HILLSBOROUGH

Published: Jan 17, 2008

Commission Curious About Installing Red-Light Cameras

TAMPA - Cameras at red lights, which police say save lives and drastically cut the number of motorists who run red lights, might soon be coming to Hillsborough County.

County commissioners on Wednesday gave the sheriff's office approval to investigate installing the cameras at 10 of the county's most dangerous intersections. The intersections were not identified.

The cameras' cost would be funded through fines, sheriff's Cpl. Rob Rodriguez said.

The lights have been effective in reducing the number of red-light violators elsewhere. Apopka had nearly 300 violations at two intersections before the lights were installed. In the two months after installation, violations dropped to 18.

In 2006, Hillsborough deputies wrote 4,800 red-light violations, with three fatalities attributed to red-light runners. In 2007, the sheriff's office caught 3,784 violators. One fatality was attributable to a red-light violation that year.

"Those are just the ones that are proven," sheriff's Col. Greg Brown said. "The numbers are much higher."

For the first month, offenders would get a warning notice.

Traffic citations would be established under a county ordinance so there would be no points added to a driver's record and no reports to insurance agencies.

The main goal is not punishment, but to save lives, the sheriff's office said.

Mike Salinero

County Votes To Preserve More Manatee River Habitat

RUSKIN - A 2,100-acre preserve known as the Little Manatee River site is expected to grow by 28 acres after Hillsborough County commissioners on Wednesday approved spending up to $480,000 for a parcel between the river and Hayes Bayou.

The money will come from the taxpayer-funded Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program.

The undeveloped parcel includes most of a peninsula that has long been desired by officials building wildlife corridors along the river. It will become part of a county-owned preserve that spans Interstate 75 and spreads east to meet the Little Manatee River State Park.

"It was one of the first sites approved" in the program, said Kurt Gremley, who negotiates land purchases. "We've been trying to acquire it for a long time, and it was primarily just a matter of price."

Susan M. Green

Bruce B. Downs Widening Could Start Within Year

TAMPA - Hillsborough County should finish the design for the first phase of an eight-lane Bruce B. Downs Boulevard next month and expects to put the $104 million project out to bid by October.

"Construction is scheduled to start in December or January," 2009 Hillsborough County Commission chairman Ken Hagan said.

The road-widening project, from Bearss Avenue to County Line Road, is divided into three phases. The first phase, from Palm Springs Drive to Pebble Creek Drive, is 3.4 miles long and should be completed by 2011.

The northern segment, 1.5 miles from Pebble Creek to the Pasco County line, is well into the design phase and fully funded for $35 million. Its construction is planned for July 2011 and should last two years.

Engineers have nearly completed design work for the 3.6-mile southern segment, from Palm Springs to Bearss, but the public works department could end up shelving that phase until funding is available. It's expected to cost at least $100 million.

Laura Kinsler

Mayor Gives Sen. Nelson A Sweet Souvenir

PLANT CITY - When U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson arrived in Plant City for a town hall meeting this week, city officials wanted to make sure he received a souvenir that would let people know he had visited the winter strawberry capital of the world.

Mayor Rick Lott handed Nelson a strawberry-shaped luggage tag.

"There's no way you can lose your luggage with that," Lott said at the meeting at the Plant City campus of Hillsborough Community College.

Nelson, who is in the midst of a statewide tour to meet constituents, remarked that Lott's gift was thoughtful - and practical.

"That is absolutely perfect, because all bags look the same," Nelson said. "That's going on the bag."

Ray Reyes

Crosstown To Observe Holiday Hours Monday

TAMPA - The reversible express lanes on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway will be open in the eastbound direction all day Monday, starting at 10 a.m., in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The lanes will reopen in the westbound direction at 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Only drivers with SunPass or video toll accounts are permitted to use the reversible lanes.

Rich Shopes

Courthouse Renovations Expected To Start Next Year

PLANT CITY - Plant City has waited years for the county courthouse complex on Michigan Avenue to be renovated.

City Manager David Sollenberger said the wait is expected to stretch into 2011.

Sollenberger said county staff is reviewing the project's design and it will be presented to the city commission for review Jan. 28.

Sollenberger said the schedule calls for completion of design and permitting by October. Construction is set to start in 2009, with completion in 2011.

Ray Reyes

POLK

USF's Regional Campuses Focus Of Session Today

LAKELAND - How will the University of South Florida's regional campuses fit into the future of the USF system?

A working group of USF's board of trustees will take up that question this afternoon when it reviews a staff document dubbed "Paths to Mission Differentiation."

That rather stuffy sounding title belies an important question: Should the regional campuses follow USF St. Petersburg's lead and seek independent accreditation?

That's a particularly important question for USF Lakeland, which has big plans, backed by USF President Judy Genshaft, to create Florida's first public four-year polytechnic university. That would be a departure from the traditional role of regional campuses, which are designed to mimic the central campus.

Today's discussion is set for 1 p.m. in room 296 at USF's Marshall Center in Tampa.

Billy Townsend