HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Traffic congestion in downtown Tampa has become a daily headache for residents and commuters, many saying gridlock and long travel times are a daily frustration.
We spent time listening to people who live and work downtown. They say timing the traffic is everything.
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“If I don’t plan it well, it’s going to take me at least 30 minutes to go a mile and a half, and that’s disappointing. I tell people to walk all the time,” Killen said.
John Killen lives downtown and commutes to Westshore for work.
“So every morning and every afternoon I’m dealing with Tampa downtown traffic,” Killen said.
He said the congestion has forced him to adapt.
“It’s caused me to find alternative ways to get around it, and I have all these secret pathways,” Killen said.
Downtown residents are not the only ones feeling the impact. Commuters traveling into the city from surrounding areas have similar frustrations.
Stephany Rojas lives in Zephyrhills, but commutes downtown for work.
Rojas said, “It’s pretty crazy, it’s like stop and go takes me about an hour and a half to get to work every day.”
Not everyone agrees that the traffic is unbearable. One man who both lives and works downtown said the congestion does not faze him.
Stephen Brenna said, “Honestly, I'm from LA, so it’s nothing compared to L.A. traffic.”
Still, City leaders acknowledge the growing problem. Tampa City Council member Bill Carlson said downtown's traffic issues have been building for years.
Carlson said, “The traffic plan in downtown is the same as it has been for years, and Tampa has grown into a big downtown or a big city now, and we need to manage the traffic better. There's traffic jams all the time downtown.”
Carlson said that with more people living and working in the area, roadways are being pushed beyond their intended capacity, causing traffic jams.
“It’s a horrible blight on our city that we can’t drive around downtown and we have to fix it,” Carlson said.
City leaders are expected to discuss potential solutions to ease congestion during Thursday’s city council meeting scheduled for 9 am.
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