Transportation, Utilities and Public Safety Study Circle

Minutes of Meeting, September 24, 2002

Moderator: Jeffrey Siewert

Facilitator: Pam Tayon

Introductions were made. Debbie Herrington and William Porth from the City of Tampa Transportation Department were present to provide a technical presentation regarding traffic calming to aid in the DISCO process.

Jeffrey Siewert gave an overview of the planning initiative and objectives, the ground rules for the DISCO and concerns that were documented by our June 3rd General Meeting.

Topics were discussed. Some topics are found under more than one issue.

Issues discussed

1. Speeding
2. Pedestrian Safety

Speeding

1. Main bridge on to Island/Adalia
2. Pedestrians walking in the streets
3. Pedestrians in the business district generally use the entire roadway, not just the crosswalks
4. Vehicles in the business district travel too fast w/o regard for pedestrians
5. Highest speed roads are generally East/West Davis but there are others as well. These roads are cut-through options to avoid E/W Davis
6. Channel has sidewalks but people still walk in the street

Pedestrian Safety

Overall concerns are Safety, Convenience and Accessibility<

1. Walking in the business district
2. Walking in the street on Channel/South Davis/Severn to DIYC
3. Future Channel-side walk from HCC to POK Airport?
4. Main bridge and Adalia intersection
5. Certain residential streets that are cut through streets

General Information

William Porth gave a presentation of the traffic calming procedures required by the City of Tampa. He indicated that there are requirements that must be followed in order for the City to provide any support for the locations of concern. These requirements include a detailed speed documentation study that must indicate that the 85 percentile of the vehicles are speeding. The City currently has over 800 of these location documented and the City must prioritize them relative to public safety. Once prioritized then the City must secure funding for the improvement project.

The overall message from the City was that they were there to provide support and will be responsive to our requests. However they have a significant backlog of projects that have gone through the process. They also indicated that they feel that Davis Islands does not have a problem and that the improvements implemented thus far are working well.

Stop signs in the Business District were discussed at length. Debbie Herrington indicated that to install stop signs at the main intersection would cause the vehicles to line up and add difficulty to parking along the diagonal spaces. Also the stop signs just require vehicles to stop, not reduce their speed.

Speed limit signs of 25mph were requested on all streets. The City indicated that the E/W/S Davis facilities were collector roads and required a 35mph limit. Also the signs are expensive and if you replaced one you would have to replace them all and the City does not have the required funding.

Next Steps

There are several more meetings. 10/24/02, 11/5/02 and 11/19/02. During those meetings we are to discuss other transportation issues. These include pedestrian uses, public transit, parking, and public safety.

Study Circles

Aesthetics/Community Character Study Circle Summary

Transportation Study Circle Summary

Land Use Study Circle Summary

Aesthetics/Community Character Study Circle Progress Report

Agenda, October 26 meeting of Parks, Recreation and Open Space Study Circle

Minutes, October 22 meeting of Transportation Study Circle

Agenda, October 3 meeting of Parks, Recreation and Open Space Study Circle

Minutes, October 29 meeting of Land Use Study Circle

Minutes, October 13 meeting of Land Use Study Circle

Minutes, October 1 meeting of Land Use Study Circle

Minutes, September 24 meeting of Transportation Study Circle

First Meeting of Transportation Study Circle