Courtney Campbell Scenic Highway
Corridor Advisory Committee (CAC)
MINUTES
Regular Meeting at
URS Corporation
7th Floor Board Room
7650 West Courtney Campbell Causeway
Tampa, FL
July 7, 2010
10:00 a.m.
Attending:
Jessica Lunsford, Senior Planner, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council
Ken Hoyt, Citizen, Hillsborough County
Lori Snively, Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, Florida Department of Transportation
Councilman Bill Jonson, Clearwater City Council
Susan J. Miller, Bicycle/Pedestrian Planner, Pinellas County MPO
Chris Weber, Westshore Alliance
Ron Gregory, Vice President, URS Corporation
The minutes of the May 28, 2010 meeting were approved with no corrections.
Old Business:
None
New Business:
!
Corridor Management Plan Update
Using the Five-Year Corridor Management Plan Update Guidance Document, CAC
members began reviewing the Corridor Conditions section, in which instructions are for
groups to just list changes to the original areas from the CMP. Those areas are:
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Corridor Limits - No change
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Roadway/ROW Description - Mr. Gregory stated that five years ago the area was
under reconstruction. Councilman Jonson indicated they should reference that the
changes were planned and have now been implemented.
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Existing Land Use and Zoning - Mr. Gregory suggested there may be changes in
some of the land use because of the new Radisson Hotel and also Landry=s
restaurant went into a rezoning process because the owners were planning to tear
down the existing structure and rebuild. Ms. Lunsford will check on this.
-
Signage - The PB Americas contract includes signage and signalization of the
intersection. Also, Ms. Snively mentioned that the Tampa Bay Estuary Program
installed an estuary educational sign at the boat ramp.
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Future Land Use
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Safety Issues - Mr. Gregory indicated the study FDOT is doing was originally for a
resurfacing project, but now incorporates some very specific safety corrections. He
felt that since the designing phase is under way, it should be referenced in the
document update. Signage and signalization should be addressed here also. Ms.
Miller added that the signal was changed on the Clearwater side at the entrance to
the beach. Also mentioned was the guardrail safety issue along the corridor that
involved the moving of trees.
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Traffic Volumes/User Types - Ms. Snively indicated that she can get the traffic
counts needed. Ms. Miller reported the person who does the volumes in their office
said all the traffic volumes on the major roads went down.
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Levels of Service (LOS) - Ms. Miller stated she would check into this. It was
mentioned that signage and signalization should also be addressed here.
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Transportation Planning - Mr. Gregory suggested that here it should be mentioned
under the existing PB Americas contract they are implementing continuity and multipurpose trail.
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Roadway Improvements - The upcoming resurfacing project (PB Americas), plus
signage and signalization of the intersection should be addressed here, as well.
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Social and Economic Conditions - Councilman Jonson felt there were no social
issues to be addressed. Mr. Hoyt asked if there had been an increase or decrease
in the number of residential units. Mr. Gregory stated the units just behind their
building have been converted from apartments to condominiums. Mr. Hoyt added
the opening of the Westin Hotel.
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Tourism and User Facilities - The suggestion was made to contact the City of
Tampa Parks and Recreation regarding the status of upgrading the facilities at Ben
T. Davis Beach. Councilman Jonson mentioned that the visitors= center on the City
side is closing. Councilman Jonson stated they should obtain the bed tax number for
both Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.
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Other Programs - There was a landscape upgrade in the vicinity of the boat ramp.
The Clean-Up programs should also be added here. Councilman Jonson suggested
touching base with Clearwater Christian College.
Ms. Miller asked if there were programs to improve the water quality in Tampa Bay,
and would those appear under AOther Programs.@ Ms. Lunsford indicated these
would probably fall under the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, and stated she would
contact them.
Mr. Gregory stated the Westshore Alliance does have an approved Pedestrian
Master Plan which has implementation stages and it does focus on areas of the
Courtney Campbell. It was decided to provide an executive summary plus the map
as an attachment to the CMP Update.
Councilman Jonson stated he was going to obtain from the City of Clearwater a statement
regarding the beach on the Clearwater side since there has been some erosion of that
beach, and also he would like to obtain the parking revenue statistics over the past four
years.
He reported that the Trail Connection Application/Bayshore Boulevard to east of Bridge #138
was presented at the last meeting of the Chairmen=s Coordinating Committee and was
approved. Ms. Snively indicated that Pinellas County Commissioner Karen Williams Seel
sent a letter to FDOT regarding the Gandy Bridge/Friendship Trail asking what could be
done. FDOT replied to her inquiry that they are now looking at the Courtney Campbell
Causeway as being the connection point. Mr. Gregory pointed out the decision not to save
the Friendship Trail without having a viable replacement puts a great deal of pressure on the
Courtney Campbell to become the recreational connection. Ms. Miller stated that the
Friendship Trail was potentially much more than just a recreation connection because it
essentially connected the two major business centers, downtown Tampa and downtown St.
Petersburg. Mr. Gregory reported that the Westshore business district is the largest
business center in the state of Florida.
Councilman Jonson mentioned the sidewalk project in the Westshore area. Mr. Gregory
reported that they have an entire inventory of the sidewalks and have identified the ones that
need to be prioritized to be repaired. Much of this is in support of transit since there are a
large number of bus stops, some with no sidewalks to access them. The Plan puts a priority
on getting enhanced pedestrian access to transit stops. There is a plan but it lacks a
funding source. They talked to the City of Tampa regarding using impact fees, but the city
rejected that idea, stating those funds could be used only to do vehicular improvements.
There is a reference to photos and the group decided to include the ones contained in the
2008 Annual Report. Ms. Snively thought it would be a good idea to take some current
photos now that construction and the landscaping is complete.
Corridor Vision: Councilman Jonson asked if anyone felt the need to change the wording of
the Vision. Everyone was in agreement to keep it as is.
Community Participation: Councilman Jonson remarked that the CAC had indicated that
they planned to do community participation outreach, but they really have not done very
much. Events to be included: 75th Anniversary Celebration/Monument Rededication; coastal
clean-ups; tri-fold brochure, some of which were given to the visitors center; and the Scenic
Highway Day Clean-up.
Mr. Hoyt referred to the earlier discussion about contacting the Estuary Program regarding
water, and he stated when he was reading the mission statement he was reminded of the
issue of the various species of plants, trees and wildlife that grow and live along the
Causeway and he was wondering who to contact. Councilman Jonson stated that one of the
professors from the Christian College identified some of the species.
Also, Mr. Hoyt raised the question of why put items in the goals and objectives if the CAC
has no intention of actually acting on them. He felt perhaps too much had been put into
them. Councilman Jonson agreed and suggested taking action to review the goals from that
standpoint and determine which ones should be carried forward to the next cycle and which
ones can be eliminated. He stated that in the five years the committee has been in
existence they have taken a different role which is that of utilizing resources from other
groups. Mr. Hoyt pointed out that the CAC has been successful in getting these
organizations to come to its table, for example, FDOT, the Westshore Alliance and the City
of Clearwater. Councilman Jonson stated he would put that in the first paragraph of the
Corridor Management Update. He also mentioned that an update on funding is requested,
but the CAC has none so the group has done projects through influence. Ms. Miller thought
one of the reasons they have made progress on the bicycle/pedestrian goals is the fact that
they chose those goals to work on in the short term, and did not chose any of the other
environmental-type goals. Mr. Hoyt stated that perhaps they don=t need to be chosen. He
felt Mr. Gregory had an interesting point that in the next couple of years perhaps there is one
of them that does belong on CAC=s table. Ms. Miller cautioned against deleting them in the
event they removed themselves from some type of eligibility. Mr. Hoyt agreed, but reiterated
that it is necessary to have a discussion to determine what those things are rather than just
stamping items that are not being acted upon. Mr. Gregory remarked that one thing in
support of that is no one thought the Friendship Trail would go away, but since it appears
that it is gone, with all the trail development coming on line up and down the eastern shore of
Pinellas County, there is an extensive trail system running north and south, but not east and
west. The issue is, is it a priority for them to look at drawing everyone=s attention to
completing the trail connection across the Courtney Campbell as a replacement for the loss
of the Friendship Trail.
Councilman Jonson asked whether the group had gotten to a point where they should summarize
who will be responsible for what areas and when the next meeting should take place, or should the
discussion continue. Ms. Snively reminded everyone that the Update needs to be submitted by
October 1. She stated this is what Clint Eliason has suggested, since technically it should have
been in within ninety days after the month of May. Ms. Lunsford suggested meeting again in a
month to assess how much progress has been made. Ms. Snively suggested gathering the
information and sending it to Ms. Lunsford so some type of draft could be developed. The group
chose Wednesday, August 18.
Mr. Gregory stated he would send the PB Americas slide show to Mr. Weber on an FTP site, and
ask Lauren Brooks about a summary of the overall Pedestrian Plan. He thought it was either a map
or a table. He will also check to see if there is documentation available regarding the extent of the
seagrass mitigation that is occurring out on the Courtney Campbell. Councilman Jonson stated he
would check with Clearwater Christian College. Mr. Hoyt asked if the installation of the traffic signal
fulfilled their objective. Councilman Jonson responded that it did fulfill that objective and it can now
be deleted. He also reiterated what was stated in this meeting is safety and the trail are the highest
priorities. Mr. Gregory stated that part of the plan now is to turn the signalized intersection, the
furthest entrance to Ben T. Davis Beach, will become a pedestrian crossing. Ms. Snively stated she
will check accident data for the past five years and traffic counts. Mr. Gregory mentioned that the
next step for the CAC after the trail connection between Pinellas and Hillsborough County is
completed could be helping to facilitate vendors to provide services for people who use the trail. He
stated the City of Tampa is moving toward having private vendors provide services at its city parks.
Please complete your actions before the next meeting.
There being no further business, Councilman Jonson adjourned the meeting.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in the URS conference room.