What is the Bay Area missing? (Miami, Tampa: credit, motels, neighborhoods)

[crystalblue]

It can be from something small, like Friendlys restaurant, to something on a grand scale, like a Gateway Arch (ala St Louis) going over the bay!

And, how likely do you think it is you will get what you want?

Things I would like to see
Friendlys restaurant could happen
USF- St Pete becoming its own college and growing might happen
more/smarter mass transit yeah, right
more direct flights to more cities maybe
a clothing optional beach i wish
a "real" downtown for Tampa (more like St Petes) one day...
a research park, ala RTP prob wont happen


more to come...

[On-da-Beach]

sailboat regattas...maybe
offshore powerboat racing...maybe
an area around channelside similar to San Francisco's Wharf district...nope

[TampaKaren]

I'd like an expressway through Pinellas County from Tierra Verde to Anclote Key, please. All those asynchronous stop lights make me CRAZY!!! I'd probably go more often (from Carrollwood) if I could drive through the county without all the hassle.

[bala]

Trader Joes grocery store. If you have ever been a regular, you know what you are missing. FL doesn't have any

[jsirois831]

let me tell you about clothing optional beaches....the two Ive been too,thinking to see something great(hey I was 17 and 18 years old!) I wish I hadn't!!!!!!!!!

[nar69]

better roadway infrastructure. traffic all across the bay area is horrible! either that or a better public transportation system. something needs to be done.

[Nav]

I would go for light rail that has spurs to brandon, plant city, Carrolwood, Lutz and north Tampa that connects to the business districts in Downtown, westshore, Rocky Point, DIA and the Dale Mabry area.

Also, something so simple as connecting the crosstown to I-4/I-275 would be a huge blessing. (This is already in the planning stages)

Something that would be a huge asset that they have in Denver is interstate on ramp traffic lights. In peak rush hour they allow 2 cars to enter the interstate every 2-5 seconds. This allows the cars to merge without stopping traffic flow. Even on a bad day, the interstates move 25-30mph during rush hour. Tampa's current system lets the on ramp traffic plow into the flow and it stops all 3 lanes as the new drivers jockey for position. Its a simple solution that doesn't cost a lot, but boy does it sure help traffic flows. (The stop lights are off during non-peak times)

Nav

[tilli]

Comprehensive public transportation.

[DC2Tampa]

Great topic. To start off, here's my wishlist...


1) Better national and international marketing of the entire Bay area - You'd be suprised how many people around the country know absolutely nothing about this area other than maybe the Bucs. Most people couldn't find it on a map and most don't even know it has beaches. Admittedly, I didn't even know until researching it prior to moving here, yet I knew everything on the I-95 side of Florida since I was a little kid. There are so many misconceptions about the area, even on this forum and among it's residents and undeserved reputations seem to perpetuate themselves. San Diego is a great city with a desirable reputation but credit much of the hype to great PR campaigns. People don't know about all of the serious problems San Diego has and it has a lot.


2) Improvements to high tourist traffic areas - This may perpetuate the above misconception and bothers me to no end. The Pinellas/St. Pete/Clearwater side has done a MUCH better job than the Tampa/Hillsborough side on this issue. What are the most visited areas of Tampa for out-of-town visitors? Busch Gardens, Ybor City, Raymond James Stadium/Steinbrenner Field(Spring Training) and downtown/Channelside/St. Pete Times Forum. The former is fine estheticly but the areas around Busch Gardens, Ybor City and RJS/SF are embarassing and don't reflect well on the area.

- The entry way into Busch Gardens from I-275 is Busch Blvd. lined with hupcap dealers, rundown thrift stores and pawn shops, some rusty old mill and cheap crappy motels. Busch Gardens is literally like some oasis in the middle of some stripmall wasteland.

- The portion of I-4 and 22nd St. exit actually looks nice since they improved the entry into Ybor though taxpayers could've done without the insanely overpriced fountain that no one ever sees and rarely ever turned on. But the surrounding neighborhoods should be condemned they're in such bad shape and tend to attract a bad element into Ybor. Once the IKEA opens, it should bring in more commercial and residential development and hopefully major improvements without losing the districts character.

- Dale Mabry Blvd. What can you say? It was recently rated as the ugliest stretch of roadway in America! More stripmalls, stripCLUBS(including a flying saucer), billboards and a road that makes Old Route 66 look like the freaking Autoban. Man, at least pave the thing one color(preferably black asphalt) and maybe plant some trees on a median? Maybe?

- Pinellas has done a much better job recently improving the esthetics to gateway areas like burying telephone cables and lining palm trees down Gulf Blvd and the new bridge to Clearwater... The development of the Garden District on 4th Street into downtown St. Pete... US-19 improvements... etc...


3) Increased population density in the downtown areas - This is HUGE for the development of Tampa and St. Pete. It's a shame that the housing market went south because there were dozens and dozens of incredible projects slated for both downtowns that would've increase density and along with it, brought more retail, dining, nightlife, foot traffic and improved public transportation. St. Pete has done a pretty good job of becoming a pedestrian friendly downtown and an afterwork destination. Tampa still has that ghost town feeling after 6pm and on weekends unless there's a Lightning game going on. Hopefully the new museums and a REAL development of the Riverwalk will improve things. Population density is a MUST for cities' development.


4) A signature landmark - Just about every major city has one. The Arch in St. Louis as the OP mentioned, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and TransAm Building, the Empire State and Chysler Buildings, Space Needle in Seattle,... The St. Pete Pier may be that and I hope that the city decides to retain the upside-down pyramid shape because it is very unique. The Sunshine Skyway Bridge is definitely that, the only problem is that not very many people get to see it as it's only visible south of St. Pete. The O2 Tower project proposed in Tampa would've given downtown a signature Space Needle-esque landmark but the FAA killed that because of the Davis Island airport nearby and then market financing finished it off. We need a signature landmark that's visible and identifiable to the area that can be marketed beyond the area.


5) An effective, efficient and LOGICAL mass transit/light rail system - There are a ton of logistical nightmares in this area that make mass transit nearly impossible here(large bodies of water, a totally built-out peninsula, lack of rail lines) but it's inevitable and might as well start developing now. Ideally it would be light rail or MAGLEV train lines running from North Pinellas-Clearwater-Carillon area-downtown St. Pete and a Carrollwood-downtown Tampa and Brandon-downtown Tampa lines. Where the money for a project like this might come from is another story(Dear Uncle Sam...). A connecting downtown Tampa-to-downtown St. Pete rapid transit system would probably have the most consistent ridership but would obviously cost the most to construct on top of enviromental issues. HOV lanes might be a good start and cheaper alternative for the area's roadways.


6) We NEED to attract more high tech and Fortune 1000 companies - We're in a region/state with a lot of very respectable large research universities like USF, UF, Univ. of Miami, UCF and FSU. UM and UF among the top 50 private and public universities in the country. A massive educated workforce is within 4hrs of the Tampa Bay area yet we lose a lot of them to cities outside of FL and outside of this area. We need to entice these companies and industries to relocate here and keep our college graduates(...and their high paying salaries) within the area.


7) MISC. - A retractable roof ballpark for the Rays, another Stanley Cup, L&L Hawaiian BBQ and In-N-Out Burger franchises, a Bass Pro Shop(for camping/hiking/kayaking gear), a Trader Joe's for all the Trader Joe fans, I-275 and US-19 construction to be completed, free WiFi access everywhere, and people not cruising in the fast/left lanes...

[DC2Tampa]

Originally Posted by On-da-Beach

sailboat regattas...maybe
offshore powerboat racing...maybe
an area around channelside similar to San Francisco's Wharf district...nope

I believe there are sailboat regattas off Clearwater but usually smaller vessels.

There are offshore powerboat races off the St. Pete Pier in Tampa Bay which organizers say is the best viewing platform of all of their races and also offshore races down in Sarasota off Lido Key

There was a proposed Fisherman's Wharf type complex along the waterfront of the port of St. Petersburg a year or two ago. Not sure whatever happened to that proposal or if it's currently in the works still.