Beckner: Golf cart path could help Sun City Center residents cross highway

In Sun City Center, the golf cart is king.

Every day, hundreds of the low-speed electric vehicles ferry residents down wide, palm-tree-lined streets in this south Hillsborough retirement community. Cars are rarely needed here: doctors' offices, restaurants and shops are within walking -- or carting -- distance.

But three years ago, retail giant Walmart moved across busy U.S. 301, cutting seniors off from low-cost medications and discounted merchandise that helped them stretch their fixed incomes.

"We buy a lot of our medicine at Walmart," said Patricia Bauman, a 73-year-old resident. "I have to walk over there; walking is very difficult for me."

A solution to the problem may come Wednesday, when Hillsborough County commissioners consider building a cart path across a field from East Del Webb Boulevard to a signalized crossing at U.S. 301 and Cape Stone Avenue.

The path will cost about $250,000, said county Public Works Director Bob Gordon. That's a big savings over an $8 million bridge that Hillsborough's Transportation Task Force had recommended be built across the highway.

The task force included the bridge in a list of proposed road projects that will be built if voters approve a 1 cent sales tax for transportation in November 2010. The county commission is expected to vote in early December on whether to put the sales tax on the ballot.

The bridge was "much more expensive and years down the road," Commissioner Kevin Beckner said. "Working with county staff, we found alternatives where we could create a path from Cape Stone Avenue that goes to Del Webb."

More than 16,000 people call Sun City Center home, according to the 2000 census. The median age is 75, a demographic known for being politically active.

Years ago, Sun City residents had successfully lobbied the county commission to build a golf cart path to the Walmart store at State Road 674 and Cypress Creek Boulevard. When that store closed and Walmart built on U.S. 301, residents once again mobilized to get political support for another path.

A group calling itself GolfCarts2Walmart, or GC2W, launched a petition drive that garnered 4,400 signatures, according to Paul Courter, co-chair of the effort.

"A whole lot of people sat out in the sun and collected signatures," Courter, 74, said with a chuckle.

Beckner became aware of the problem at one of his first community meetings after he was elected a year ago. About 200 Sun City Center residents showed up.

Beckner traveled to Tallahassee and met with state Department of Transportation officials to make sure they had no objections to golf carts crossing at Cape Stone Avenue. The crossing already had a traffic signal and had the added advantage of linking up with a Hartline park-and-ride bus stop.

Rick and Stan Whitcomb, developers of Commonwealth Office Plaza near the intersection, have agreed to grant the county an easement across their property for the cart path. Money for construction will come out of the county's Critical Accident Mitigation fund, which can be used for practically any transportation project that concerns traffic or pedestrian safety, said Gordon, the public works director. Money in the fund comes from property taxes and gas taxes.

"We've been working with DOT making sure we have it properly striped and the signals timed correctly," Gordon said. "DOT is supportive of the crossing."

Gordon said if the commission approves the project Wednesday, the developers will probably convey the easement by the end of November. The project should be completed by late January or early February, he said.