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Traffic Concerns Not Eased

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

SEFFNER - For years, local residents say, traffic on McIntosh Road has been nightmarish during peak traffic hours - especially near Interstate 4.

Those who use the road regularly say they are happy the Hillsborough County School District is stepping up to improve the road so traffic doesn't worsen when a new high school opens next year east of McIntosh off Newsome Road.

They're just not sure the planned improvements will be enough.

Before the new high school opens in fall 2009, the district plans to block access from McIntosh onto Newsome south of the interstate. "We plan to put a gate across it and only open it during emergencies," said David Borisenko, manager of planning and facility siting for the district. "That's a huge trouble spot."

The school will be off Newsome at the northern end of Gallagher Road near I-4. In addition to closing Newsome, the district also plans to install right and left turn lanes on U.S. 92 at Gallagher Road, the main entrance to the new high school. The signal at McIntosh and U.S. 92 will be upgraded to include turn arrows, Borisenko said.

Although residents favor having a new school in the area, they aren't sure those improvements will solve the traffic problems that plague McIntosh Road.

"McIntosh is a failed road at the intersection of U.S. 92 and at I-4," said Terry Flott, director of the Seffner Community Alliance, a local civic organization. "Add to that a school, and it's going to be a mess. A turn lane here or there isn't going to get it."

The site the district chose for the new school, which was owned by the family of former school board member Joe Newsome, is too close to McIntosh, Flott said. "A school doesn't really fit there, to me. And it exacerbates the traffic problems," she said.

"I have a great deal of concern about the school kids running up and down a road with narrow lanes and ditches on both sides," said Terrie Geiger, who lives nearby, noting there have been several fatal crashes in that area near I-4. "And between 92 and the interstate, it backlogs now."

Scott Kudlinski, whose auto repair business is near the future school entrance, said he's eager to get a new school but worries about traffic.

"The school is good for us and good for the community, but I do think it will cause some congestion. When there's an accident on I-4, traffic pours onto U.S. 92," Kudlinski said.

The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization, responsible for long-term transportation planning and the allocation of state and federal transportation dollars, has no money allocated for improvements to McIntosh Road through 2025, said principal planner Wally Blain.

"That does not take into consideration any kind of negotiation or development agreement the county might make," Blain said. If money becomes available before 2025, priorities could change, he said.

The MPO transportation plan is updated every five years and is due for an update in 2009.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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