Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

First off, it just sucks to be involved in a car accident.  Even the smallest crashes are irritating.  And if you or your wreckmates have any damage, someone has got to have the police come in to write up a report.

And you have to be patient. 

Real patient.

Cops are a busy lot, what with all the traffic tickets they give out, the separating of domestic disputers, checking in at the Krispy Kreme, and whatever else it is that they are doing.

So when you call the cops to have them come out and check on a no-injury-crash, expect to wait longer than if AAA is on their way to change your tire.  It took cops 90 minutes to reach us last December.

John Cullum wasn’t patient.  He got into a wreck on the interstate in Wesley Chapel, called the cops, and Pasco County deputies showed up after some time.  But interstate crashes are investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol, so he had to wait a bit longer. 

He decided to call emergency about the wreck a second time, and that got him some attention.  He was charged with “misuse of 911.”

By the way, if an accident is called in, and you decide to leave before the cops show up, you could also be charged with leaving the scene of an accident with damage (it happened to my wreckmate last December).

Instead, use the time to prepare for the aftermath of the accident: 

• Check and treat minor injuries
• Move vehicles if they are in an unsafe place
• Exchange information with your wreckmates and any witnesses
• Use your celly to photograph the damage
• Call your insurance company

If you still have time after all that (and you will), think about how you have to miss work to get the car into the shop, be without your vehicle for a couple days, and how you will have to fight with the insurance company for every nickel.

In an interview with the Tribune Editorial Board regarding transportation, Mayor Pam Iorio says the City of Tampa needs to be the master of her own destiny. It really sounds like she has had it with CSX. Check out these quotes:

too much reliance on CSX will be our undoing in building a rail system.

Regarding CSX’s demands at the streetcar crossing in Ybor City:

we finally were able to obtain $100 million worth of insurance and finally got them to agree to $100 million of insurance instead of $500 million because [city attorney Fred Karl] was able to convince them that we just could not ever obtain $500 million worth of insurance.

That policy has cost the streetcar corporation about $400,000 a year. Prior to that, we had to have the flagman stand there for a cost of $370,000 a year. This has been my experience with CSX.

Why can’t we be masters of our own destiny and go out there and purchase the right-of-way and lay our own track, but make sure it’s track that’s ours and that we can control.

Of course, the Tribune asks about the costs.

Pasco’s spending $415 million to widen some roads up there and the DOT is spending $70 million to add a lane, and you know how much everyone is spending for something that’s not even going to really help people in New Tampa that much? I’m not counting the East-West road which isn’t going to happen. I’m not counting the full widening of Bruce B. Downs to eight lanes, which is ridiculous. A billion dollars!

I’m not even getting into the unfunded stuff. That’s another half a billion. Add up the interstate costs that DOT just finished with I-4, the 10-year plan to widen the interstate by one lane all the way to St. Pete and the whole interchange around the airport.

Speaking of which, the Florida Dept of Transportation has a wmv video which drives you along the eventual path of I-275 from the Howard Franklin to the Hillsborough River and back, showing all of the great stuff you are getting for your tax money. It’s eleven minutes long, but if you have the time, check it out - it’s impressive. Please remember that it won’t look like this until 2018 or so. And by that time, it will likely be over crowded, too.

Back to Mayor Pam with the Trib. As you know, there have been a million different plans for commuter rail in and around Tampa - which plan is going to be the one for Tampa.

This is an MPO plan that was a 1995 plan and was part of the plan that the County Commission shelved when they weren’t interested in any referendum. We’re really back at that point.

And Mayor Pam’s timetable?

If TBARTA can do its work quickly and if we can take that MPO plan and get down to some details, I think we could be ready for a referendum in 2010.

For the latest on the progress of commuter rail in the Tampa Bay area, check with Dave Pinero of TampaRail.org.

Tomorrow Matters! is working hard to get thousands of people to participate in the public phase of One Bay’s regional visioning project (“VoiceIt”), which will be kicked off at 5 locations simultaneously on June 2, then continued at smaller meetings and in an online survey throughout the next 6 weeks.

Because I’ve been working with the Tomorrow Matters! (TM!) committee hosting the event, I was allowed to attend a private preview of the four scenarios.  I was disappointed to see that the survey form (against all my fabulous, free advice!) was basically just a series of multiple-choice questions asking participants to simply vote for one of the 4 scenarios. I complained about this to everyone I could corner, and I’ve suggested some questions that would encourage participants not just to rubber-stamp one scenario or another, but to provide meaningful input that can be used to shape the final vision. Dena Leavengood (TM! leader) is also suggesting better questions.

As I briefly explained in a previous post, the scenarios have been developed by the One Bay Tech Team which includes a lot of very well-intentioned expert planners, but also includes an awful lot of developers, and NO community activists, environmentalists, bicycle advocates, nor just plain folks. The Tech Team includes no environmental protection agencies besides water-based agencies — did they account for all the upland habitat and other green space besides the wetlands in the scenarios?

Let’s keep that process in mind as we review these 4 scenarios:

• Scenario A: Business as usual — a depiction of what Tampa Bay will look like if development is allowed to continue the way it has been going.
• Scenario B: A compilation of where the Reality Check invitees put their Legos during that 90-minute exercise.
• Scenario C: Combines the Reality Check results with an emphasis on compacting growth around transit corridors and walkable communities.
• Scenario D: Combines the Reality Check results with an increased focus on protecting water resources and wildlife habitat.

Note that Scenarios B, C, & D incorporate the Reality Check results as their starting point. Is that why Scenario D looks so sprawly? Are we expected to believe that protecting our natural resources (D) leads inevitably to more sprawl than transit-oriented development (C)? Why should we have to choose between Scenario C’s goal of promoting transit and Scenario D’s goal of protecting natural resources? Good planning should be able to accomplish both of these goals—and then some.

If we weren’t tied to the Reality Check “data” (a skewed sampling of opinions gathered under contrived conditions), could we come up with a future scenario that accomplishes more of what we want the future to look like?  What if we started with professional planners and without special interests?

But whether One Bay offers you a thought-provoking survey form or not, it’s up to you to think outside the four corners of their scenarios and—no matter what questions are asked—tell them what you want to say. Write your ideas on their form in the margins if you have to, or hand in a piece of paper with your thoughts. Pretend every multiple choice question has a write-in blank for “other.”

If none of the 4 scenarios matches your vision, don’t just choose the closest one. Describe your ideal future scenario. Combine parts of the 4 scenarios, or take one scenario and change it, or just explain what’s important to you. Tell them what you like and dislike about all the scenarios. Point out any important elements that are not addressed by the scenarios. You might also step back and comment on the process and suggest ways we might come up with a better vision.

Finally, don’t hesitate to question the underlying assumptions, including the growth projections. Note this point in an Orlando Sentinel commentary about Florida’s recent over development and the vacant suburban slums left in its wake:

“If we didn’t build another house in the suburbs, we still would have too many of them 17 years from now.”

Aside from our local glut of newly built, empty condos & houses, we also have over 50,000 unbuilt homes already approved just in south Hillsborough County.  50,000 homes.  Even if we didn’t rezone another farm field we could accommodate much of the growth projected for decades.

This is your turn to have a say in your region’s future. Don’t miss it. But don’t let them hand you a rubber stamp, and then claim that the public has spoken.

Apparently, there is A Fine Mess Over Tolls For SunPass Users:

Growing numbers of SunPass users and a push by the state to improve its toll-collection rate have resulted in more people facing hefty fines and suspended licenses for seemingly minor violations. Sixty-six percent of all toll road users now have transponders.

Those transponders have batteries. Once they go dead, they become a paperweight. There is a light on the transponder letting you know when you need to replace the battery. But people think they are getting away without paying tolls, so they just let it go. But when it catches up with them, fines and penalties could cost over $3,000.

A judge over in Sanford slammed the expressway authorities over there for not trying hard enough to find the toll runners more quickly. The Sentinel ran a story telling you how to avoid being “victimized” by the toll collectors. The article in the Tribune is written much the same way, beginning with an outrageous anecdote of a $3,000 tab.

But once again, the judge, and these stories don’t put much emphasis on the idiots who could have avoided all the trouble by simply following the rules:

• Let ‘em know if you move.
• Let ‘em know if you change license plates.
• CHANGE THE FREAKIN’ BATTERY.

Seriously, I don’t know how some of these people make it through the day.

AutoVantage Road Rage Survey Finds Tampa “Most Likely to Multi-task, and Eat and Drink”: 

The commute to work can be an unpleasant one for people across the country, and the road seems to be getting even bumpier for Tampa drivers.

The third annual In The Driver’s Seat Road Rage Survey, commissioned by AutoVantage, a leading national auto club, found that Tampa drivers, tied with Baltimore and New York, ranked No. 1 for being the most likely to observe other drivers eating or drinking while driving every day, compared to 24 other major American cities.  Tampa drivers are also most likely to observe other drivers multi-tasking (like putting on makeup, shaving or reading) while driving ever day.

Overall, Tampa was named the ninth least courteous city in terms of road rage in the survey.

Thank your gods McDonald’s stopped serving that McDLT (some assembly required). But seriously, you people have to manage your time better. You can’t be eating while driving. After all, your children are watching.

Bonus link for our friends over at Stuck in the 80’s:  Jason Alexander (aka George Costanza) sings his way through a McDLT advertisement, looking a bit like a Miami Vice extra.

For the last three years, AutoVantage has measured road rage for America’s biggest cities, and then listed those with the rudest drivers along with the nicest.

In 2006, Miami had the rudest drivers in the nation.  In 2007, Miami had the rudest drivers in the nation.  In 2008, Miami has the rudest drivers in the nation.

In 2006, Minneapolis had the nicest drivers, while the most considerate drivers were found in Portland in 2007.  This year, Pittsburgh beat out Portland for title of most courteous.

Believe it or not, Tampa’s drivers were ranked 10th nicest in 2007 (Tampa wasn’t included in the 2006 list).  But they fixed the calculations in 2008, and found that Tampa has the 9th rudest drivers in the US (tied with Dallas).

We’ll get to the reasons why Tampa ranked there in the next post.  In the meantime, check out the 2008 Road Rage National Results.

Rudest:

1. Miami
2. Boston
3. New York
4. Baltimore
5. Washington, D.C.
6. Atlanta
7. Los Angeles
8. Phoenix, Ariz.
9. Dallas and Tampa, Fla. (tied)

Most Considerate:

1. Pittsburgh
2. Portland, Ore.
3. Seattle
4. Minneapolis
5. Cleveland
6. Cincinnati
7. Sacramento, Calif.
8. Chicago
9. San Diego
10. San Francisco

According to a study released last week by Allstate Insurance Co., the top 10 cities with the highest teen driving death rates were Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Fla.; Orlando/Kissimmee, Fla.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; Phoenix; Kansas City; Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; and Louisville, Ky.

That’s right, Tampa/St. Pete is number 1, with two other Florida metro area right behind.

In an editorial this morning, the Tampa Tribune says More Must Be Done To Prevent Teen Deaths Behind The Wheel:

Speeding was a factor in 27 percent of the fatal crashes involving teens in the Bay area, the report shows. Alcohol was a factor in 7 percent, while drug use was cited in 4 percent.

The biggest common denominator was the lack of seat belt use - cited in nearly 41 percent of fatal crashes. This is somewhat surprising, considering the state’s emphasis on seat belt safety, including the “Click It or Ticket” enforcement program and a three-year-old law mandating that drivers and occupants under 18 buckle up.

Officers have the power to stop a vehicle when occupants and drivers under 18 aren’t wearing seat belts - and for safety’s sake, they should do so. Perhaps enforcement will motivate young people to strap themselves in.

So they want cops to do more to help. But that’s not all.

Driver’s education requirements also need to be reevaluated. As it stands, a 15-year-old can obtain a learner’s permit and start driving under supervision - without ever taking a course that provides behind-the-wheel training. All a teenager must do is complete an online course, have proper identification and obtain a parent’s written consent.

…Some Bay area lawmakers, including state Sen. Victor Crist of Tampa, worked to make driver’s education courses - taught by professionals - mandatory this past legislative session, but were unsuccessful.

…Requiring teens to take full-fledged driver’s education programs could save lives. It’s that simple.

So they want schools to do more, too.

But what of the mothers and fathers of these teens? Do they have a role in driving lessons? Nope - they get a free pass so they can keep an eye on American Idol.

Counting on parents to teach their teens to drive, as state law encourages, may not be the best approach…

If a child dies behind the wheel, his or her parents are the ones who suffer most. You could say they have a vested interest in their teen’s driving habits, and should do all they can to show those kids the way.

Victor Crist and the Tribune want to give parents another place to point fingers, and another reason to be less interested in their children’s lives. This sort of thinking makes me wonder if they feel parents should bother with anything beyond conception.

One of your most basic needs is transportation. In order to get those wonderful things you want, see all there is to see, and get to work to afford all of that, you gotta find your way around town.

Unfortunately, the price of gas in Tampa Bay is as high as it has ever been, and in Forbes’ recent report of the Best And Worst Cities For Commuters, the Tampa area ranks #6 in worst commutes:

No. 6: Tampa, Fla.: Tampa commuters are victims of urban sprawl. As late as 2005, 25% of area properties were classified as investment properties; this rate was almost double the national average. What does this have to do with commuting? It’s a good sign that the city is spread out. While Tampa exhibits a very low population density, commuters are stuck in traffic delays 45 hours a year, and 7% take more than an hour to get to work.

There are alternatives to driving, but they are not as easy to find as you might think. Here is an quick list of local transportation websites that may help you in your search for a better or at least cheaper way to get around.

Bay Area Commuter Services, Inc. (BACS) is one of the Florida Department of Transportation’s nine commuter assistance programs within the state. It is a private, non-profit organization founded and funded by the State of Florida Department of Transportation to promote transportation alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle in the Tampa Bay area and surrounding counties. The agency operates in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties. Their stated mission is to enhance the region’s economic prosperity by actively influencing the reduction of traffic growth and air pollution by promoting commute options and developing new programs to help reduce peak hour traffic congestion for businesses and the community.

BACS helps publish the Tampa Bay Commuter. The TBC is a publication that encourages alternative transportation for commuting to work, such as mass transit, carpooling, and riding your bike. The Tampa Bay Commuter is independently published by 2Plus, Inc., a private non-profit corporation, in cooperation with Bay Area Commuter Services, and is supported by funds from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), grants, and through the Hillsborough and Pinellas Metropolitan Planning Organizations. It does not reflect the official views or policies of FDOT or BACS.

Use the Tampa Bay Commuter to find ways to share rides (carpool) around the Tampa Bay area.

And then there is mass transit.

The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) is in charge of busing you through Pinellas county, which includes the tourist-friendly beach trolley. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART) runs mass transit for Hillsborough County. Three weekday buses travel between the two counties - PSTA’s 100X and 300X, and HART’s 200X.

You can also use the TECO Line Streetcar to get from south downtown Tampa to Ybor City. The USF Bull Runner runs five routes within the University of South Florida and over to the University Square Mall. All USF students, faculty, staff and visitors can ride the Bull Runner for free.

HART’s schedule is featured on Google Transit, but PSTA’s is not.

Finally, there is the promise of a regional transportation plan coming in the future.

The Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA) - was created as an agency of the state on July 1, 2007 to plan, develop, finance, construct, own, purchase, operate, maintain, relocate, equip, repair, and manage multimodal systems in Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota Counties. The authority’s purpose is to improve mobility and expand multimodal transportation options for passengers and freight throughout the seven-county region.

But we’ll see about that.