Now that SR 56 has been opened to Meadow Pointe Blvd. in Pasco County, it is likely that New Tampa residents will renew their campaign to have Hillsborough County's Kinnan Street connected to Pasco County's Mansfield Blvd. (which connects to SR 56). New Tampa residents living along Cross Creek Blvd. would love a shortcut to The Shops at Wiregrass mall and the I-75/I-275 apex.
All that physically has separated the two roads for years is around 25 paces of unpaved road and a barricade. Then there is that sticky issue of Pasco not wanting additional through traffic on Mansfield, a two lane road not designed for heavier traffic coming from New Tampa. Pasco's position has been that Hillsborough/Tampa instead should have designed a New Tampa connection to Pasco's Meadow Pointe Blvd. which is designed for heavier traffic. Hillsborough has chosen to not make a connection to Meadow Pointe Blvd. Hence, the "Mexican standoff" between the two counties over the connection and Kinnan Street's nickname, "the road to nowhere" because it dead ends at the county line.
(Photo taken from Kinnan Street. Pavement begins again on Mansfield on other side of chainlink fence.)
Pasco has denied allowing the Kinnan-Mansfield connection in the past but there have been reports that it might be willing to revisit the issue after the SR 56 extension to Meadow Pointe Blvd. is complete.
Also expect opposition to opening this connection from Meadow Pointe residents in Pasco, especially those residing in Wrencrest who already have a frustrating experience turning onto Mansfield (without a traffic light), when parents are dropping off and picking up children at neighboring John Long Middle School and Wire- grass Ranch High School.
Meanwhile......
(Photo taken from Mansfield Blvd in Pasco looking South towards Kinnan St. in Hillsborough)
Good Grief!
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6 comments:
Did any of the funding for either of these roads come from Federal money?
Also, living on the Hills. side of this, our county screwed up big time when it let Live Oak go "private".
Sorry, I have no idea if there was federal funding for any of these roads.
I am a resident of Wrencrest and I for one have been waiting for years for this connection to open. Finally there would be an alternative to having to fight traffic on BBD to get to Cross Creek. We desperately need an alternative to go into that part of Tampa.
Steve
Seems like the connection is a no brainer, and thus it will probably never happen. It is ironic that in one of your other postings you mention Pasco approving another developement on Morris Bridge which will only make the sole alternative to BBD worse in the next few years and this increase the need for this Kinnan to Mansfield connection.
Is there anyway to get a higher level of government to look at this (maybe the FDOT)? Maybe from a safety/evacuation standpoint? It's obvious this connection is not a priority to either of the local governments.
Also thinking once K-Bar ranch is more developed, there will probably be a road extended to Morris Bridge that will connect with MP Blvd.
I don't think it's an issue of Hillsborough extending a road out there, it's likely a developer responsibility that hasn't been done since the area is slowly being built. Also, Kinnan is only in county, but a road connecting to MP Blvd would be city (to my knowledge).
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