A total of five public workshops were held in July, October, and November 2007. Since the time of the public workshops, several significant courses of action have been determined, as follows:

• On November 8, 2007 at a public hearing regarding the Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted to remove the Brandon Bypass/Beltway from the Hillsborough County Comprehensive Plan/Transportation Element maps and lists.
  
• On December 4, 2007, the Metropolitan Planning Organization Board voted to remove the Brandon Bypass/Beltway from the MPO’s year 2025 Long Range Transportation Needs Plan. The MPO also requested that MPO staff study transportation road and highway needs in South County during the MPO LRTP update process during 2008 and 2009.

Based on feedback received during the public outreach efforts for the Plan, as well as the events that have taken place since the public workshops, as noted above, the following changes were made to the revised preliminary recommendations for the Plan:

• The Brandon Bypass/Beltway was removed due to BOCC and MPO Board actions in November and December of 2007 as noted above.
  
• Three projects inside the urban service area were removed (John Moore Road extension (#62), Lithia Pinecrest Road extension (#63), and Valrie Lane Bridge Crossing over the Alafia River (#74).
  
• All projects located outside the urban service area were removed. The same year 2050 land use that was used by the Florida Department of Transportation in previous studies was used for the South County Transportation Plan. Since the forecast year was for the year 2050, it was assumed that at some point in the future, the urban service area boundary may indeed move further out and as a result, additional growth would occur outside the urban service area boundary. However, there are currently no plans to move the urban service area boundary. For the purpose of planning transportation improvements to accommodate 2050 growth in South County, several of the projects that were initially recommended were located outside the urban service area. However, during the public involvement process, it was determined that the type of growth in South County driving the need for these transportation improvements may need to be considered further.

Therefore, it is the role of the Hillsborough County MPO to investigate the need for future roads and highways during the MPO’s Highway Needs Plan Update process. Technical information developed by the County and citizen comments generated during the development of the South County Transportation Plan will be made available to the MPO for further consideration. The BOCC supports the role of the MPO to take the lead in managing this transportation planning effort.

In addition to the MPO study, the Wimauma Community Plan was approved by the BOCC in 2007. There are recommendations in the Plan devoted to transportation issues. During 2008 and 2009, the County will consider implementing plan recommendations in the County’s Comprehensive Plan as required. More information will be provided during the year on the status of the Wimauma Community Plan. For further information, please contact Joe Incorvia, AICP, Community Planning Manager, at 813-272-5920.

The County will keep you posted of the status of transportation planning activities for South County via this website and when necessary, via emails and/or USPS mail to those on the mailing list.

Thank you very much for your interest.

For more information about Transportation Planning, please contact Ned Baier, AICP, at 813-272-5849.

Meetings - UPDATED

• Meeting Materials from November 5, 2007 Public Workshop
  • Date, Time, and Location of November 5, 2007 Workshop ( PDF, 7KB )
  • Agenda ( PDF, 7KB ) NEW
  • Frequently Asked Questions ( PDF, 54KB ) NEW
  • Comment Form ( PDF, 23KB )
  • Preliminary Project Analysis Map updated version ( PDF, 11.72MB ) NEW
  • Preliminary Project List updated version ( PDF, 25KB ) NEW
  • Slide Presentation (updated version) ( PDF, 3.19MB ) NEW
  • Location of Signs Advertising Meetings ( PDF, 10KB ) NEW

• MPO Transit Study ( JPG, 522KB )
• Revised Project Recommendations Map (November, 2007) ( PDF, 11.31MB ) NEW
• Revised Project Recommendations List (November, 2007) ( PDF, 6KB ) NEW