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Tampa Hopes New Parking Meters Win Over Fans

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By RICH SHOPES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 16, 2008

John Tortorella's departure might have saddened Tampa Bay Lightning fans, but at least they won't have to scramble for change when they park under the Selmon Crosstown Expressway next season.

Tampa's Parking Division, which manages land under the Crosstown in the downtown area, wants to replace the old-fashioned coin meters and honor pay boxes with ATM-style, multispace parking meters.

The rates won't change, and city parking manager Jim Corbett promises the new meters will make paying for parking easier. They'll accept cash, credit cards and debit cards, meaning drivers won't have to run around town looking for ATMs - or try their luck skipping out of the fare.

The division plans to buy 18 machines at $10,000 to $12,000 each and wants to install them this fall. Corbett said they'll pay for themselves with increased parking usage.

Crosstown Work Slated

Got business in Brandon? Soon, Crosstown users better make sure they leave downtown before 7 p.m.

From Sunday through July 17, workers will repave the east and west lanes near the main toll plaza from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Elevated lanes users will not be affected.

"This area is in pretty bad shape from the construction of the reversible express lanes," said Joe Waggoner, executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, which operates the Crosstown.

I-75 To Get More Guardrails

Motorists from Hernando and Pasco counties will soon have a safer drive on Interstate 75.

The state plans to install six miles of median guardrails in two places - between the Hernando-Sumter County line and State Road 50 in Hernando County and between the Hernando-Pasco line and County Road 577 (Lake Iola Road) in Pasco County. The $3 million project will take two to three months. Motorists probably won't have to worry about lane closures, Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kris Carson said.

From January 2004 to May 2007, 36 people were killed in head-on collisions on I-75 between Manatee and Sumter counties. Median guardrails were installed in Manatee and Hillsborough counties in recent years.

I-75, C.R. 54 Work A Year Away

Gov. Charlie Crist last week approved the $56 million reconstruction of the I-75 junction at County Road 54 in Pasco. The entire junction, including the interstate's bridges, is expected to be rebuilt.

But Pasco drivers will have to stay patient. The nearly two-year-long project won't start until late spring or early summer 2009. A transportation department spokeswoman said bids won't go out until late 2008. Eventually, C.R. 54 will be widened.

Trolley Drops Fares To 25 Cents

Getting around Tampa is a little cheaper. Hillsborough Area Regional Transit last week cut fares on its in-town trolleys from 50 cents to a quarter.

Two trolley lines operate a daily service in the mornings and afternoons to get office workers to and from parking lots and a weekend service that runs between downtown and Channelside Bay Plaza.

Got a traffic gripe? Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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