Resident Says Stripes Would Increase Walking

TAMPA HEIGHTS - Most people look at roads as ways to get from point A to point B.

Ryan Schumann is fascinated with the "psychology" of improving roads. For him, roads can affect communities and influence how people live.

He has proposed changing three roads in his neighborhood from four lanes to two and adding a center turn lane and bicycle lanes.

He's targeting Floribraska Avenue between Nebraska Avenue and Tampa Street, Palm Avenue between Nebraska and Tampa Street, and North Boulevard between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the University of Tampa.

Schumann, who will make a presentation to the Tampa City Council on Thursday, said most of the work would involve re-striping the roads. He said the changes could help slow traffic and encourage people to walk and bike.

"It brings a lot of health and beneficial factors to your neighborhood," Schumann said.

Schumann, 31, has presented his plan to neighborhood associations and the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization's Livable Roadways Committee. He has also met with County Commissioner Mark Sharpe.

The city's transportation department hasn't studied Schumann's proposal.

"Anything can be done. If you have the money, if there is a will," said Calvin Thornton, the department's chief planning engineer. "Are people willing to sit longer because they have less lanes?"

Schumann, who has a degree in education, is a manager at SCC Soft Computer in Clearwater. After five years in Tampa Heights, he is moving to Oregon in May to pursue a master's degree in urban and regional planning at Portland State University. He plans to offer his expertise from afar.

"I love Tampa Heights," he said. "I want to make it a place to live, to be."

Councilwoman Mary Mulhern, who invited Schumann to speak to the council, said he has worked hard.

"No one is paying him to do this," said Mulhern, chairwoman of the MPO's Livable Roadways Committee. "It is a gift to the neighborhood and city."