The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

U.S. 19

Board is pushing for faster progress on emergency response times

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The Pasco County Commission is turning up the heat on its administration’s efforts to improve response times for the county’s emergency crews.

During a recent budget workshop, board members wanted to know why it isn’t possible to bring fire stations online quicker than is currently planned.

The questions surfaced during the board’s May 24 budget workshop.

The discussion came after repeated appearances at board meetings by members of the International Association of Firefighters, Local 4420, representing Pasco’s firefighters, who have complained that they aren’t able to respond to emergencies fast enough.

They said the delays pose a risk to Pasco residents, who need medical attention and to properties that are in danger of destruction.

During the budget discussion, Robert Goehig the county’s budget director, updated the county board on progress regarding fire stations being built through the general obligation bonds approved by voters.

Fire Station 17 is under construction at 2951 Seven Springs Blvd., in New Port Richey, and Fire Station 9 is being built in Land O’ Lakes.

Fire Station 3, which will be located in Beacon Woods, is expected to be put out for bid in the next few weeks, Goehig said.

Commissioner Jack Mariano wanted to know why more progress hadn’t already been made on Beacon Woods, given the fact the county has owned the property for several years.

Commissioner Mike Moore asked: “What can we do, when it comes to purchasing, to prioritize? I know obviously, when you’re moving something up, something else pops down.

“But we’re talking about public safety. Obviously, that should take priority.

“So, what can we do?”

County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder said the county attorney’s office prioritizes its legal work based on the county administrator’s priority list.

“Fire Station No. 3 is No. 4 on the current ranking,” Steinsnyder said.

Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick responded: “It’s needed now. It’s imperative.”

County Administrator Dan Biles responded: “I want to remind the board that before we even took the bond to the voters in 2018, we outlined a phasing program for all nine fire stations.

“We phased the building so that when they come online, we have the funding to operate them.

“If you build them too early, you don’t have the funding to operate them,” Biles said.

“So, right now, (Stations) two and four, we don’t have the funds in ’23 to actually operate them, if they opened in ’23.”

He said the phasing was requested by the board, to ensure the county would have funding for operations.

“So, that’s what we’ve done,” Biles said.

Growth prompts need for faster action
Commissioner Mariano said the decision that was made at that time made sense.

“However, with the surge of growth that’s out there right now, with the extended times that people are taking to get service, I think it’s time we need to re-look at it, and make an adjustment.”

Mariano said he doesn’t understand why it would take so long for architectural work related to the buildings, since they can be essentially the same buildings.

Biles said each building has to be individually sited to make sure the footprint of the building fits on the site.

“You have to do the civil work and adapt it to the site, because every site is different. Every site has different site constraints, different access points. All of that stuff is different for every site,” Biles said.

Biles told the board a proposed “peak-hour rescue program” can be initiated to help reduce the response time for rescue calls.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey asked about the possibility of adding private rescue companies.

“If our dilemma right now is not having enough rescue, we can contract out, temporarily, until we have more of our own. It’s our same firefighters that are working for those companies that are manning that could be available, parked around the county that could help us.

“Right now, I think they just do transport, but I’ve been told they can do rescue,” she said.

Biles responded: “There are different classifications of transport and we allow the privates to do a certain level of that. We don’t allow them to do the initial emergency response.”

The county administrator said part of the problem stems from neighborhoods springing up in areas that are not close to fire stations. Another problem is that the county went a considerable number of years without adding any fire stations.

“We went over a decade without building a new fire station,” he said.

Meanwhile, “we added 100,000 people in Pasco County and we didn’t build a fire station.”

Biles noted that the corridors of U.S. 19, State Road 54 and U.S. 301 are where the peak-hour calls are happening.

The county has existing facilities in those corridors, Biles added. “So, it’s put the peak-hour rescue units in, the facilities that we have and let them be mobile.

“Every new fire station is going to help, but the issue right now is the peak call volume. So, the peak-hour rescue program that we’re already working to stand up, is the right way to attack it,” Biles said.

Commissioner Moore asked Steinsnyder if the county could pursue a Municipal Services Taxing Unit to attempt to force new growth to pay for itself.

Steinsnyder said he’s not aware of any government entity that has crafted that approach and he’s certain it would hold up, legally.

But the attorney did note that impact fees for capital fire projects have not been increased in numerous years.

Published 06/01/2022

Pasco pushing for improved curb appeal

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Pasco County commissioners have been advocating more attractive residential neighborhoods in recent months and now, they are shifting their focus to commercial corridors.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey raised the issue during the board’s March 8 meeting.

She prefaced her comments by saying that for 30 years she’s been involved in “a never-ending challenge to clean up Pasco County.”

She then began showing her colleagues some photographs.

Proposed change calls for fewer chain link fences around businesses on main Pasco roads. (B.C. Manion)

“This is a company that’s moved onto (State Road) 54, without permits, to open up a towing site,” the chairwoman said, showing a property with a chain-link fence topped by barbed wire, and no landscaping.

“It is very unsightly. It kind of reminds me of the federal prison,” Starkey said. “I don’t think this is what we want (state roads) 54, 56 and other roads to be looking like.”

Starkey added: “The chain-link, barbed-wire thing doesn’t belong on our main arterials and collectors, and whatever other roads in your district that you want to designate.”

She also mentioned another example involving a business that moved from State Road 54, where it had a vinyl, opaque fence to State Road 52.

“But now, on (State Road) 52, they have a chain-link fence with barbed wire.

“We’ve got Angeline coming in there. You know, we’re trying to build nice communities.

“Chain link and barbed wire? We can do better,” Starkey said.

She also showed the board a series of other photos.

“This is where they had all of the oak trees and they cut them all down,” she said, showing a chain-link fence on State Road 54.

“We allowed them to put the landscaping behind the fence. It does absolutely nothing,” she said.

Commissioners Jack Mariano and Mike Moore both agreed that placing the landscaping behind the fence doesn’t make sense.

Nectarios Pittos, director of the county’s planning and development department, told the commissioners: “I think with regard to the landscaping, they’re on the inside of the fence line mainly because the orientation is to screen to the larger traffic area. Moving the orientation to the outside of the fencing, then the orientation is screening for motorists.”

Starkey responded: “I think that’s what we want. We want to project a better view from the road.”

County Attorney Jeffrey Steinsnyder noted: “The code is also being used for residential, so traditionally, you screen the neighborhood from the road.”

Starkey responded: “That’s up to the neighborhood, but the traveling public needs to be protected from ugly.”

Mariano shared similar sentiments: “We want the place to look good from the roadway, when people are driving by. We’re not worried about what it looks like inside, we’re worried about how it looks outside.”

Pittos said it would not be difficult to specify in the code that landscaping should be placed on the right of way side of the fence.

“That just means that the fence is no longer at property line. The fence is probably 10, 20 feet within the property line, so that whatever buffer yard that’s there, let’s say, can be facing the right of way,” he said.

Starkey wants the county’s land development code to address fence types.

“We would probably target this toward our main arterial and collector roads, and those roads that have a transit emphasis on them, so State Road 54, 56, 52, the north-south arteries, like U.S. 19, Little Road, I could march all of the way to the east, but you get the idea,” Pittos said.

The planning director continued: “The chain link and the barbed wire — there’s a preference not to see it. Is there a fence type that is preferred?”

Commissioner Moore responded: “We can’t make that decision right now.”

Starkey added: “I think there may be some very few exceptions for chain link, and I think we should leave that window open.”

Moore agreed: “You might want to hear some of the issues that you’d run into.

“If we’re talking about (state roads) 54, 56 and (U.S.) 41, —wherever it may be — we still do have some ag properties along there, that need barbed wire, that need fencing for the cattle,” Moore said.

In essence, Starkey’s message was this: “Don’t degrade our communities.”

Starkey wrapped up the discussion by telling staff she felt they’d received sufficient direction.

Published March 13, 2022

New ordinance aims to ban panhandling in Pasco County

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An ordinance adopted by the Pasco County Commission aims to halt solicitation by panhandlers — by making it unlawful for pedestrians and motorists to physically interact, unless a vehicle is parked.

The ordinance is patterned after one adopted in Lee County, and Pasco county board members said it’s needed to reduce safety hazards on county roads.

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano applauded Lee County for finding a solution to the issue of panhandling, and he thanked Senior Assistant County Attorney Patrick Moore for handling the legal work to bring the ordinance forward.

Mariano repeatedly has said it’s a problem that needs to be addressed.

“You hear some of them talking about making $600 a day, doing it.

“One watched some guy finish for the day. He got through with his panhandling, got into his new Cadillac and went away,” Mariano said.

“When the people know they can’t do business in the middle of the right of way, I think they stop,” Mariano said.

He added that when the source of the money goes away, “I think this problem will get eliminated a lot quicker.”

According to Moore, from the county attorney’s office: “What this ordinance does, regardless of the reason why someone is in the road, or why they’re in the median, or interacting with vehicles, it’s dangerous. Regardless of the reason of that occurring, it (the ordinance) makes it prohibited.”

Commissioner Christina Fitzpatrick said it needs to be addressed to improve safety.

She noted that of the county’s top 10 most dangerous intersections for pedestrians and bicyclists, six are on U.S. 19.

The U.S. 19 corridor has been notorious for the number of panhandlers that congregate there, according to testimony offered by commissioners during previous discussions relating to panhandling.

Commissioner Mike Moore noted that when he joined the board, the problem was predominantly in West Pasco, but it since has spread into Land O’ Lakes, Lutz and Wesley Chapel.

Commissioner Ron Oakley said panhandling isn’t a big issue in East Pasco, but he joined his colleagues in approving the ordinance because he thinks it is needed to address the problem in other parts of the county.

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey said, “I’m hoping that this ordinance can help stop the tragic things that are happening out on our roadways.”

She told her colleagues that recently she was driving home along U.S. 19, at night, and could barely see a woman, who was dressed in dark clothing, walking along the median.

Mariano brought a video to show board members panhandlers out in the road. There was a glitch on the video, but board members didn’t seem to need to see it, to understand there’s a problem.

Moore, from the county attorney’s office, said the new ordinance prohibits the stopping or standing by pedestrians in a median, and also prohibits the physical interactions between a pedestrian and an occupant of a motor vehicle that is not legally parked.

The regulations also prohibit the commercial use of public rights of way.

Any person found in violation must cease the activity and may be issued a citation punishable by a fine not to exceed $500, according to the ordinance.

Each action in violation of a provision of this chapter shall constitute a separate offense. Issuance of a citation does not preclude an action for injunction, issuance of a trespass warning where authorized, or any other legal remedy available to Pasco County, the ordinance adds.

The board unanimously adopted the new regulations at its Feb. 22 meeting.

The ordinance must be filed by the clerk to the board to the Department of State, within 10 days of its adoption. It takes effect upon that filing.

Published March 02, 2022

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 is on a roll, and is poised to attract more jobs

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The announcement last week of Amazon’s decision to bring 500 jobs to Pasco County prompted a broader discussion by the Pasco County Commission about what it can do to support continued employment growth.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore raised the topic, after Bill Cronin, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council Inc., shared details of Amazon’s planned project.

The company is planning a 517,220-square-foot Robotic Sortation Center, on 127 acres, at State Road 52 and Bellamy Brothers Boulevard.

Moore said that one of his objectives when he ran for a county board seat in 2014 was to bring jobs to Pasco, so residents wouldn’t have to commute daily to work elsewhere.

So, at the county board’s Jan. 25 meeting, Moore asked Cronin and David Engel, director of Pasco County’s Office of Economic Growth, what commissioners can do to help in those efforts.

Moore put it this way: “So, we look at the growth along the (State Road) 54 and (State Road) 56 corridor — what can we do, what should we do — to preserve some of the job-creating sites along that corridor?

“Eventually, we could run out of space,” he said.

He asked: “Can we have more Spec (office) space? Can we have more Ready Sites?

“What can we do, as a board, to assure our residents 5, 10, 20 years down the road that jobs are going to be here. So, we don’t have to leave this area all of the time?”

Cronin said Pasco enjoys an advantage compared to many other places in the state.

“We’re really one of the only places that has land and people. Other places in Florida have people; they don’t have land. And, if they’ve got land, they don’t have people.

“We’re in a really good situation right now,” he said.

However, preserving sites for job-generating activities is important, not just to create more employment, but also to reduce congestion, Cronin said.

“It is the solution to a lot of our transportation problems, to make sure people are employed here and not somewhere else,” he said.

Cronin highlighted the need to ensure that employment centers that were entitled as part of master-planned unit developments are actually developed as job generators and are not converted to residential uses.

The whole idea of a master-planned unit development is to create a self-contained place where people can live, work and play, he said.

The non-residential portion of the project also is important for the county’s tax base, he added.

So, Cronin told the board: “The main thing is to make sure that the developers are continuing to commit and take care of those of entitlements, regarding those employment centers, and not (allow developers to) trade employment center entitlements out for anything.

“The jobs come first. If you’re going to trade it for housing or things like that, it totally throws the whole purpose of an MPUD out the window. Because, if you don’t have the jobs in the MPUD, then you’re getting in your car and you’re driving somewhere else every day,” Cronin said.

Ideally, Cronin added, the employment centers will be built first, before the housing within the development.

When that happens, he explained, “there’s less chance of residents saying, ‘Oh no, we don’t want that company, here.’”

Moore asked Cronin: “How important is it to have employment centers along State Road 54 and State Road 56 — because of access to Interstate 75, to the Suncoast Parkway, to I-275?”

Cronin responded: “Anytime you’re moving people, you want to be close to the highway.”

The economic development expert cited Moffitt Cancer Center’s planned Pasco campus as an example. It’s going to be developed near the Suncoast Parkway, Ridge Road and State Road 52.

“That’s 14,000 (projected) jobs. That is workforce that will be coming from everywhere. So making sure the transportation is there,” Cronin said. “If you’ve got transportation set up to move people, that’s where your jobs should also be.”

Engel told the board that the county’s planning and development party, along with the Office of Economic Growth and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council are working on a Light Industrial, Employment Center Study.

“We want to do an assessment of the county and our land use, and provide adequate guarantees and recommendations to the board to preserve this space,” he said.

Engel also noted a tremendous amount of development potential in East Pasco, moving up from the Interstate 4 (I-4) corridor.

Cronin said: “You’ve got a lot of people that are coming down I-4, going straight up into Pasco County, rather than coming all of the way to I-75 in Pasco County and heading north.”

Commission Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey agrees with the county’s need for more industrial sites. But she also wants more attention paid to redevelopment along the county’s busy corridors, such as U.S. 19 and U.S. 41.

Commissioner Jack Mariano agreed: “Redevelopment is a big issue.”

Mariano asked Cronin to look into how Pinellas County treats redevelopment, as compared to Pasco County.

Published February 02, 2022

Pasco facing apartment shortage, commissioner says

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Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey tackled a number of key topics as the featured guest speaker of the East Pasco Networking Group’s breakfast meeting earlier this month at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center in Zephyrhills.

She first addressed one of the more visible happenings — the county’s surging population growth, and its residential and commercial development.

“Obviously, you know, the county is on a tear,” Starkey opened to the group of a dozen-plus citizens during the Sept 14 gathering. “Florida’s No. 1 engine for growth is getting people to move here, and you see that happening in our county.

“We’re growing like crazy,” said Starkey, whose district seat includes southwest and south-central Pasco. “Every month we’re breaking the record on the amount of permits that we’re giving, compared to last year.”

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey was the featured guest speaker at the East Pasco Networking Group’s Sept. 14 meeting at the Sarah Vande Berg Tennis & Wellness Center, in Zephyrhills. (Kevin Weiss)

The commissioner said she regularly receives calls from landowners who want to know if the county plans to approve their land to build apartments.

The commissioner said that Pasco is actually facing an apartment shortage, despite the many Class A luxury apartments that have gone up in recent years.

Yet, the commissioner emphasized that county leadership and decision-makers are becoming “very, very picky” on where new apartments will be placed in the area.

“We do not want to give up commercial and industrial property for apartments,” she said.

The Pasco County Commission currently has a mortarium in place for new applications for multifamily development, which includes a portion of the county that’s essentially in Wesley Chapel and Land O’ Lakes.

Starkey said county leaders have instead encouraged would-be developers to build multi-family housing in more needed areas, such as Hudson, Holiday and along U.S. 19.

It has been a challenge, as Pasco’s apartment shortage is leading to steep rent increases, Starkey said.

The county needs to have affordable housing, particularly for first responders, public servants and working-class residents, Starkey said.

“Where are our policeman and our nurses and our teachers going to live? Because when this cycle comes around again and they go to sign a new lease, they’re going to be moving out.

“They’re going to be moving to Hernando (County), they’re going to be moving to Citrus (County), and they’re going to be driving down here, and I really worry about that, so there needs to be a balance,” she said.

The apartment development industry is having trouble keeping up with Pasco’s population surge, too.

Starkey noted experts in that field all but say they build only about 1,500 units per year in the county due to the equipment and logistical hurdles.

Besides being a bedroom community for many Hillsborough County workers, the county also has experienced an influx of people moving in from the Orlando area, Starkey observed.

She believes the Orlando influx can be attributed to that region’s hospitality industry taking a hit during the course of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Orlando is sending us people like crazy,” she said. “I’m thinking when all the hospitality stuff closed up, people left and came here.”

The commissioner also touched on various county road construction projects, including the delayed Diverging Diamond Interchange project at State Road 56 and Interstate 75 in Wesley Chapel.

This work stoppage was a result of contractor D.A.B. Constructors defaulting, and ultimately filing for bankruptcy and going out of business.

The diverging diamond project has since been assumed by a bond company and awarded to Superior Construction Company Southeast LLC.

“I was very glad to see, driving up here, that they were at work on the diverging diamond,” Starkey said. “It’s going to be at least a year behind, but it is moving again.”

The new estimated date of completion is the summer of 2022, according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s website.

Published September 29, 2021

Considering options to ease traffic

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Three alternatives are being considered to improve traffic flow through one of Pasco County’s busiest intersections.

A community workshop was held last week for the public to weigh in on three proposed alternatives, as well as a no-build option, at U.S. 41 and State Road 54, in Land O’ Lakes.

The intersection carried about 124,000 vehicles per day in 2019 and is projected to carry 176,000 vehicles per day in 2045, according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s District Seven presentation materials.

Charts of various configurations of traffic patterns piqued the interest of many attending a workshop regarding alternatives being considered to improve the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54. (Fred Bellet)

State Road 54 runs east-west through Pasco County, providing connections to several regional north-south routes, including U.S. 19, the Suncoast Parkway, U.S. 41, Interstate 75, U.S. 301 and U.S. 98.

Meanwhile, U.S. 41 is a north-south road that traverses the entire length of Pasco County.

The roads are part of the regional transportation network, are used as hurricane evacuation routes, and are designated as regional freight mobility corridors.

They also play a role in the daily lives of commuters.

Motorists use U.S. 41 to travel from Hernando County through Pasco County to Hillsborough County.

When the traffic stacks up at the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54, traffic is impeded on both major arterial roads.

The situation has been a source of frustration for motorists, who have complained for years about being stuck in traffic through repeated light cycles, and there’s been considerable talk, too, about the need to fix the problem.

Besides being inconvenient, the crash rate at the intersection is higher than the state average, according to FDOT materials.

Paul Ketchum, who lives in the Oasis development off State Road 54, makes a point regarding one of the proposed plans to improve the flow of traffic through State Road 54 and U.S. 41, where Land O’ Lakes meets Lutz.

The options being considered are:

  • Alternative 1: A single-point urban intersection (SPUI), providing an interchange with State Road 54 elevated over U.S. 41.

This alternative would affect 62 parcels and would require 28 business relocations.

The anticipated need for right of way is 55.3 acres. The estimated present cost for this alternative is $222 million.

  • Alternative 2: A parallel flow intersection (PFI), providing displaced left-turns, in all four approaches, at grade.

This alternative would affect 30 parcels and would require 17 business relocations. The anticipated need for right of way is 22.2 acres. The estimated present total cost for this alternative is $108.9 million.

  • Alternative 3: A continuous flow intersection (CFI), with elevated lanes of State Road 54 over U.S. 41, providing displaced left turns in all four approaches.

This alternative would affect 65 parcels and would require 34 business relocations.

The anticipated need for right of way is 54.5 acres. The estimated present day total cost is $246.3 million.

Leslie Bush, of Tampa, used an electronic device to take notes regarding the proposed alternatives.

All three of the options would involve three residential relocations and would impact eight contaminated sites. None of them would have an impact on archaeological or historical sites.

There also is a no-build alternative, which will be dropped if and when an alternative is selected.

The workshop drew 94 people, with 49 coming to the workshop at Keystone Community Church, off State Road 54, in Lutz, and 45 taking part virtually, according to figures provided by Kris Carson, spokeswoman for the District 7 office.

The session included a video, that ran continuously, explaining the alternatives.

Those attending could check out displays and learn details about options being considered.

Representatives of the DOT were there, too, providing information and fielding questions.

A closer look at a proposed plan, showing a change of elevation on State Road 54.

Besides having the chance to become more informed, the workshop offered the opportunity for the public to fill out comment cards offering their views on the various alternatives and to address such issues as traffic patterns, project design, and the social, economic, and environmental effects of the proposed improvements.

The need for this project has been established based on future traffic demands, future population and employment growth in the area, according to FDOT background materials.

In evaluating alternatives, the state looks at the improvements based on such issues as traffic operations, safety, right of way needs and environmental impacts, among others.

Based on additional analysis and consideration of public comment, the project team will select a preferred alternative and complete the feasibility study.

The next phase is resuming the Project Design & Environmental (PD&E) Study phase, which will be done in 2021 and 2022; then the design phase, 2023 and 2024.

Right of way acquisition is expected to take place from 2022 to 2026.

This project is not yet funded for construction.

Published September 22, 2021

Busy intersection subject of public meeting

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Those interested in the future of the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54 are invited to attend a public meeting this week to discuss possible options for improvement.

The Florida Department of Transportation’s District Seven is hosting the meeting, which is set for Sept. 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Keystone Community Church, 21010 State Road 54, in Lutz.

Virtual attendance also is available, but registration is required to participate online.

To register, visit the project’s website: https://active.fdotd7studies.com/sr54/us41-at-sr54/.

This aerial view shows the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54. During morning and afternoon rush hours, there are significant backups at the busy intersection in Land O’ Lakes. (Courtesy of Florida Department of Transportation)

The FDOT is holding the workshop to give people who are interested the opportunity to provide comments concerning the traffic patterns, design, and social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed improvements.

In addition to the intersection of State Road 54 and U.S. 41, the project study will include areas adjacent to the intersection along the two major roads, according to FDOT materials.

State Road 54 is one of two existing major east-west arterials connecting eastern Pasco County to western Pasco County.

The need for this project has been established based on future traffic demands, future population and employment growth in the area, according to FDOT materials.

Improvements at the U.S. 41/State Road 54 intersection are included in the Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) 2035 Cost Affordable Long Range Transportation Plan, as well as the 2035 Regional Long Range Transportation Plan Needs Assessment, which was developed by the West Central Florida MPO’s Chairs Coordinating Committee.

The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate various alternatives for the U.S. 41/State Road 54 intersection, which will improve the flow of people and goods through the project area by increasing roadway capacity and reducing traffic congestion.

The study will compare the effects each alternative may have on the environment and the surrounding communities, as well as the traveling public, according to FDOT materials.

Across Pasco County, State Road 54 provides connections to several regional north-south routes including U.S. 19, the Suncoast Parkway, U.S. 41, Interstate 75, U.S. 301 and U.S. 98, the FDOT materials note.

“The proposed improvements at the intersection of U.S. 41 and State Road 54 will enhance the overall transportation network linking Pasco County with the Tampa Bay region,” according to FDOT materials.

The options being considered are:

  • Alternative 1: A single-point urban intersection (SPUI), providing an interchange with State Road 54, elevated over U.S. 41.
  • Alternative 2: A parallel flow intersection (PFI), providing displaced left-turns, in all four approaches at grade.
  • Alternative 3: A continuous flow intersection (CFI), with elevated lanes of State Road 54 over U.S. 41, providing displaced left-turns in all four approaches.

There also is a no-build alternative.

Department representatives will be available at the in-person public workshop beginning at 5:30 p.m., to answer questions and discuss the project informally.

Draft project documents and other project-related materials also will be displayed, and a PowerPoint video presentation will run continuously during the workshop.

State Road 54 runs east-west, and had an average daily traffic count of 63,000 in 2019, according to FDOT figures; U.S. 41 runs north-south, and had average daily traffic counts of 69,000 in 2019.

In addition to existing traffic, there’s significant growth underway in Central Pasco, with more on the way. Plus, State Road 54 is an evacuation route when hurricanes threaten.

In evaluating alternatives, the state looks at the improvements based on such issues as traffic operations, safety, right of way needs and environmental impacts, among others.

Once a build alternative is selected, the next phase is the Project Design & Environmental (PD&E) Study phase, and then the design phase.

The PD&E would be conducted in 2021 to 2022; design, from 2022 to 2024; right of way acquisition from 2025 to 2026.

Construction of this project is not yet funded, according to the project web page.

For more information or to comment, please contact Kirk Bogen, an environmental management engineer for FDOT, at 813-975-6448, 800-226-7220 or .

Published September 15, 2021

Pasco MPO plans to launch to three planning studies

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The Pasco County Metropolitan Planning Organization plans to embark on three studies aimed at improving opportunities for the county to attract state and federal funding.

One will focus on Pasco County’s Freight Transportation Plan, a second will zero in on d the Zephyrhills Multiuse Path and the third will focus on the U.S. 19 corridor in West Pasco.

Carl Mikyska, executive director of Pasco MPO, described the importance of the freight study this way: “We are a county that has a number of great opportunities. I want to use that freight plan to not only improve freight access and mobility, while preserving the quality of life for our residents, I want to use it as an economic attractor tool — to grow, to develop in a manner that’s careful, but increases our tax base.”

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano also seized on the potential: “That spur up in Lacoochee should be a part of that study.”

Pasco County Commission Chairman Ron Oakley also reiterated comments he’d made previously about the potential for the Lacoochee area.

Mikyska also talked about the need — when conducting corridor studies — to consider a variety of perspectives.

When looking at the U.S. 19 corridor, for instance, the examination must go beyond traffic and congestion, he said.

Corridor studies define the conditions of the route, what options may be available to address safety, congestion, or other mobility needs and what limitations may be present, according to the MPO board’s Aug. 12 backup materials. Examples of limitations might include environmental conditions that should be avoided and/or the need to purchase right-of-way.

Planning studies are used to determine which transportation alternatives may be advanced and which alternatives may be eliminated from further consideration. Planning-level studies of corridors also help to more carefully define anticipated improvement project costs, the backup materials say.

Besides approving the proposed corridor studies, the transportation planning board also agreed with Mikyska’s suggestion to join MetroPlan Orlando in its efforts to extend its Transportation System Management & Operations (TSM&O) system.

MetroPlan, which is the MPO organization for Orlando, has been working on its system for years and seeks to extend it from Daytona Beach, on the Atlantic Coast over to the Tampa metro region on the Gulf Coast.

The TSM&O approach involves using technology to improve the performance of the transportation system rather than through more expensive options, such as roadway widening, according to agenda backup materials.

Examples of TSM&O include dynamic message signs on the interstate warning of traffic congestion ahead, traveling in a corridor at the speed limit with consistent green signals, and cable infrastructure to assist with broadband connectivity, the agenda materials say.

The idea is to use those strategies, in a coordinated fashion, to keep traffic flowing.

The Pasco MPO board approved Mikyska’s request to participate, with the only expected cost to be the expenditure of staff time.

On another item, the MPO board approved a scope of work for a study at the intersection of State Road 52 and Adair Road.

The Pasco MPO, in cooperation with the City of Dade City and the Florida Department of Transportation has identified the need to evaluate implementation of traffic control measures at the intersection, where additional traffic is expected because of increased residential development nearby.

Federal Transportation Planning Grant Funds will be used to pay for the $29,345.01 study.

Published September 01, 2021

Vaccine demand continues to outpace supply

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Complaints about difficulties in registering for COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Pasco and Hillsborough counties have resulted in changes to those systems, but demand for vaccinations continues to outpace the supply of available vaccines.

Both Pasco and Hillsborough now are using the same registration system for vaccines.

Anyone age 65 and older who needs the COVID-19 vaccination must go to PatientPortalFl.com or call 844-770-8548 to create an account with CDR Maguire: Health & Medical (CDR Maguire).

Saint Leo University hosted the first COVID-19 vaccine distribution in East Pasco County on Jan. 15, at its campus in St. Leo. (Courtesy of Jason Longo/Saint Leo University)

An account with CDR Maguire is required to register for a vaccination appointment.

Those who have created an account with CDR Maguire must log into the patient portal to register for an appointment.

Pasco’s health department announced that it would hold four vaccination clinics this week. Registrations for the clinics began on Jan. 17. Appointments are mandatory to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.

The health department planned to provide 400 vaccinations on Jan. 19 and 400 on Jan. 21, 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., at Sears Auto Center in the Gulfview Square Mall, 9409 U.S. 19 in Port Richey.

There also will be 500 appointments on Jan. 20 and 500 on Jan. 22, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Saint Leo University, 33710 State Road 52 in St. Leo.

Those receiving the vaccinations should be sure to have a photo ID, when checking in for your vaccination appointment. If using the online patient portal, be sure to bring a printed or digital copy of the confirmation email you receive, containing the QR code.

Both Hillsborough and Pasco counties continue to have a fundamental issue with vaccine supply.

On the Hillsborough website, a health department note says: “Please understand that the vaccine is not widely available in Hillsborough County at this time and the distribution plans depend on vaccine supplies. Supplies are provided by the federal government and distributed to the states, which then allocate them to counties.”

Pasco County Commission members expressed frustrations about the vaccine supply problem at their Jan. 12 meeting.

Commissioner Mike Moore raised the issue, noting that Pasco’s health department was supposed to receive 3,500 doses on a particular day.

“They received zero, as we all know,” Moore said to his colleagues.

“Our current population, we’re guesstimating, is 560,000 —  I’m sure when the census comes out it will be closer to 600,000,” Moore said.

About a third of Pasco’s population is over the age of 65, he added.

If the county was to get 1,800 vaccines a week, it would take about 7 ½ years to vaccinate the population in Pasco County. At 3,500, it would take 3 ½ years to vaccinate the population of Pasco County, he said.

Moore said he’d been working on the problem with Dan Biles, county administrator; Andy Fossa, county director of emergency management; and Mike Napier, public health officer for the Department of Health — Pasco County.

Moore then reached out to Jared Moskowitz, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

“I was able to get him to send at least 1,000,” Moore said. “While I do appreciate that, that’s not enough.”

Moore said he and Commission Chairman Ron Oakley reached out to State Sen. Danny Burgess, and Burgess was able to secure another 500 vaccines.

“So, we ended up with 1,500 this week,” said Moore, who also expressed gratitude to Senate President Wilton Simpson and Rep. Randy Maggard, for their efforts.

But, Moore expressed his continued frustration about Pasco’s inability to get adequate vaccines.

“Every one of us (county commissioners) are getting the calls and the emails from our constituents. I know that each and every one of you, as well as I do, wish we could do more for them. Unfortunately, right now, the only thing that we can do is ask and beg. I really feel like I was begging yesterday, on behalf of our citizens. We need more vaccines in Pasco County,” Moore said.

Administrator Biles said “to be honest, the entire region is being shorted.”

“At the rate we’re getting it, it’s six-plus months, just to get the over-65 community,” Biles said.

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey said “I’m trying to figure out why we’re getting shorted.”

She suggested sending a letter to the governor and state emergency management director, urging that “vaccines be distributed per capita, in a fair and uniform manner.”

The letter also should go to Senate President Simpson and Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls, Starkey suggested.

“Let’s get that letter off immediately and get our fair share,” she said.

Commissioner Jack Mariano weighed in: “I think we need to get a federal letter, too.”

Commissioners agreed with Starkey and Mariano’s suggestions, and approved separate motions to send both letters.

For more information on signing up for a vaccination and about the availability of appointments, visit the Pasco health department websites at Pasco.floridahealth.gov and the Hillsborough health department website at Hillsborough.floridahealth.gov.

Vaccines in Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order that outlines that providers can only administer COVID-19 vaccines to these groups:

  • Health care facility residents and staff
  • Those age 65 and older
  • Health care personnel with direct patient contact
  • Persons deemed to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 by hospital providers

Keep wearing your mask
Even if you’ve had two vaccinations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there’s not enough information yet to say when it will stop recommending people to wear masks and to avoid close contact with others to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

While experts learn more, they recommend that people continue to:

  • Wear a mask over your nose and mouth
  • Stay at least 6 feet away from others
  • Avoid crowds
  • Avoid poorly ventilated spaces
  • Wash your hands often

Published January 20, 2021