPO board’s Feb. 10 meeting, during a discussion of speeding problems within the county.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore raised the issue, noting a recent crash involving two students who were racing — that resulted in two fatalities.

“This is more and more common,” said Moore, who serves on the MPO board.

“I hear it where I live. I hear them racing in the middle of the night,” Moore said.

He also noted that he drives to Tampa once or twice a week and always sees troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol on the interstate.

By contrast, Moore said. “I’ve not seen them ever on the state roads in Pasco County, e.g., (State Road) 54, (State Road) 56, (State Road) 52, (U.S.) 41.

“We just had a fatality on (U.S.) 41 last week, as well,” Moore said.

He wants to work with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol to have FHP redirect resources to beef up enforcement on state roads within Pasco.

Moore noted that Pasco residents are concerned, too.

“I’m getting a lot of emails from constituents, around the Wesley Chapel area, because of this,” Moore said.

If FHP beefed up its speeding enforcement on State Roads 52, 54 and 56, as well as U.S. 41, the number of citations it issues would go through the roof, Moore said.

Pasco County Commission Chairman Kathryn Starkey, who also serves on the MPO board, said the speeding problem came up during  a meeting she’d had the prior day with Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco and with County Administrator Dan Biles.

Starkey said she subsequently discussed the problem with David Gwynn, secretary of FDOT’s District Seven, which includes Pasco County.

A meeting on the speeding issue is being organized, Starkey said.

She told her MPO colleagues that during those discussions she learned that the troopers working the interstate are different from the ones who work within Pasco County.

Gina Torres, a transportation planner for the MPO, told the board that she knows that the FHP office working in Pasco is stretched thin.

She said she did a ride-along for an entire day and, essentially, the trooper went from crash to crash to crash.

Starkey urged her MPO board colleagues to support Moore’s motion for additional funding to increase FHP enforcement.

To put it simply, Starkey said: “This would save lives.”

The Pasco County MPO is the lead transportation planning agency in Pasco County that serves the following municipalities in Pasco: Zephyrhills, San Antonio, St. Leo, New Port Richey, Port Richey and Dade City.

Its board is made up of elected leaders from Pasco County, Zephyrhills, Dade City, New Port Richey and Port Richey.

Published February 16, 2022

State Road 52 has new path in East Pasco

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Construction crews have been working on a project that will widen and realign State Road 52, from Uradco Place to Fort King Road, in eastern Pasco County.

‘Road Closed’ barricades block both sides of the new stretch of State Road 52 that runs through San Antonio, at Curley Road. (Fred Bellet)

Between Uradco Place and Bayou Branch Canal, the existing road will be widened into a four-lane divided highway, according to a project description on the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 7 website.

Then, east of Bayou Branch Canal, the new alignment will be a four-lane divided State Road 52 — built south of the existing State Road 52 and tying into Clinton Avenue.

Then, Clinton Avenue between County Road 579 and Fort King Road will be widened into a four-lane divided road.

Clinton Avenue, between Pasadena Avenue and U.S. 301, will become part of the new State Road 52.

The section of existing State Road 52, between Bayou Branch Canal and U.S. 301, will be designated County Road 52, after the construction of the new State Road 52 is completed.

The $81.5 million project began in November 2019 and construction is expected to be completed in the summer of 2024.

The website notes: “Daily lane closures and flagging operations are likely throughout the construction area on numerous roads including but not limited to State Road 52, Curley Road, McCabe Road, Prospect Road and Clinton Avenue. Motorists should use caution and be prepared to stop when necessary.”

The contractor performing the work is Superior Construction Company Southeast LLC.

Published February 16, 2022

A displaced street sign lies in the sand at McKendree Road, awaiting its new location.
A flatbed trailer with heavy equipment crosses the intersection of State Road 52 and the newly striped McKendree Road.
Crews work along the new State Road 52, on a stretch between Curley Road to the west and Prospect Road to the east. Motorists will have a grand view looking west toward San Antonio and Interstate 75.
The east-west sidewalk on the south side of Clinton Avenue is temporarily closed, during construction.
From the crest of the hill at Williams Cemetery Road and Prospect Road, new light poles tower above the new State Road 52 intersection.

Proposed RV resort moves a step closer to approval

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The Pasco County Commission is moving through the process necessary to clear the way for the creation of the proposed North Pasco RV Resort.

The county board voted to send the request for a land use change to state agencies for review.

That’s a step that is required before the county board can amend the long-range plan.

Once the state’s review is done, the county board can act on the requested land use change.

That action is required before the board can consider rezoning the site, to allow its development for a RV resort.

Plans for the RV resort call for 550 RV spaces and at least 10,000 square feet of resort lodge and clubhouse facilities. It would be developed on a 132-acre site bordering Interstate 75, east of Lake Iola Road and south of Blanton Road.

The site, now zoned for agricultural uses, is within the county’s Northeast Pasco Rural Protection Overlay Area.

That overlay district is intended to protect the character of the rural landscape, preserve scenic views and vistas, and ensure that on-site development is compatible with the character of the surrounding area, according to the county ordinance that established the district.

Opponents to the proposed RV resort expressed their concerns during the Pasco County Planning Commission’s public hearing, but were unable to sway that board.

They reiterated their objections during the Feb. 8 county board meeting, but failed to persuade commissioners to reject the request.

Attorney Barbara Wilhite represents the applicants, VCARE Consultants LLC.

VCARE also hired Frances Chandler Marino, who wrote the Northeast Pasco Rural Protection Overlay Area plan, to review the proposed plan for compliance with the rural plan. The private professional planner testified at both the planning board’s public hearing and the county board’s public hearing that the proposed plan is consistent with policies within the rural overlay district.

The development will have its own wastewater treatment plant and will be on well water.

Wilhite told the board that her client has been working on the project for a couple of years.

Lisa Moretti, who lives on Iola Woods Trail, spoke against the proposal.

“We already know that growth doesn’t pay for itself,” Moretti said. “The Northeast Rural Area serves a purpose beyond community protection. It is your failsafe by not having to provide services and infrastructure into the rural area; you are balancing your budget.

“I would argue that you are legally obligated not to change the urban transition service area and not to move urban into the Northeast Rural Area,” she said.

“If you were to just follow the long-range plan and preserve the rural area, you are doing exactly the job of protecting the county,” she said.

“This project could be developed with a rural appeal. A barn. Turning half of the spaces into horse-trailer pads. Putting in a pasture, instead of a water feature. You could lower the density to an acceptable level. Maintain the rural character. Create a portal to Pasco County that was inviting and rural, rather than a hillside covered in RVs and concrete,” she said, but the developer did not want to seek out residents’ input.

Other opponents raised concerns about the lack of compatibility to the rural area, potential dangers posed by large RVs traveling down the area’s roads, and impacts on the wildlife habitat for turkeys, bobcats, foxes and other creatures that dwell there.

The county board asked the developer to provide an additional paved area to accommodate bicyclists riding along the edge of the project.

The requests for the land use and zoning changes are expected to come back for a vote by the county board at its April 5 meeting.

Published February 16, 2022

Dade City native helps showcase Navy’s 4th Fleet Reserve

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Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hunter S. Harwell has advanced to first class petty officer. (Courtesy of Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Mitch Meppelink)

Dade City resident and 2008 Pasco High School graduate Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Hunter S. Harwell advanced to first class petty officer, during a drill weekend with the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Reserve Component in Mayport, according to a news release from the Naval Office of Community Outreach.

“Currently, I serve as the leading petty officer for the public affairs office,” Harwell said, in the release. “Our team supports the Navy by creating photo, video and multimedia products to showcase our command’s many contributions to the fleet’s mission in the 4th fleet area of responsibility.”

Besides serving as a reserve mass communication specialist, Harwell also is a firefighter with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

“Growing up in the area that I did (Dade City), I learned the importance of supporting your community, seeking out opportunities and humbling yourself to other people,” Harwell said, in the release.

Though there are numerous opportunities for sailors to earn recognition in their command, community and careers, Harwell is most proud of the humanitarian missions that he was able to participate in, the release says.

“The Navy helped me decide who I wanted to be in my life,” said Harwell. “I’m grateful for the places I’ve seen and things that I’ve done in the service.”

Published February 16, 2022

New subdivision approved on Happy Hill

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A new subdivision has been approved at the northwest corner of Happy Hill Road and Sarah Lynn Drive, in Dade City.

The 18.78-acre site, now occupied by hay fields, had been zoned for agricultural and rural density uses. The Pasco County Commission changed the zoning on Feb. 8, allowing up to 75 houses.

Attorney Clarke Hobby, representing the applicant, said the actual development is expected to have 51 or 52 homes.

County planners and the Pasco County Planning Commission had recommended approval of the rezoning.

Alisa Weaver, who lives across from the rezoned site, was the only person voicing opposition.

She urged the county board to reject the request.

“We live a rural lifestyle and not looking for close neighbors,” Weaver said, noting the development pattern in the area consists mostly of homes on 1-acre lots or larger.

“The traffic is a major concern,” Weaver added, noting she’s been run off the road and vehicles have run through her fences.

But Hobby said that a study that was reviewed by the county demonstrates that Happy Hill Road has sufficient capacity.

He also noted that his client’s site is next to an existing apartment complex, plus the City of Dade City has annexed several parcels that will bringing 1,000 to 2,000 residential units to the area.

“I feel what we’re doing is wholly consistent with the area. I’m proud of it. We didn’t ask for super-small lots, and I think it will be a credit to the community,” Hobby told the county board.

Commissioner Ron Oakley called for approval of the request.

“It fits in the property fairly well. They’re not asking for 40-foot lots and things of that nature, which would be very dense and very crowded,” Oakley said.

Oakley also noted that Happy Hill Road has the capacity to handle the traffic the new subdivision will create.

Published February 16, 2022

A lesson in how city sanitation works

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A demonstration is given on a Curotto-Can automated front-load garbage truck. Zephyrhills Sanitation driver Donterrell Parker is behind the wheel. (
Courtesy of Kevin Weiss, City of Zephyrhills)

The City of Zephyrhills Public Works Sanitation Division provided an educational demonstration for special needs students at The Broach School in Zephyrhills, as part of National School Choice Week.

Multiple sanitation trucks were on site, with tutorials on garbage packing, truck components, and operations.

Longtime sanitation supervisor Bobby Black, sanitation driver Donterrell Parker and senior maintenance mechanic Jacob Hood were on hand for morning and afternoon sessions.

Approximately 180 students learned the ins and outs of residential solid waste collection and automated pickup.

The City of Zephyrhills’ Sanitation Division takes part in public outreach for a number of other schools in the area, as well.

Published February 16, 2022

Zephyrhills Sanitation Division supervisor Bobby Black, center, explains the use and purpose of an automated garbage truck, for students at The Broach School in Zephyrhills.

Company to open 100,000-square-foot headquarters in Trinity

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A three-year-old athletic wear company has purchased property in Trinity and plans to open a 100,000-square-foot headquarters there, according to a news release from the Pasco Economic Development Council Inc.

The company intends to invest $15 million in the facility and plans to hire 30 new employees this year, the Pasco EDC release adds.

The company’s name is NVGTN — which is pronounced navigation.

The online athletic wear company was started by husband and wife, Brett and Ashleigh Schneggenburger, in their studio apartment.

The company recently purchased property in the Trinity Corporate Center, where it plans to locate its customer service and fulfillment operations.

Brett is a United States Air Force veteran and served as an aircraft engine technician for five years.

“Brett and Ashleigh have an ambitious entrepreneurial spirit. They have turned their small at-home start-up into a very successful company in such a short time, and that is something we embrace and are thrilled to welcome to Pasco County,” Bill Cronin, Pasco EDC president/CEO, said in the release. “I look forward to building our relationship with NVGTN and to continue to see them grow and flourish.”

The company produces affordable yet trendy and form-flattering athletic wear that’s suitable for everyone, the release says.

It uses social media to market new collections and has developed a global customer base in over 170 countries, according to the Pasco EDC news release.

NVGTN launches new lines every two to three months, and during new product launches, they can have an influx of over 50,000 orders.

To find out more, visit NVGTN.com.

Published February 16, 2022

New call center hours for Pasco Utilities

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Pasco County Utilities’ (PCU) call center has updated its hours, and support now is available from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., as of Feb. 1, according to a Pasco County newsletter.

The Pay-by-Phone feature will continue to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and customers can still access a multitude of services online, including:

To learn more about available services, visit bit.ly/PCUServiceCenters.
For information on water-saving tips and resources, visit bit.ly/SaveH2OPasco.

Published February 16, 2022

Pasco moratorium would affect new and used car lots

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First, it was a moratorium in a portion of Pasco County for new applications for multifamily developments — now, it’s a proposed moratorium affecting applications involving car lots.

The Pasco County Planning Commission has recommended approval of a 180-day moratorium on the opening of any new car, truck or van sales businesses — while the county staff works on modifications to the county’s land development code relating to these types of businesses.

The only exception to this moratorium are vehicle sales businesses that have an approved site plan and are operating in accordance with the approved site plan, and any county-approved amendments to that approved site plan, according to the proposed ordinance that the planning board unanimously recommended to the Pasco County Commission.

The initiative for the new moratorium is based on a directive from the county board to the county attorney’s office to pursue the pause on businesses involving vehicle sales.

Pasco County Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey has been complaining for some time about the way some vehicle sale businesses are operating.

At the county board’s Jan. 11 meeting, she raised the issue again — suggesting a moratorium, which the county board supported.

David Goldstein, chief assistant county attorney, told the planning board: “The primary purpose of this moratorium is, there’s a number of dealerships that are opening up in Pasco County without going through site plan approval at all.”

The proposed moratorium, the attorney said, “would stop somebody from submitting a brand new one (site plan), or somebody from operating who doesn’t have a site plan at all.

Goldstein added: “If you’re already an approved dealership, you can open up and you can seek amendments to your site plan.”

Attorney Barbara Wilhite, who regularly appears at land use and zoning hearings on behalf of clients, said she wasn’t representing any particular client on this issue.

However, she said, she’s glad the language of the moratorium has been evolving, because she’s sure the county doesn’t want to stop approved car dealerships from opening.

“I understand that this has to do with the used car dealerships that aren’t following any rules,” she said.

The businesses are going onto a piece of property and “they just put the cars on there and turn the lights on, and off they go,” Wilhite said.

“We’ve got to balance the fact that the new car dealerships are high-paying jobs and they’re revenue generators, and pay taxes and all of those things,” she said.

Goldstein said: “We can’t just exempt anybody that submits a site plan because we’ll get a flood of junk (site plans) coming in.”

Part of the county’s dilemma is to avoid having those kinds of submittals from “fly-by-night dealerships,” he said.

Denise Hernandez, the county’s zoning administrator, said the moratorium needs to apply to both new and used dealerships, because the problem involves both.

Goldstein added: “You can’t really distinguish between new and used. Even a new (car) dealership sells some used cars.”

The moratorium is not attempting to go after any dealership that has legitimately gone through the county’s site plan approval process, Goldstein said.

“The issue we’re having is the ones that are not,” he said.

The exemption provides protection for legitimate dealerships, he said.

“If it’s a remodel of an existing dealership, it would already have an approved site plan,” he said, and would therefore be exempted from the 180-day moratorium.

If the moratorium is approved by the county board, which appears likely, a study will be conducted to determine what amendments should be made to the county land development code to ensure safe operations of such businesses.

The next hearing on the proposed ordinance will be on Feb. 22, with a final hearing on March 8.

In other action, the planning board continued a proposal for a 180-day moratorium on the submission and acceptance of applications for building permits, site plans, special exception uses, conditional uses, rezonings and comprehensive plan amendments proposing to increase entitlements within the moratorium areas.

The proposed moratorium ordinance collectively refers to three public-use airports located within Pasco County: the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, Tampa North Aero Park, and Pilot Country; one private-use airport, Hidden Lake Airport; and, a portion of the conical and horizontal surfaces of the Brooksville-Tampa Bay Regional Airport, as identified on that Airport’s FAA Part 77 Surfaces Map.

County planning staff requested a delay on the hearing, which is now scheduled for the March 3 planning board meeting.

Published February 09, 2022