Plant City commissioners have endorsed a plan for a grander, more beautiful and more appropriately designed Collins Street.
Although still only in concept form, the plan includes features such as wider sidewalks, turning lanes, beautification and as many as three grand entrances along Plant City’s central north-south corridor.
The commission voted unanimously to move forward with the concept. Most of the details — including funding sources, timelines and more — still haven’t been determined. However, the commission’s approval is another major step in the city defining and delineating its Historic Downtown district and, eventually, Midtown.
The concept — titled “Completing Collins Street” — was created by Atkins North America, the design consulting firm hired by the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization to examine the road. Wiatt Bowers, a senior project manager with Atkins, presented the study to commissioners at their Jan. 27 meeting.
The study examines a roughly two-mile stretch of Collins Street, from Alexander Street north to Historic Downtown. Currently, the road varies between a two-lane road in the downtown district and the wider, four-lane artery as it stretches to the south.
“The thematic identity … we came up with is a vibrant, small-town railroad community,” Bowers said.
As such, the concept includes streetscaping and entrances that use brick and metal materials similar to what is found throughout the city today, he said.
The study divides the two-mile stretch into three portions: Baker Street south to Alabama Street (Zone A); Alabama Street to Grant Street (Zone B); and Grant Street to Alexander Street (Zone C). All zones would feature new trees and landscaping, new lighting and as many as three grand gateways, but each zone also calls for different improvements to the road, Bowers said.
Zone A. Atkins’ plan proposes the least amount of changes to this zone. Some improvements could include wider sidewalks, adding trees for beautification and marking the road for shared use for bicyclists.
Zone B. This zone, which includes the future Midtown project, receives major changes under Atkins’ study. Taking the road from four lanes down to two lanes, the study proposes adding both northbound and southbound bicycle lanes, as well as parallel parking on the north side of the road. South of Alsobrook Street, the study features a raised planted median in the middle of the road, in lieu of parallel parking.
Zone C. With this zone’s large shopping plazas and other commercial uses, Atkins proposed a four-lane road with planted median in the center.
Vice Mayor Rick Lott said the timing of this study is critical, because of the Florida Department of Transportation’s plan to transfer ownership of the corridor to the city this year (see Ownership Transfer). Before that transfer occurs, FDOT will fund a complete repaving of Collins Street.
“That would be the perfect time, if we had the ability to find the funding, to be able to take this concept and work with it,” Lott said.
City Manager Greg Horwedel said the commission wasn’t approving the concept exactly as presented but rather the direction the city will take regarding Collins Street’s future.
“We’re not looking for approval of each detail as presented, nor are we looking for budgetary authority at this time,” he said. “It’s a great concept. … There will be a varying menu of items that we’ll talk about in each budget season. So, implementing them will be more than just a one-time thing. It will be in stages, probably.”
Contact Michael Eng at meng@plantcityobserver.com.
OWNERSHIP TRANSFER
State Road 39 is currently a state-owned road that provides one of the few north-south movements through eastern Hillsborough and Pasco counties.
In 1988, the Florida Department of Transportation conducted a study for the widening of State Road 39 from Interstate 4 to U.S. 301. Early in the study, it was determined that it would not be feasible to widen State Road 39 from I-4 to the vicinity of Knights-Griffin Road. As a result of coordination with the City of Plant City and the Hillsborough County MPO, the FDOT evaluated a new bypass alignment from I-4 to the vicinity of Knights-Griffin Road in addition to widening State Road 39 north of the bypass alignment. The City of Plant City had identified the need to divert traffic from its historic district by relocating the State Road 39 interchange to Alexander Street. This project is now under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2014.
After the bypass is constructed, FDOT plans to transfer ownership of the portion of State Road 39 from Alexander Street to Knights-Griffin Road to Plant City.
Source: Atkins North America
ABOUT THE STUDY
The Collins Street corridor offers a major opportunity to create a special place within Plant City.
Modifications to the roadway could jumpstart revitalization efforts in the Midtown district and yield a more bustling downtown with new residential units. Redevelopment could spread south, with new mixed-use buildings replacing surface parking lots and commercial uses re-orienting to the street itself. The area can be further enhanced by providing better connections to nearby parks, neighborhoods and schools.
Source: Atkins North America