Here's a disturbing article I found at the St. Petersburg Times a couple of days ago: Howard Frankland Bridge may see tolls.
You got that right. Tolls on an interstate highway, which are usually prohibited by the federal government save for a few highways that were grandfathered in before the creation of the Interstate Highway System in 1956. Want proof that there are tolls on an interstate highway today? Look no further than Interstate 95 in Miami from the Florida Turnpike/Golden Glades Interchange to Interstate 395: There are express lanes that are tolled and the tolls are variable depending on the time of day.
In fact, the Florida DOT is considering the tolled lanes on Interstate 95 in Miami idea on Interstate 275 in Tampa as well as Interstate 4: Tolled express lanes.
Why impose tolls on the Howard Frankland Bridge? Here is a comment on the St. Petersburg Times article that I posted:
Here's how I would look at the Howard Frankland Bridge becoming a toll facility like the Sunshine Skyway:
1. The original 1960 northbound span is nearing the end of its useful service life. It needs to be replaced using current standards along with a third span for future commuter rail.
The Sunshine Skyway was built in 1954, two years before the Interstate Highway System was signed into law by President Eisenhower in 1956. When Interstate 275 was made a part of the Sunshine Skyway, the tolls were allowed to exist as the Sunshine Skyway was built long before Interstate 275 and the tolls were allowed to be grandfathered. Besides, the tolls were going to help pay off the bonds from the original 1954/1971 construction and the current 1987 bridge.
Bridges built in this era - such as the original Sunshine Skyway in 1954 and its southbound twin in 1971, the westbound Gandy Bridge in 1956 and the original Howard Frankland Bridge in 1960 - were allowed to be built so close to the water. If there is any justification as to why you can't build a bridge so close to the water, look at the 1956 Gandy Bridge today - which was used as the Friendship Trail until it had to be closed due to major corrosion which would lead to failure of the structure - the highly corrosive environment being salt water going over Tampa Bay is why it costs way too much to even repair the structure.
The 1991 Howard Frankland Bridge southbound span was built much higher, especially on the low level trestle span and using fewer trestle piers of the hammerhead type rather than a series of bent pilings driven into the bay bottom.
2. $500 million is a lot of money to raise. With gas prices at $4/gallon which equals less driving plus the fuel efficient car, it is difficult to raise money from the gas tax alone. As such, tolls need to be considered.
Where else are we going to get $500 million? Property taxes? With declining home values and the present anti-tax increase sentiment, that's out of the question.
3. If and when the Tampa/St. Petersburg area gets commuter rail, tolls imposed on the Howard Frankland (and possibly Gandy and/or Courtney Campbell) will get more and more people to seek other transportation alternatives. For comparison, Singapore - half a world away from Tampa - uses what is called Electronic Road Pricing which amounts to a congestion charge, designed to get more and more commuters to use mass transit.
To me, I believe tolls should not be imposed on the Howard Frankland Bridge unless Tampa/St. Petersburg commuters have a choice that is workable, not with the inept mass transit system we have now.
Have I mentioned improved mass transit for the Tampa/St. Petersburg area? From what I understand, a replacement of the Howard Frankland Bridge original 1960 northbound span would also entail a bridge that would carry commuter rail across Tampa Bay, using a very gentle slope for where the center hump is located much like the high level railroad bridge over the New River in Ft. Lauderdale that carries Tri-Rail traffic across.
Granted, the Tampa/St. Petersburg area needs better mass transit now using commuter rail as the base, not the inept and uncoordinated service provided by PSTA in Pinellas County and HARTline in Hillsborough County. TBARTA - the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority - needs to morph from just an advisory agency to an agency that would be responsible for the Tampa/St. Petersburg region's transit needs. Even if it takes the merger of PSTA and HARTline to accomplish this objective, it would make the Tampa/St. Petersburg region an attractive place to work and live.
So, I have a suggestion for TBARTA and the Florida DOT: Build the necessary improvements including a commuter rail line using the Howard Frankland Bridge when the time comes to replace the structure. After we get the commuter rail up and running, then begin charging tolls on the Howard Frankland Bridge for those that still want to drive the long commutes to and from work such as someone that lives in New Tampa and works in St. Petersburg.
It all boils down to one word: Choices. We Tampa/St. Petersburg residents deserve a choice when it comes to transportation needs, and commuter rail should be one of them. We can expand Interstate 275 to 20 lanes in either direction or build a replacement Howard Frankland Bridge with better capacity but that won't do much good.
And if we were to impose tolls on the Howard Frankland Bridge now, it would spell an economic disaster for our region. If the Selmon Crosstown Expressway in Tampa is extended along its own path to the eastern entrance of the Gandy Bridge, and Gandy Blvd. is used for its westward extension to St. Petersburg and Interstate 275's Exit 28, then the Gandy Bridge would become a toll bridge integrated with the Selmon Crosstown Expressway. Mix two bridges between Tampa and St. Petersburg that are now free with tolls and the lack of trasportation choices in our region and you got a recipe for economic disaster.
Again, it all boils down to one word: Choices. (Emphasis mine)
If you were having some difficulty logging on to Interstate275Florida.com for some time Sunday evening (11 March 2012), it's because I just uploaded several revisions to the Interstate 275 Florida website for your reading pleasure! After all, with all the construction taking place at any given moment out there on Interstate 275 in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, I try to make the changes as time permits.
Here are the highlights of the additions and changes I have made:
On the northern terminus page, I have changed out the pictures for the exit onto FL 56. Originally the Florida DOT designated this exit as Interstate 75's Exit 275 but as I reported in an earlier post the potential for motorist confusion existed. So, on go the overlays (also known as FDOT Green-Out, akin to the white-out that you use when you need to correct something on paper; white-out sure beats the old fashioned Liquid Paper these days!) and Exit 275 (FL 56) has been redesignated as Exit 59 for northbound Interstate 275.
Let's head over the Howard Frankland Bridge to St. Petersburg and I have noticed that the Exit Only panels on northbound Interstate 275 at 54 Av N (Exit 26) were getting unreadable. What does the Florida DOT do to correct this despite the tough budget times that the State of Florida is in? Place a yellow overlay with the words "Exit Only" in wider FHWA Highway Gothic font over the existing sign! The folks over at the Florida DOT District 7 camp on McKinley Drive in Tampa (located south of the University of South Florida's main Tampa Campus on Fowler Avenue) like to come up with creative ways to extend the life of a highway sign to get more mileage out of the signage for many years.
OK. Let's zip back on the Howard Frankland Bridge through downtown Tampa over to Fowler Avenue (Exit 51). A project is underway to make two right turn lanes for traffic coming from northbound Interstate 275; this should provide some relief for motorists headed to destinations east of Interstate 275 on Fowler Avenue, particularly the University of South Florida so that students can get to classes on time.
Let's do a U-turn underneath the overpass at Fowler Avenue and head back south on Interstate 275 towards the world's finest airport, Tampa International Airport. As you have noticed, the airport interchange has undergone a major transformation from the short ramps that were built in the early 1970's to the major, if not better, ramps that were built. So, I have added a section of pictures that reflect the newly built ramps of the airport interchange reconstruction project and I have left up the ramps that were built in the early 1970's before construction began so that you can get a good perspective of before and after.
I am also announcing a new feature here on Interstate275Florida.com. As you probably have noticed already, gas prices are topping over the $4.00/gallon mark with no end in sight. Naturally, I can't help tame these high gas prices but I can show you where you can find the cheapest gas out there. As such, I have teamed up with TampaGasPrices.com - part of GasBuddy.com - to provide you with where you can find the cheapest gas prices in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to the Gas Prices page today!
So, there you have it: Changes and additions to Interstate275Florida.com to help keep up with the construction going on. Keep checking back here at Interstate275Florida.com frequently and often - in fact, put Interstate275Florida.com in your browser's bookmarks so that you can refer to it frequently and often.
That friendly motorist motioning you to go could be the motorist who deliberately runs into you and causes an accident! By taking that friendly motorist's offer of letting you go so that you can be somewhere on time, you are setting yourself up to be a victim of staged auto accident fraud.
I have recently wrote a blog entry on the subject of staged auto accident fraud over at my other blog, The Edward Ringwald Blog. With staged auto accident fraud in the news and the fact that the Tampa/St. Petersburg area is Florida's staged auto accident capital, I have seen many instances where I myself have been motioned to go by another motorist even though I did not have the right of way. God knows who that motorist could be - either just being friendly or friendly in disguise as in setting you up for an accident.
I thought I would like to share this with our Interstate 275 Florida Blog readers, particularly in the light of recent legislation passed by the Florida Legislature on Personal Injury Protection (PIP) reform. After all, the State of Florida requires you and I as motor vehicle owners to carry the mandatory $10,000 PIP insurance; unfortunately, PIP as we know it is ripe with fraud as PIP is easy access to money without the need for costly litigation in the courts. Among the reforms that were recently passed is that insurance companies have the right to examine a policyholder under oath if fraud is suspected.
So what are you waiting for? For the full story, simply click on this link. Enjoy!
I know, it's been a while since I posted here on the Interstate 275 Florida Blog.
First of all, I got some good news for those of you that use Gandy Blvd. and the Gandy Bridge as an alternative to the Howard Frankland Bridge, especially during the morning and evening rush hour or when there is a major incident on the Howard Frankland resulting in authorities advising motorists to use Gandy to or from St. Petersburg. According to an email from the City of St. Petersburg that I receive weekly called Foster's Weekly Forecast, improvements to Gandy Blvd. from 16 St N to 4 St N will soon take place which will transform the at grade intersections of Gandy Blvd. at 16 St N, Martin Luther King St N and 4 St N from the at grade intersections as they are now to overpasses - and believe me, these overpasses are much needed! Work is supposed to begin in September 2012, according to the folks over at the Florida DOT.
Could this be the start of a project to eventually upgrade Gandy Blvd. to a limited access highway with frontage roads providing access to Gandy Blvd. businesses and a direct straight through connection to the Selmon Crosstown Expressway? Unfortunately, improvements on the Tampa side have run into plenty of NIMBY-ism but this connection is desperately needed especially to help with hurricane evacuation; remember the major backup on the Howard Frankland when Hurricane Charley almost hit Tampa/St. Petersburg in 2004?
OK. Now on to our main topic.
As you have more than likely seen everywhere you turn in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, you have seen gas prices climbing steadily up with no end in sight. As of 3/2/12 prices for gas are closing in on the $4.00/gallon mark and the news media - whose purpose is to make you scared - is claiming that we may see $5.00/gallon or more.
In fact, most other Florida cities are seeing already over $4.00/gallon. Same thing throughout the rest of the United States from what I heard. Believe me, that's not good news. For me, I thank goodness that I traded in my mid-size car that featured a monster-size gas tank for the economy and savings of an economy car.
We can survive these high gas prices while our economy is in a downturn. So, let me offer you some tips to get the most gas mileage for your dollar. These are tips I got from the Federal Government’s fuel economy web site, fueleconomy.gov:
1. Use motor oil that is recommended for your engine. What is recommended varies from car to car, you may want to check your vehicle owner's manual.
By the way, make sure that you have your oil changed at whatever your vehicle manufacturer recommends; this is usually 3,000 miles in most conditions. Be sure when you have your car's oil changed that you go to a reputable service place.
2. Check and replace your air filter regularly - a clogged air filter can reduce mileage by 10%.
3. Keep engine properly tuned - poorly tuned engine can cost 4%, a faulty oxygen sensor as much as 40%.
4. Keep tires properly inflated; fuel mileage decreases 0.4% for every pound tires are under-inflated.
5. Avoid all aggressive driving; rapid acceleration and rapid braking lower your mileage by 5% to 30%. Besides, leaving earlier so that you can safely get to your destination if you have to be somewhere at a specific time helps!
6. Reduce your speed; at highway speeds, every 5 mph you drive over 60 mph increase your fuel cost by 8%. It pays to stay within the speed limit; you’ll save time and money not only on gasoline but speeding fines as well. Did I say speeding fines? They are more - if not a lot more - than your car loan payment.
7. Remove any extra weight from your vehicle; an extra 100 pounds can reduce mileage by 2%.
8. Avoid excessive idling. When at idle you are getting 0 miles per gallon - think about it. It is a misconception that it takes more gasoline to restart than you save by turning it off.
9. If your vehicle can use regular fuel, use it. Don’t spend the extra premium for premium fuel if you don’t need it.
10. Plan your trips in advance; try to use interstate highways such as Interstate 275 in the Tampa Bay area wherever possible. That way, you can minimize your wait at traffic signals and not waste gasoline by idling while waiting for the traffic light. And you won't have to worry much about red light cameras!
11. Consider using public transit if it’s available in your area. Think of the gas you would save every week. Employers may have an incentive program for you using public transit to and from work; check with your employer.
With the high gas prices we are now experiencing with no relief in sight, the high gas price situation should be a wake-up call on a more serious note to the leaders of the Tampa/St. Petersburg region as well as people who sit in traffic all day getting to and from work over considerable distances: Rail based mass transit is desperately needed if the Tampa/St. Petersburg region wants to survive if and when the economy begins to recover. Sure we can build a 20-lane Interstate 275 in Tampa but that's not going to do any good. Sure we can add more buses or add dedicated bus lanes but that's not going to to any good; after all, buses share the same roadway that we motorists do.
Perhaps the voters of Hillsborough County who voted against a commuter rail system a year or two ago will more than likely change their mind once gas prices climb to a level that people will have to end up moving closer to their workplace to help minimize the commute wherever possible. Unfortunately, with the housing market at its lowest level it might be hard: Either sell your home and move to a location closer to work or find another job closer to home.
None of us can control the price of fuel but we can all work towards reducing the amount of fuel we use to help our personal budgets. Ask yourself, especially if you or your family is planning a vacation: Would you rather drive the 200+ miles on Interstate 75 from Tampa to Ft. Lauderdale or take Amtrak or Southwest Airlines to Ft. Lauderdale from Tampa and back? Just a thought.
It's New Year's Eve, and that means everyone will be out there partying until the stroke of Midnight when 2011 gives way to 2012. However, New Years Eve can be a memorable experience for you if you celebrate responsibly.
I posted some helpful tips on celebrating New Year's Eve safely that was inspired by a Bay News 9 article on this subject. I recently expanded this topic and turned these tips into a PDF document which I have made available on Interstate275Florida.com on a permanent basis simply by clicking on this link. It's easy to celebrate the holidays safely, and it's not just restricted to New Year's Eve.
I put these tips here as a reminder of the most common danger of being out and about on New Year's Eve (as well as any other major holiday), especially out there on Interstate 275 as well as other major highways in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area: Drinking and driving. I post these tips out there as a public service in the hope that needless accidents can be prevented, especially around New Year's Eve.
After all, the Florida Highway Patrol - along with other law enforcement agencies in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area - will be out in full force looking out for impaired drivers. If you drink and get behind the wheel, and a state trooper sees you driving erraticly or you have the misfortune of going through a DUI checkpoint, expect to spend the beginning of the new year with a pair of steel handcuffs, placed behind your back and double locked, and being taken to either the Pinellas or Hillsborough County Jail depending on where you get arrested and spending time in a holding cell until you sober up.
As a reminder, if your New Year's Eve celebrations include drinking, please, please do one of three things:
1. Designate a driver.
2. Call a taxi to take you home. You can retrieve your car the next day.
3. Spend the night at a hotel or a friend's house. Even if rates are high for New Year's Eve or any other major holiday, it's much better (and much cheaper) to pay for a room at the Hilton Downtown St. Petersburg Bayfront or any other hotel than face the consequences of DUI if you are caught.
Ask yourself: Would you rather pay $120 for a hotel room for one night or $20,000 for taking a chance by drinking and driving? Let's see:
$120: Can pay for one night's hotel room on New Year's Eve (approximately).
$20,000: Can pay for your first DUI, and we're talking DUI that does not involve property damage, bodily injury or even death. It includes, among other things:
Court imposed fines
Court imposed costs
Attorney's fees
Cost for ignition interlock
Cost to retrieve your vehicle from the impound lot
Mandatory DUI school
Increased insurance costs
And the list goes on and on...
It's your choice.
Again, do yourself a favor and if you had even one drink, don't get behind the wheel and drive! Let's start 2012 on the right note!
Soon the Sunshine Skyway will be featured on a postage stamp. You got that right, a U.S. postage stamp.
I was amazed to see the Sunshine Skyway finally earning its place on a postage stamp. After all, the current Sunshine Skyway - opened in 1987 - is a bridge that not only carries Interstate 275 and US 19, it is a iconic symbol of what we are in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area.
The Sunshine Skyway is also a symbol of triumph over tragedy. Seven years before the current Sunshine Skyway opened tragedy struck on a rainy and stormy morning at 7:38 AM on 9 May 1980 when the Summit Venture collided with an anchor pier immediately adjacent to the main channel pier on the southbound span which opened in 1971. Upon impact the anchor pier was sheared off at its base causing a major chain of events which led to a majority of the southbound main span falling 150 feet into the waters of Tampa Bay. Unfortunately, 35 lives were lost that fateful morning which included passengers on a Miami-bound Greyhound Bus.
The northbound span - which was the original Sunshine Skyway built in 1954 - was undamaged. Shortly after the southbound span fell the northbound span was checked out by the Florida DOT for structural damage, and on Sunday, 11 May 1980 the northbound span was reopened to two-way traffic with a 45 mph (70 km/h) speed limit and a double yellow no passing line.
In the months following the Sunshine Skyway disaster a major decision had to be made: Either rebuild the southbound span to what it was before the accident or build an entirely new bridge. The reaction was mixed, with Pinellas and Manatee interests wanting to rebuild the southbound span and Hillsbiorough interests - after all, the main shipping channel is part of Hillsborough County as the Sunshine Skyway covers three counties - wanted an entirely new bridge which would be safer. Besides, Interstate 275 was under construction in St. Petersburg and the Sunshine Skyway would be an important part of Interstate 275 as it would connect St. Petersburg with the newly extended Interstate 75 to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.
In the end, a newly constructed Sunshine Skyway won. Construction began in 1982 and dedication ceremonies were held in February 1987, followed by its formal opening in April 1987. The original 1954 Sunshine Skyway northbound span served its purpose carrying two way traffic from right after the accident on 9 May 1980 to when the new Sunshine Skyway opened. Four years later after the new Sunshine Skyway opened, in 1991 the old Sunshine Skyway spans were demolished.
Today the Sunshine Skyway not just carries Interstate 275 over Tampa Bay providing a breathtaking view at 191 feet, it is an icon which represents the purpose of the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Compare the Sunshine Skyway in Florida to the Golden Gate Bridge in California; after all, the Golden Gate Bridge represents the purpose of the San Francisco area similar to the Sunshine Skyway even though the bridge designs are different.
Now the Sunshine Skyway has earned its place as one of the major bridges in the United States. Being on a U.S. postage stamp plus its popularity over the years has landed the Sunshine Skyway into a permanent national spotlight.
By the way, the postage stamp is supposed to be released sometime in 2012 according to articles both on Bay News 9 as well as the St. Petersburg Times. The value of the stamp is equivalent to the current 1-lb. Priority Mail rate, which is $5.15.
I'm excited to see the new postage stamp for myself when it's released.
It's the holiday season, and traffic is heavier than usual on the interstates and toll roads of the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Unfortunately, I don't like to say this but I have seen a lack of etiquette out there on the roads especially during the holiday season.
For instance, I took a side trip to Tarpon Springs recently when I was trying to turn left from southbound US 19 onto eastbound Keystone Road, which is undergoing a transformation from two lanes to four lanes from US 19 to East Lake Road (CR 611). Unfortunately, the protected left turn signal only let just a few cars through and the lane closures on Keystone Road was causing left turning traffic to block the northbound lanes of extremely busy US 19. As the left turn signal changed from green to red I had no choice but to stop and wait for the next signal to avoid being stranded out in the intersection as well as avoid a ticket for running a red light.
Unfortunately, a gentleman driving a SUV behind me did not like my careful operation of my vehicle in accordance with Chapter 316 of the Florida Statutes. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw him making threatening gestures at me, including yelling at me apparently telling me to break the law so that he can get to the CVS Pharmacy on the southeast corner of US 19 and Keystone Road. Luckily, the man in the SUV behind me did not do anything more serious as there was a Tarpon Springs Police officer on eastbound Keystone Road waiting to cross US 19.
I cannot understand why the man in the SUV behind me had to be in a hurry for. Was it because he had to pick up a prescription at the CVS Pharmacy in a hurry? (Hey, CVS Pharmacy has late hours). Was it also that the man in the SUV was in a hurry to get Christmas shopping done? These questions I won't know the answer to.
OK. Getting back on topic here.
Let's say you are at a toll plaza and you enter the SunPass only lane by mistake. Or, you enter the Selmon Crosstown Expressway and you do not have a SunPass. What do you do?
First and foremost, do NOT stop or turn around - not only it is illegal, it is dangerous! Simply drive through the SunPass lane - your license plate will be captured by way of a photo image and you will be sent a bill for the toll(s) owed. Instructions on how to pay for the missed toll(s) are on the bill that you would receive.
In fact, here's the perfect stocking stuffer you can get - a SunPass transponder and account for your vehicle. With a SunPass, you can pay reduced toll rates for those with SunPass transponders than those paying with cash. Besides, more and more toll plazas are being converted from the traditional method of toll collection to all electronic toll collection. The SunPass web site has more details including where you can go to pick up your own SunPass transponder as well as how to set up your SunPass account.
Now here are some more road etiquette tips for you motorists out there:
That conversation or business deal on that cell phone or smartphone can wait until you arrive at your destination safely. Same thing goes for texting too.
If you have to be at a place at a certain time (such as getting to your flight at Tampa International Airport or getting to work on time), please leave early. That way, you can arrive at your destination with even a few more minutes to spare!
Take it easy in those crowded mall and shopping center parking lots. In fact, why don't you drop off your party at the front entrance so that you can park the car and then you can join your party inside at a predetermined location after you are settled in. Besides, everyone will be happy campers.
Handicap parking spaces are only for those with a handicap parking placard and are handicapped. If you happen to have someone's handicap parking placard and you are not handicapped, don't abuse the privilege.
Don't speed or tailgate your fellow motorists out there on our highways in an attempt to be somewhere on time. Not only it's against the law and you can get an expensive traffic ticket, you are also throwing money away on gasoline too. Besides, the money you save by not speeding or tailgating you can use it on Christmas shopping!
And one more thing: PLEASE DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! Especially when New Year's Eve rolls around, it's much better to stay overnight - whether it may be a friend's house or a hotel room such as the Hilton Downtown St. Petersburg (even if the rooms are pricey for New Year's Eve) - than spend the New Year in the booking area of the Pinellas or Hillsborough County Jails. Besides, it costs about $20,000 when you factor in fines, court costs, attorney's fees, etc. for a DUI - and we're talking first offense DUI here.
So, enjoy the holiday season and beyond in 2012.
NOTE: Comments are closed for this blog entry.
