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Citrus Pointe Feeling Stuck In The Middle

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 6, 2008

CITRUS PARK - The new neighbor did not make a good first impression on Citrus Pointe homeowners.

It rose two stories and brought with it trucks that shredded the shoulders of Citrus Pointe Drive and left no safe path for walking. And its 1,500 future inhabitants haven't arrived yet.

The neighborhood's homeowners association met with the Hillsborough County school district Thursday night about the community's newest resident - Smith Middle School. Construction started last year behind Citrus Park Elementary, and Smith will open Aug. 18 when classes resume for the 2008-09 school year.

Alice Winning, who has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years, said she appreciated the meeting but not the timing. The residents should not get these details weeks before school starts, she said. They should have been warned ahead of time about what was coming.

"It's a little late for the school district to be talking to us," she said.
Citrus Park Elementary sits at Gunn Highway and Citrus Pointe, at one of the 254-home neighborhood's entrances. Sickles High School also is nearby. With traffic thick on Gunn, the residents worried about the congestion and noise a third school would bring, said Michele Taylor, president of the homeowners association.

"We've got a high school on one end, an elementary school here, and now we're getting a middle school?" Taylor said.

The district brought a team of planners, managers, principals, the building's architect and the school's resource officer to ease residents' concerns. They told the association that bells and intercoms met noise restrictions and pointed into the courtyard and school, not into the neighborhood. Smith Principal Kathy Flanagan said she would do most announcements on closed-circuit television, minimizing noise outside.

The district team explained that the construction along Citrus Pointe Drive would add a county-required additional lane to provide a left-turn lane onto Gunn and a designated turning lane into the middle school. Work on that lane is under way. If that isn't enough to keep cars moving, the school also has a lengthy lane on its property to contain vehicles at arrival and dismissal times.

Projections call for 415 trips into the middle school and 340 exiting in the morning and 193 trips entering in the afternoon and 235 exiting. The elementary, middle and high school start and dismiss at staggered times to reduce traffic.

Flanagan and Citrus Park Principal Joan Bookman said they worked together to schedule open houses and other events to prevent overlap and parking problems.

But they warned residents the first few days could be hairy.

Flanagan expects high turnout at her open houses, which run three days starting Monday. Everyone is eager to see the new school, she said. She also said more parents will drive their children to school on the first day than the rest of the year. There also will be a learning curve as parents learn where to drop off their children and where - or not - to park.

One resident asked for no parking signs along Citrus Pointe, which the county would have to erect, but that will depend on how big a problem illegal parking becomes. Sheriff's Deputy Rick Cervis, the resource officer for Smith, said he will enforce the traffic rules. Parents sometimes try to drop their children off across the street from schools to save time, but that will not be allowed, Cervis said.

"I try to be very polite," Cervis said, "but I will convince them that that is not a good move."

Taylor said she would warn the residents about the open houses and first-day traffic and ask for patience. She also said she would remind them not to speed through the school zones.

Cathy Valdes, the district's chief facilities officer, said the district wanted to continue to hear from residents about their concerns. If parking is a problem after Smith opens or buses or teachers are taking shortcuts through the neighborhood, the district wants to be notified.

"We're going to continue doing what we need to do to make sure we're good neighbors to you," Valdes said.

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.

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