Hillsborough County 11th Worst For Congestion in the US! (Tampa: crime, how much)

[WinterK]

Originally Posted by kmarc

L.M.A.O.!!!!! That's just too funny right there.

My faves are the re-locators with visions of the beach dancing in their heads. "Hi, we've been thinking about moving to the Tampa Bay area. We love warm weather and taking trips to the beach!". Yeah, pack an overnight bag.

Absolutely agree! Don't forget our wonderful snowbirds and spring breakers that come down during the" tolerable" months of our weather, clogging up the roads and ruining it for locals. And I don't want to hear "but they make such a difference in our economy", " Florida would go under without them ". I think that's a load of bull they've been handing us for years too. If Florida is so up and coming and Tampa in particular, we shouldn't have to rely on this income.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by kmarc

Excellent post. They wouldn't let me rep you because of that spread it around thingy.

Thanks Kmarc. Did u make it up my way yet?

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by WinterK

Absolutely agree! Don't forget our wonderful snowbirds and spring breakers that come down during the" tolerable" months of our weather, clogging up the roads and ruining it for locals. And I don't want to hear "but they make such a difference in our economy", " Florida would go under without them ". I think that's a load of bull they've been handing us for years too. If Florida is so up and coming and Tampa in particular, we shouldn't have to rely on this income.

I think we need a sticky in this forum: "WARNING TO RE-LOCATORS: There are no beaches in Hillsborough County. Please trust us on this."

OK, I realize that's not strictly true. Ruskin has a couple of beaches (if you can call them that) downstream of the Port and TECO plant. If you get your jollies swimming in industrial waste, go for it. And then of course there's the lovely Ben T. Davis park at the head of the bay, if it's not shut down due to a sewage problem. Whatever the case, none of these "beaches" are on the Gulf, they are on Tampa Bay, which is pretty much of a soupy mess. There's a reason the warmest temperatures in Hillsborough County during the summer tend to cluster between Brandon and Apollo Beach. The nasty hot water from Tampa Bay heats the breeze that blows across those areas.

So if you like the beach and live in Hillsborough County, you are SOL. Plan on a long drive across Pinellas County to the beaches, or drive south to Manatee or Sarasota Counties.

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Thanks Kmarc. Did u make it up my way yet?

Not yet, we're shooting for end of Sept, early Oct, when the weather is still warm enuf to enjoy a dip in the springs/river and it might just be a little less crowded. I've always felt that October is the golden time for us residents to actually get out and enjoy the area with a little less traffic.

[gjosephunf]

Now everyone can be happy lol. Hopefully some form of improvement will pass.

[Concert D Major]

Why do we have to keep raising the sales tax? At what point do we say no more? 10%? 15% 25%?? We can't keep doing these 1-cent increases forever. Seems like once every few years, it's another push for another cent here, another half-cent there.

If 3-4% used to be enough to run the government back in the day, why does it cost 6-7% now? If you keep the same old 3-4% rates, then inflation and growth alone will increase the overall revenue to the government without having to increase the percentage rate itself. Why does it cost a higher percentage to run today's government than yesterday's government?

[Pragmaticus]

Mass transite is way over due. I can't imagine getting to the next step without that. Not a rocket science!

[kmarc]

Originally Posted by Concert D Major

Why do we have to keep raising the sales tax? At what point do we say no more? 10%? 15% 25%?? We can't keep doing these 1-cent increases forever. Seems like once every few years, it's another push for another cent here, another half-cent there.

If 3-4% used to be enough to run the government back in the day, why does it cost 6-7% now? If you keep the same old 3-4% rates, then inflation and growth alone will increase the overall revenue to the government without having to increase the percentage rate itself. Why does it cost a higher percentage to run today's government than yesterday's government?

Don't get me started. The point is, they do this because they got screwed over by Tallahassee, where "our" (cough-cough) representatives in the legislature and the governor are in the pockets of the builders and developers. All through this massive building boom, money could have been pouring in for infrastructure, but those sources were cut off. Now, they have to figure out how to shake down the taxpayers. A half cent here, a tax assessment there, another fee over here.

[housingcrashsurvivor]

Originally Posted by kmarc

Is this a reliable source, in your opinion?

I liked in the methodology that they looked not just at highways but also at the surface roads and I also liked that they incorporated data from their competition along with their own. I don't know the company offhand but it does seem highly cited on the interwebs and I did not find a bad critique of it.

I'm not sure what they mean by "Tampa".

It's listed in the "large" population category of more than 800,000.

Tampa has 350k so it isn't that
Hillsborough County has 1.3 million
Tampa Bay has 4.2 million

So it seems this is not just about Tampa, though it lists Tampa as "the city" being ranked.

Clicking on their "Tampa" link TomTom Traffic Index pulls up a map showing both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, so I'd imagine this is not just about Hillsborough County either but about Tampa-St. Pete more likely, though I don't see that stated.

[dothetwist]

Originally Posted by gjosephunf

Now everyone can be happy lol. Hopefully some form of improvement will pass.

I scanned over their website....says NO to light rail. Not a great plan. ONLY includes Hillsborough.

We need a comprehensive plan for the ENTIRE area.

When they built Metro in DC, it was DC and Virginia localities and Maryland localities. It can be done. But evidently not in TB Area.