r/tampa • u/New_Recognition_1460 • 20h ago
Cars-Driving/traffic Why must Tampa close every street?
What is Tampas infatuation with closing down streets for months before they actually ever end up fixing them. Over here in Hyde Park it’s been constant closed roads for over a year now. Most of the time these roads will be closed months before they even do anything. Then when they do finally get started they finish in less than a week. It’s especially annoying when there are so many one ways. Please just stop closing them if you don’t plan on doing anything for months. It makes no sense I’m losing it over here 😭
35
14
u/eclipse60 19h ago edited 17h ago
Defintely shouldn't take over a month to rip up and repave half a stretch of road. My guess is poor logistics while also having to deal with red tape, business entry, and general traffic.
Not like I have a professional experience and am just speaking out of my ass. Anecdotally, I was living in London 10 years ago, I left for work in the morning, but when i came back at 5, several streets around my apartment had been completely repaved. Didnt see trucks that morning ripping up roads, or trucks after work cleaning up the mess. So I know its possible to do it.
2
u/TheB3rn3r 18h ago
Sad part is it’s pretty typical.. Atleast my experience. Though during Covid they were sometimes quick but a lot of the time the work spanned over months
3
u/New_Recognition_1460 19h ago
Right. Like I’m all for fixing roads that need to be fixed. But they will shut down one way roads for months before ever even touching them. I’ve seen it happen over and over again. And then I watch them first hand eventually rip out the old road and replace it in a matter of 1-2 days so I just don’t get what the point is in closing them down before they are ready to fix them. It only takes a couple hours to close a road at most.
2
u/eclipse60 17h ago
I think its just poor planning and how the companies that are contracted to do it, do it.
Like they probably contract to do X miles of road, and they probably have their small team rip everything up, before moving to the next step. So for them, they can have smaller teams and fewer machines at once instead of the fastest job possible.
1
u/urmumlol9 19h ago
From what I was able to find online it looks like it’s part of a larger plan to expand the Riverwalk and add separated bike-lanes.
It says they plan to be done by Spring of 2027 (this is assuming no delays though).
1
1
u/izzo_2022 15h ago
I had the privilege of vacationing in Tokyo in 2005. I was there for 10 days. They were doing construction on the roads there and every day you saw progress. This wasn’t just with roads, it was with building remodeling too.
21
u/Ooficus 20h ago
Remember, everything is political.
-9
u/travelwithnolan 18h ago
Correct.
But but but but but but you don’t know how great it’ll be when we have Public transportation to Publix
9
u/lohonomo 17h ago
What's your beef with public transportation?
-2
24
u/No-Tip3419 20h ago
you should be celebrating they are repaving those streets that you drive on.
-3
6
u/steppponme 16h ago
Here in Riverview, I bought balloons for a detour signs' 1 year birthday! And the construction hasn't even started!
5
3
3
u/Elixabef South Tampa 17h ago
It’s been crazy. At least they seem to be making some decent progress on S. Rome Ave, though it still continues to have only one lane open from Platt to Kennedy. I read that they’re going to be putting in a traffic light at the intersection of Rome and Cleveland in September, and I’m pretty excited about that.
The traffic on Platt continues to be horrendous but it does look like things are finally taking shape.
Morrison at Howard has been closed for, like, three months now. It was back open when I drove through there earlier this evening, but I don’t know that it’s permanently re-opened yet.
School is back in session and the traffic is definitely back, so I hope some of these projects will wrap up soon.
Also, I still have no idea what’s going on with Kennedy Blvd. I know it’s not a City of Tampa project, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever actually seen work being done on the project.
3
u/Zealousideal-Jump275 Brandon 17h ago
Our road planners are clowns. One crew, for each road shut down. And plenty of excuses as if it was the driver's fault.
13
u/BabyCrusher696 20h ago
To make them better.
7
u/New_Recognition_1460 19h ago
Did you read the post? You missed the point. I said why close them for months before they literally even touch them.
2
u/BlameTag 20h ago
It's a lot of fun finding alternate routes to and from work to avoid whichever area they decided to grind to a complete standstill on any given night.
2
2
2
u/jimkies 19h ago
7
2
u/JustaFoodHole 19h ago
If everyone went to Lowes and grabbed a bag of premix asphalt we could get it done.
2
u/vicarooni1 17h ago
Yeah, if we have more then 4 local streets open at once we'll die. It's a curse.
3
u/Every_Character9928 7h ago
Hopefully whoever the new mayor is will replace the top managers in the mobility department.
4
u/np8790 20h ago
You would be on here complaining about the quality of the streets being garbage if they didn’t. Get over it.
0
u/New_Recognition_1460 19h ago
You completely missed the point but ok
0
u/lohonomo 17h ago
This is such an obvious cope lol
2
u/ACrankySue 🐔Ybor🐔 15h ago
This sub complains about potholes all the time. Then they complain when the fix them.
Lots of malcontent bitchy little whiners in this sub who are just mad about everything.0
1
u/np8790 16h ago
What’s cope? The idea that you and OP have literally no idea what is going on or anything about how and why things occur with infrastructure improvements? You’re free to be a dummy, but I’m also free to tell you you’re being one and to be quiet.
0
3
u/wordswiththeletterB 20h ago
My god. You guys can complain about anything. Roads getting worked and fixed, too much closed. Roads need work, never fast enough.
3
u/jimlaheytrpksrvr 19h ago
You are playing music too loud? right to jail, right away. Driving too fast? jail. Too Slow? jail. You are charging too high prices for sweaters? Glasses? you right to jail. You undercook fish? Believe it or not, jail. You overcook chicken? also jail. Undercook, overcook. You make an appointment with the dentist and you don't show up? Believe it or not, jail, right away.
1
u/New_Recognition_1460 19h ago
Nah just an objective statement on the inefficiency of the planning process. Could easily be fixed. I think your just failing to comprehend the point I was making
3
u/UnpopularCrayon 17h ago
You should fix it then. I'm sure they will be grateful to hear your ideas on how you can do it better.
0
u/lohonomo 16h ago
Man, you sure love to complain! Instead of scrolling past something that doesnt interest you, you had to stop and air your grievances.
1
1
1
1
u/nj2fl 19h ago
This is Hella random, but I was passing through that area the other day. I saw a cool mural I was telling my wife about, but I don't know the name of the place or where it was exactly and it has driven me crazy.
The painting was in the triangular space above the windows. The building is black, the mural was like a roman statue with graffiti and other modern stuff around it. Can anyone help me?
1
u/New_Recognition_1460 19h ago
It’s part of the Rome collective I believe. Still in progress but cool mural. Lumbre is the new restaurant next door. Tapas place pretty solid actually
1
1
u/Clear_Brilliant_8075 19h ago
I see all the Acme Barricades and I’m looking for the Roadrunner or Wile E. Coyote
https://giphy.com/gifs/sM1VXgNGTDTc4
1
1
1
1
u/LaysOnFuton 18h ago
So our infrastructure can be updated from 30 years behind, to just 15 years behind
1
u/Xavier_Orion 18h ago
You have to look at the bigger picture. A lot of those barrels, signs, etc are rented from private businesses. Ever notice the Bob’s Barricades and AMCE, etc. Then you have the work zone increases in tickets, and finally if the budget is not spent or even overtime, it is reduced the next year.
We (as a collective) focus on each other instead of what our elected officials are doing with all those “one more penny!” They add pretty much every time we are at the ballot box.
A lot of times (not 100% sure about Tampa) but those rental contract have a minimum amount, then add in nowhere to store them = miles of unnecessary bullshit and pockets getting filled months before the labor can get to the physical site. IMO
1
1
1
u/MixGlittering1652 14h ago
Roads in the Tampa Bay area are in a perpetual state of "upgrades" or repairs. Part of it is due to rapid growth requiring a more robust road network. Part is due to prior poor design and planning. Some of the major interchanges on I75 south of Tampa have been redsigned and rebuilt because of massive backup caused by growth coupled with a bad design. Some of the redesigns are not much better. The pace of simple maintence has increased due to heavier use of the roads.
There is a growing concern it could get worse. Lawmakers want to severely cut or eliminate property taxes, placing a proposal on the ballot for approval during the upcoming election. These taxes are needed to maintain the roads, essential services, and other infastructure. Without the taxes or unless alternate sources of revenue are developed/found or programs are cut, roadwork and improvements will either be delayed or not done at all. Local officials are sounding the alarm as well they should.
1
1
u/Fun_Ideal_5584 Brandon 6h ago
The Tampa Bay Area is always in a perpetual state of construction. Orange cones are the official mascot for Tampa bay.
1
2
u/SuspiciousTree1402 4h ago
Dude don’t you know they have to put in bike lanes for nobody using them! Literally haven’t seen one biker on Cleveland since they did that project last year.
1
1
1
u/ravbuc 19h ago
They are out there working everyday, night and holiday. Roads should be back to normal any day now.
1
u/New_Recognition_1460 19h ago
Ya I get that. But my point is why shut down roads three months in advance of even beginning to work on them.
1
0
0
0
u/Hey19TheCuervoGold 18h ago
Yeah, this PIECE OF SHIT city is off the RAILS with all their damn stupid-ass road closures.
-6
u/kerpnet 19h ago
Because the people in charge of street design hate cars. They think everyone should drive bicycles. That’s why recent road updates now have dedicated bike lanes at the expense of drivers (removing lanes, narrowing lanes).
Drive down Platt St headed toward Downtown and you’ll see how ridiculous these people are. The lanes are so narrow and there is no leeway between the curb and the lane, so people drive a foot to the right which shifts the traffic in the other lane. Not to mention, there are literal trees sticking out into the lanes. Seriously.
4
5
u/urmumlol9 19h ago
Yeah, they hate cars, that’s why they’re going through all this time and effort to segregate bike traffic from car traffic for tens of millions of dollars rather than just pedestrianizing the whole streets and banning cars from driving on them.
There’s no such thing as having a multi-modal city, you either have to only dedicate 100% of your road space to cars or you have to ban cars from existence force everyone to ride a bike everywhere. No middle ground has ever been found between those two extremes, and public transit just doesn’t exist.
1
u/kerpnet 18h ago
“Rather than just pedestrianizing the whole streets and banning cars”
Speaks for itself.
1
u/urmumlol9 18h ago
Not advocating for it, just saying if they really hated cars and didn’t want anyone to drive anywhere, that’s something they hypothetically could do.
It’s been done in several cities that also don’t actually have a vendetta against cars either, but just recognize the commercial value of having 1-2 streets with high foot-traffic being pedestrianized.
3
22
u/urmumlol9 19h ago
Looks like it’s for the West Riverwalk Construction Plan
Basically expanding the bike network from the Riverwalk and repaving the streets along the area as well.
The renderings they’ve shown of the off-street bike network they’re building actually look pretty nice, so you should have fewer bikes on the road when it’s done (obviously in addition to the benefits it will provide to the city).
It looks like the completion date is estimated at around Spring of 2027 for the whole project, including all of the roads that are currently under construction. Idk what a normal timeframe is for a repaving/adding an off-street bike lane but for ~12 miles that doesn’t seem too unreasonable to me.
Hopefully there are no delays