Dear Editor,
The article “Sierra Club barred from tour of proposed ferry, park,” by Penny Fletcher, published 5-11-2014, is an eye-opener. It calls attention to the need for more parks for our growing citizens. It is clear that birds, unlike people, can move around to areas that suit them very easily. They just fly away. Not so with human beings, who are hampered by laws and Keep Out signs all over the bay to restrict their every move. To demonstrate just how bad this has become, look at the unbelievable growth in red-marked areas on the article illustration. These note the off limit to people bird preserves. In particular, note their locations: all along the shores of Tampa Bay. I think the new South Shore sports-minded generation will want their children to enjoy beach, dock and boat launch facilities so that they can enjoy what we, the more senior individuals, enjoyed before the nesting crowd walled off the bay.
To focus on boat launching into Tampa Bay, all we have in Hillsborough County really is E.G. Simmons and Williams Parks. You can’t count on substandard Cockroach Bay ramp and parking, low-bridge-restricted Common good [sic] Park ramp, low-tide-restricted Dominick [sic] Park ramp, and dangerous incline Wild Cat Creek ramp. As has been seen so many times in the past, all, in particular both Simmons and Williams’s ramps, get overloaded, particularly when the weather is nice.
Let’s look at why this has surfaced now and will get worse. First it was Amazon, with its 1,000 worker force in Ruskin. Then it was Bass Pro Bass Shops in Brandon, followed by Gander Mountain, and finally Sports Authority. All these outfits will attract the younger sports-minded customers and hire sports-minded employees, who will locate close to the work places. What will they find: Not much because most of the boat ramp access to the water is in Manatee, Clearwater, and Pinellas counties.
But wait, I forgot there is the HMS Global Maritime need for a ferry terminal to MacDill Airfield Base [sic]. The proposed location is the undeveloped Fred and Idah [sic] Schultz Preserve at the southern tip of Hillsborough County in the Kitchen area with a 3-acre proposed boat basin. Once the four boat launch ramps are added, the large 1,000+ space parking lot could easily be used whenever car parking for the ferries are light, most likely on weekends. A perfect parking fit, with a nominal parking fee to insure [sic] the lot remains clean and has an organized appearance. This location will certainly cut down on wasteful boat traffic and trailer traffic to and from distant ramps and beaches.
This ferry terminal location will continue to attract more business activities to serve the growing young sports-minded population. It could also go a long way to attracting a new ball park on this side of the bay in the event that the Rays want to relocate. Hillsborough County should approve the HMS Global Maritime project without further delay, and add a nominal grant to cover the four boat ramp design and construction costs.
Charlie Feldschau
Sun City Center
Dear Editor,
A recent story on The Observer News quotes Gail Parsons commenting on the High Speed Ferry Project and the Schultz Preserve. She was identified as Vice Chair of the Tampa Bay Sierra Club. The views expressed by Gail Parsons were her own and do not reflect the official position of the Tampa Bay Sierra Club.
The Tampa Bay Sierra Club endorses and supports the Tampa Bay High Speed Ferry Project. This position was adopted at the June 5, 2013 meeting of our Executive Committee by a vote of seven to one, with one abstention. As a result of that vote, I was directed by then-Chair Marcia Biggs to draft a letter of support to each of the Hillsborough County Commissioners. …
Tampa Bay Sierra expects the Ferry Project, with commuter ferries connecting south Hillsborough County and MacDill Air Force Base, to replace up to 62,000 vehicle miles on our highways per day, significantly reducing air and water pollution in the Tampa Bay area. Cleaner air and water makes the county more livable and attractive — for people and wildlife — and for economic development and tourism.
In Tampa Bay, motor vehicles are the major source of air pollution. From 2007-2009, Hillsborough County reported 21 days when ozone levels were high enough to issue health warnings — the highest number in the state. Hillsborough County received an F-rating by the American Lung Association for ground-level ozone pollution, known as smog, which is produced when heat and sunlight cook tailpipe emissions.
The ferry can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 6000 tons per year and NOx pollution by up to 16 tons per year. Nitrogen is a major pollutant to Tampa Bay. Vehicles discharge oils and toxins onto our roads, which pollute wetlands and waterways through stormwater runoff.
Tampa Bay Sierra believes the High Speed Ferry project will shift the development/transportation paradigm for the rapidly growing area in South Hillsborough County. Providing a premium transit option that works will incentivize transit-oriented development and promote options such as buses, bikes and sidewalks in the place of ever-wider roadways. No other transit option has the potential to move so many people for so little cost.
We continue to support the expeditious development and funding of this innovative, transformative and cost-effective transportation project
Kent Bailey
Chair, Tampa Bay Sierra Club Group