Keep Bayshore Beautiful Group Fights To Preserve Scenic Roadway

TAMPA, FL -- As the city of Tampa prepares to increase safety measures along Bayshore Boulevard, members of the homeowners group, Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful, continues to hold weekly "Knight Watch" vigils at the intersection of Knights Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard where a mother and daughter were struck and killed by a speeding car on May 23.

Bayshore residents Zhenya Nichols, Rob and Zoe Soriano, Wanda Janiszewski and John Reisinger took part in this week's vigil at the intersection where Jessica Raubenolt, 24, and her 21-month-old daughter, Lillia, were struck by an 18-year-old driver at an estimated speed of 102 mph.

Raubenolt, John Reisinger's niece, was legally crossing the street with her daughter in a stroller when they were hit. At the time, the speed limit along Bayshore was 45 mph. The city has since reduced it to 35 mph and are preparing to install other measures intended to deter speeding along the scenic 4.5-mile boulevard along Hillsborough Bay, a popular destination for joggers, walkers, skaters and bicyclists.

As a permanent tribute to the young mother and toddler, Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful placed concrete planters filled with flowers at the site of the tragedy. Nichols said it's the first step in the creation of the JLR (Jessica and Lillia Raubenolt) Community Garden of Awareness.

"We take care of the memorial and plats every single day," said Nichols. "We have several volunteers who rotate their visits to water the plants and tidy up the place , and I go there daily, unless I am out of town. I will continue doing so untill we hear from tne city about their commitment to coordinate with us about a (permanent) garden."

Brian Grieves of Keep It Green Nursery in Apollo Beach donated the planters and gave the group a significant discount on the potting soil and flowers.

The residents of the neighborhoods along Bayshore Boulevard have started a petition drive in the hopes of convincing the city to take further steps to increase safety. So far, the petition has garnered nearly 6,000 signatures.

They're asking for:

• The installation of crosswalks that give pedestrians the right of way at every intersection
• Enforcement of the speed limit through increased and alternative speed monitoring
• Reducing the speed limit to 25 mph
• Add Bayshore Boulevard to the Vision Zero Priority Corridors list
• Conduct a pedestrian safety study with public input, including the option of closing traffic lanes and creating public space through public-private partnerships.
• Allow public input into the proposed redesign and resurfacing of Bay to Bay Boulevard.

To date, the city has agreed to expedite plans to add speed limit pavement markings and enhanced speed limit signs that are more visible by August. Additionally, the city will add road striping to reduce the width of the road lanes to 10 feet and create a buffered bike lane. The city also plans to add lighted crosswalks at Rome Avenue, fill in sidewalk gaps on the west side of Bayshore and add bike lanes on Bayshore south to Gandy Boulevard. These measures will be put in place at the end of October.

As for the other suggestions by Bayshore area residents, Mayor Bob Buckhorn said the city will take a look at them and determine if they are workable.

Safety, however, isn't the only concern on the minds of residents in the area.

The Bayshore civic organization has been vocal in its opposition to a proposal to transform the historic Stovall House at 4621 Bayshore Blvd. into a private club.

Blake Casper, 44, CEO of the Tampa-based Casper Co., which owns more than 50 McDonald’s restaurants, and his wife, Tate, purchased the home for $9.5 million, the most ever paid for a residential property in Hillsborough County, and have filed a rezoning request to turn the home into a private club with alcohol for sale.

Built in 1909 by L.T. Trousdale, the general manager of Florida Brewing Co. in Ybor City, the Georgian-Colonial-style estate sits on 2.6 acres on Hillsborough Bay. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the 8,930-square-foot house is named for the founding publisher of the Tampa Tribune, Wallace Fisher Stovall, who purchased it in 1915, and subsequent owner, William E. Lee, who purchased the estate 28 years later. The Caspers are only the seventh owners of the historic home.

The Caspers are proposing to model the estate after the prestigious social clubs of London. Plans submitted by the Caspers’ architect include the addition of a parking lot with 80 parking spaces.

Faced with a swell of neighborhood opposition, the Caspers have been working with Keep Bayshore Boulevard revising the proposal so it will be acceptable to surrounding residents. But Nichols, whose home borders the Stovall House, said they've made little headway.

Among Nichols' objections is the variance the Caspers are requesting to permit alcohol sales within 50 feet of residential properties.

"Normally, and only in the mixed-use zones, not residential areas like ours, the offset is 1,000 feet. They're asking for 50 feet," said Nichols. "The alcohol sales until midnight and six bedrooms in the property rezoned as private recreational facility would essentially make it a nightclub inside a residential neighborhood."

Nichols said the proposal would alter the character of the historically residential area.

"If the rezoning for his recreational facility 50 feet away from my home is granted, if 80 parking spaces are built on the other side of my fence, if the service of alcohol is allowed seven days week until late at night and the wee hours, I will lose my peace and quiet," said Nichols. "I will lose the value of my house. My neighborhood will lose its safety and desirability."

She and her husband, Robert, have launched a petition drive and letter-writing campaign to oppose the project. So far, the petition has generated nearly 500 signatures.

The residents also are preparing to fight what they believe could be another threat to their scenic neighborhood.

A large contingent is planning to attend the Tampa City Council meeting June 28 at 5 p.m. where the council is scheduled to consider a proposal to allow Rocky Point developers to dredge and fill submerged land in the bay and build luxury town homes on the newly created dry land.

Bayshore area resident Pamela Adkins fears, if the city council approves filling in submerged land at Rocky Point, the waters in front of Bayshore Boulevard could be next.

"If this domino falls, there is a large parcel of submerged land across from Bayshore Boulevard at Rome Avenue that could also seek a change in designation, allowing landfill and building," she said.

City staff has recommended that Tampa City Council members reject the land-use amendment, when it comes before them June 28. Mayor Bob Buckhorn also said he opposes the project.

The practice was used in the 1970s to create Davis Islands but this type of dredging and filling was stopped due to environmental concerns.

Related stories:

Passenger, Brother Pleads Not Guilty In Fatal Bayshore Accident

Mother, Toddler Die After Struck By Speeding Car On Bayshore

Police Say Mustang Was Going 102 mph Before Hitting Mother, Child

Residents Call For More Safety Measures Along Bayshore Boulevard

Video via Keep Our Bayshore Beautiful

Resident Zhenya Nichols narrates a "Knight Watch" video.