Anyone commute from the Sarasota area? (Tampa, St. Petersburg: how much, houses, construction) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

angelagardner · 06-11-2010, 04:08 PM

As I can see on a map it doesn't seem too far from Sarasota to Tampa-St. Pete area but maps are only maps and don't consider traffic, etc. Can anyone tell me if they commute from the Sarasota area to Tampa and how long it takes to get there? Is it a tough and frustrating commute or relatively calm and quick? Are there alternate routes that I should consider other than the major freeways? Which routes (freeways, etc.) are best to travel along?

Thanks for the help.

clevelandguy · 06-12-2010, 06:42 AM

I work in St. Petersburg at Gandy Blvd. and I-275. A co-worker lives near the first exit in Sarasota for I-275. She says on a good day it takes her 45 minutes to get to work, however on a bad day it could take hours or actually be impossible for her to make it into work. You have to drive over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and if there happens to be a jumper, they close the bridge and you have to wait in traffic on the highway until the situation is resolved. If the wind speed reaches 45 MPH they also close the bridge. I would think Sarasota to Tampa would be a REALLY long commute. When planning a daily commute down here try to stay away from having to use one of the bridges that cross the bay. Traffic on the bridges is terrible during rush hours.

gypsychic · 06-12-2010, 07:07 AM

I answered this last night, but my post has disappeared. We live in north Sarasota by the airport, DH drives to downtown Tampa every day on I-75 (NO Skyway), it is one hour door-to-door for him, and he does not feel it is a bad drive at all. There are rarely any traffic or accident issues.

Hope this helps.

ferret111 · 06-12-2010, 07:59 AM

The two big problems would be the Skyway, due to the possibility of it being closed, and 275 from the Howard Frankland all the way into Downtown Tampa, since traffic often comes to a crawl and construction just exacerbates the problem.

gypsychic · 06-12-2010, 08:20 AM

As I said before, if one is driving from Sarasota to Tampa, you would NOT need to take the Skyway - you would take I-75. This is a very easy drive and almost never any issues due to the many lanes and good road conditions. Now if you are driving from here to St. Pete, then you would have to take the Skyway.

jambo101 · 06-12-2010, 02:37 PM

How about the Ruskin area?

ferret111 · 06-12-2010, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jambo101

How about the Ruskin area?

What about it? Commuting there from either Sarasota or Tampa is easy.

jambo101 · 06-13-2010, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ferret111

What about it? Commuting there from either Sarasota or Tampa is easy.

oops

thought op was looking for place to live between Tampa and Sarasota..

scarlett68 · 12-06-2011, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I answered this last night, but my post has disappeared. We live in north Sarasota by the airport, DH drives to downtown Tampa every day on I-75 (NO Skyway), it is one hour door-to-door for him, and he does not feel it is a bad drive at all. There are rarely any traffic or accident issues.

Hope this helps.

Gypsychic: I am planning a move from NW FL to south FL late next year. I'd be working in TPA in the area of the state and federal courthouses. My parents live in SRQ in Palm Aire and I love the area. I hve noticed that, in the areas in TPA I would find desirable, it seems the travel time would be 35 minutes +, and the cost is alot more than SRQ in many cases. I have the following questions:

1. Can you take I-75 from SRQ to the area of the TPA courthouses, or do you need to get off and go other routes at some point? If so, do those back up and are there alternative routes to those?

2. WHat do you think the average travel time would be from Palm Aire to the area of the TPA courthouses?

3. If I-75 gets backed up, are there alternative routes to/from SRQ and, if so, how much time do they take?

4. Is the additional 25+ minutes drive worth it? I suppose that is an individual thing. Your hubby may not mind driving on the highway for hours. IDK. I find highway driving monotonous after a while, so that concerns me.

Thanks for your help.

algia · 12-06-2011, 07:00 AM

IF this is a daily commute, I suggest you get a prescription for medication to keep you calm at the wheel!

45 minutes? r u doing 100mph?

Here per mapquest:
http://www.commercialphotoservices.com/sto%20t.jpg (broken link)

Skyway Route:
http://www.commercialphotoservices.com/skyway%20route.jpg (broken link)

75 Route:
http://www.commercialphotoservices.com/75%20route.jpg (broken link)

It took us 1 1/2 to get to Sarasota. This was a leisure trip, there is no way I can recommend having that as a daily commute unless you like you car a LOT, and don't like spending much time doing anything else but driving.

From Twiggs to 75:
http://www.commercialphotoservices.com/twiggs.jpg (broken link)

From the Court House to Sarasota:
http://www.commercialphotoservices.com/Twiggs%20to%20sarasota.png (broken link)

Quote:

Originally Posted by angelagardner

As I can see on a map it doesn't seem too far from Sarasota to Tampa-St. Pete area but maps are only maps and don't consider traffic, etc. Can anyone tell me if they commute from the Sarasota area to Tampa and how long it takes to get there? Is it a tough and frustrating commute or relatively calm and quick? Are there alternate routes that I should consider other than the major freeways? Which routes (freeways, etc.) are best to travel along?

Thanks for the help.