Public Meeting One -- Dale Mabry Improvements

On Tuesday, October 26th Hillsborough County held a public meeting.  The meeting took place at Northdale Rec Center on North Dale Mabry Highway.  It was to propose a new project to improve two problem-causing intersections.  The two intersections generate high traffic and delays every day amongst a high number of accidents.  Hillsborough County conducted a Preliminary Design and Engineering Study to determine the specific improvements that may be made to reduce problems and improve safety.  The two problem intersections are: North Lakeview Drive and North Dale Mabry Highway; and Northdale Boulevard and North Dale Mabry Highway.  The estimated cost of the Lakeview Drive intersection is $1.9 million.  The estimated cost of the Northdale Boulevard intersection is $1.6 million.  Both projects would start in Fall 2011 and would end in Summer 2012.

The changes of the Lakeview intersection would be to modify or close off the two nearest median openings that are located on N. Lakeview within close proximity to the intersection.  The changes of the Northdale intersection would be to modify and close off the nearest median opening located on Northdale within close proximity to the intersection.

The public meeting was very organized, for the most part.  They began with an introduction and a video made by the Department of Public Works and Icon Consulting Group.  The video showed detailed alternatives and scenarios that would enhance the intersections.  The Lakeview intersection had five alternatives, the fifth being the option for no construction whatsoever.  They will also replace existing streetlights.  In addition to the streetlights, the westbound lanes would be widened and left turning lanes would be added.  For the Northdale intersection, the lanes would be widened and two right and left lanes would be added.  A traffic separator, drainage systems and driveway connections would be added to both intersections if the approval were to take place.

After the video was shown, the structured part of the meeting ended.  There were easel boards with proposed diagrams of each alternative placed along the walls of the room.  This part of the meeting was open to questions.  Everyone was able to view the Google Map photos with the current and proposed alternatives.  That was a great aspect of the meeting because you can actually, visually see the difference in a tangible manner.  There was also a camera set up on a tripod in the middle of the room for questions that could not be answered by a county official.  Overall, the public meeting was a success.  And to my surprise, many people clapped when the moderator talked about the alternative to withhold construction. One repercussion of this entire project is that construction may impact trees in surrounding areas.