Commute time - Lutz to Downtown Tampa avoiding 275 (Sunset: crime, schools)

[glastron_79]

Anyone commute from Lutz to downtown Tampa?

I'm interested in knowing the approximate one way drive time from the Livingston Ave/Collier Pkwy area - taking Livingston south, then west on Sunset Lane or Bearss, then south on Nebraska all the way down into the city. I prefer to avoid 275 at all costs.

My current commute from the Town n Country area to downtown is 45 minutes. I'm hoping the Lutz commute will be similar timewise.

Thank you for any input.

[algia]

You would be driving for a long time,.........parts of Nebraska are really bad....

[gypsychic]

That is a very bad drive - Nebraska has a lot of traffic lights and there is a LOT of traffic, especially during rush hour. I don't recommend it at all. Not to mention it is one of Tampa's main "ghetto roads."

[Keeper]

You might want to try it just to get a feel for the roads. .. I totally understand your aversion to I275. Personally I would rather drive a little longer on a less stressful road but that is just me. What about Dale Mabry? It would be less direct but there are less lights I think

[gypsychic]

I agree with Keeper, that you should try it to see how it works for you. Another suggestion is to cut over to Armenia Ave which moves a lot faster, and if you want you can then pick up I-4 to go to downtown, or keep going further south. There are other roads like N. Blvd. you can experiment with, but they will all involve making a few turns here and there which adds miles and time.

Bottom line is that no matter what you do, the commute from the north to downtown is the worst possible. My hubby did it for years and it was awful.

Good luck to you, hope you find a good route that works for you.

[algia]

I was also going to suggest Dale Mabry, but at rush hours and with the schools on Bearss it is a parking lot.....and if it rains...........forget it, it took us 1 hour from Waters to Kennedy one morning! and there are a lot of stop lights there too......

[jdk]

As much as it sucks, i275 is the quickest, most direct route from Lutz to downtown Tampa. Having done that commute for a considerable amount of time (From Van Dyke/Dale Mabry area to downtown) I've timed nearly every possible combination:
Van Dyke -> Veterans -> Kennedy
Van Dyke -> Dale Mabry -> 275N or Kennedy
Van Dyke -> Florida all the way down

I've found that while some routes offer less congestion they still take longer. It may seem like you're not getting anywhere due to the gridlock on 275 but it still ends up being quicker. Also as far as accidents I've had one in 7 years of doing that commute and it wasn't even on 275 so you should be pretty safe.

[algia]

But also consider getting FROM Livingston to Van Dyke....We do Van Dyke to Veterans to Kennedy 99% of the time but we live off of Van Dyke.....so Veterans is right there...but Collier Parkway and /or 54 can be very busy in the morning/afternoon....the OP was wondering what it is from Livingston which is quite a ways from Van Dyke.....He can go all the way west to Van Dyke through Collier Parkway the take Veterans (Toll Rd) and will pass close to Town and Country Again.....to get to Down Town.........If I was forced to take 275, the I would try (hard) to be either very early or late....to avoid the worst traffic......that is a very congested area no doubt.....

[ferret111]

Everyone makes it seem that if you drive down Nebraska, you're going to get carjacked or something. Yes, it is a road that cuts through some of the high-crime areas. I drive up and down Nebraska all the time because I avoid 275. Most of the time, I'm on Nebraska after dark. I have NEVER had any trouble. I've been to a number of gas stations and the Checkers at Floribraska and nobody's ever said anything. I'm an average-looking skinny white guy. So enough with this "Nebraska=warzone" garbage.

With that out of the way, I would prefer taking Florida all the way down since it is quicker. It has four to six lanes of traffic whereas Nebraska goes from four lanes to two once you hit Hillsborough.

[jdk]

Originally Posted by ferret111

Everyone makes it seem that if you drive down Nebraska, you're going to get carjacked or something. Yes, it is a road that cuts through some of the high-crime areas. I drive up and down Nebraska all the time because I avoid 275. Most of the time, I'm on Nebraska after dark. I have NEVER had any trouble. I've been to a number of gas stations and the Checkers at Floribraska and nobody's ever said anything. I'm an average-looking skinny white guy. So enough with this "Nebraska=warzone" garbage.

I don't think anyone said it was a warzone, just that they preferred to avoid that area. The fact that you haven't had any problems _yet_ doesn't prove much. I can see how a person that likes to avoid 'situations' would want to avoid that area. Imagine if your car broke down or you ran out of gas or got a flat tire in that area at night.. Maybe you'd be fine, but I would imagine most women would want to steer clear of a situation like that.