The key word for the Bradenton Herald's in-depth transportation series that launched today:
"Crossroads."
When we started brainstorming for some sort of traffic series last year, our premise was significantly different. The key words then were probably, "Damn that traffic jam." Jennifer Rich, our business and projects editor, initiated the discussion after a particularly hairy commute to downtown Bradenton from her home in St. Pete.
After everyone compared notes, we realized it was taking even longer for some of us who live in west Bradenton to get around than those driving from out of town. So we started scheming how to dig into the severe lack of mass transit and alternative transportation modes in Tampa Bay.
But we delayed starting the series, in part, to focus our resources on reporting about the economy, particularly the soaring number of foreclosures and collapse of the subprime market.
What a difference a year makes.
Gas prices went through the unthinkable $4 ceiling. And that U.S. milestone did what all the warnings of global warning and brownouts and lung-clogging smog could not: It forced Americans to think twice about jumping into their SUV and driving everywhere. Here in Manatee County, the roads always are easier to navigate during summer months, when our snowbird friends are still away. But it's even more noticeable this year as almost all of us worry about trying to save.
We are definitely at a crossroads for deciding the future of Manatee County's intermodal infrastructure. Have we really reached that paradigm shift?
As reporter Duane Marsteller writes in today's 1A story, cars and roads have ruled our world for decades. (In Part 2 on Monday, reporter Carl Mario Nudi notes that the first automobile arrived in Manatee County in 1902: a one-cylinder Cadillac!)
The Herald started reporting for the "Crossroads" series by forming a panel of transportation experts, asking them what works, what doesn't and how to improve - probably revamp - Manatee County's system. The experts include the developer of our current long-range transportation plan, a public transportation researcher, an executive planner, a key policy director with the University of South Florida's transportation research center, a consultant and a transportation engineer.
And even though the system evolved from some of their very own direction and planning, these experts point to one overarching conclusion: We can't just continue to lay down asphalt.
In the coming days and weeks, the Herald will cover a lot of ground in challenging our dependency on congested roads and our lack of mass transit. We've had a lot of fun in doing so, believe it or not. We hit the road, literally, to bring these stories to you.
Reporter Brian Neill takes a road trip from west Bradenton to our newsroom in East Manatee County - and though he starts out "at peace with the world," his journey takes him to . . . well, you'll have to check back next Sunday. Veteran columnist Vin Mannix sheds his car wheels for bicycle treads an entire day. We get on an MCAT bus and find out how long it takes to do every errand on the list that day - or at least try.
You'll find our traffic data in an interactive map of Manatee County today on Bradenton.com. The numbers are telling: In the past decade, for example, annual traffic counts have gone from 28,500 vehicles on State Road 64 west of Interstate 75, to 43,500 last year. And you can ride along with longtime taxi driver Tom Rogers, who talks about gas prices, traffic congestion and life itself in Paul Videla's video.
In the end, we plan to offer solutions that help map out a new master plan that focuses on preserving "community." You see, being at that crossroads forces a choice. Manatee County is at a fork in the road where almost every decision has long-term ramifications.
Help this community make the right choices. Weigh in with your thoughts, the direction you think Manatee decision-makers should go - and use our online forum to speak your mind. Go to Bradenton.com/forums, and in the Local News forums you'll find "Traffic Nightmares." Blog away, dear readers.
Joan Krauter is executive editor/vice president of the Bradenton Herald. She can also be reached at (941) 748-0411, ext. 2000.
E-Mail
Print
@Nyx.CommentBody@