Thursday, March 19, 2015

Seminole Heights Fights FDOT and Wins

Seminole Heights is a historic streetcar suburb, three miles north of Downtown Tampa. During the 1990s, still recovering from the dark days of urban America's 1980s, the neighborhood found itself in a fight for its life. FDOT had plans to widen Hillsborough Avenue through the heart of the neighborhood. DOT saw the road as part of a six-lane divided highway with turn lanes running from Pinellas to Polk counties. Their $33.5 million plan to widen Hillsborough Avenue only included the cost of a chain-link in the budget. On the other hand, the historic district's residents envisioned a four-lane boulevard with trees, period streetlights, landscaped medians and brick crosswalks. 

Something had to give. Seminole Heights residents convinced FDOT to make concessions by embracing their four-lane boulevard concept. 20 years later, now featuring mature landscaping, this stretch of Hillsborough Avenue shines above the rest of US 92's path through Hillsborough County and the dire traffic congestion predictions have not materialized. here

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