By LINDA CHION KENNEY
The call is out for Riverview residents to address the community plan adopted in 2006, and this time in relation to the ongoing U.S. Highway 301 study conducted by the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority.
As for the THEA study, “the idea is to eventually, maybe, put in a tolling facility that connects the current Selmon Expressway to south of the Alafia River,” said county planner Jay Collins, noting that this brings to bear the three main roads for which this connection even is possible, THEA’s study focuses specifically on the US 301 corridor.
THEA officials, Collins added, “must look at all of these possibilities and provide in its Project Development and Environment (PDE) study which one is the preferred alternative, which one gives the biggest bang for the buck in reducing congestion and evacuation time in case of an emergency.”
Duly noted is that this is a process, and not a sure thing for any of these three roads, with so many factors that need to be addressed, not the least of which is expense and viability.
Nevertheless, Collins said, the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners [BOCC] “wants us to go out there and update the community plan” while THEA is addressing U.S. 301 as part of its overall assessment.
Not lost on county officials and weary motorists is the “substantial growth” in eastern and southern portions of Hillsborough County that has unduly burdened local streets.
Indeed, for Riverview alone, population and jobs have grown significantly from 2010 to 2024, with 81 percent and 97 percent increases, respectively, according to county officials. Moreover, through 2025, population is expected to grow another 19 percent, with employment increasing by 39 percent.
Meanwhile, the BOCC voted unanimously in June 2023 to work with THEA to conduct a PD&E study from the Selmon Expressway to Big Bend Road. Florida legislators in 1963 established THEA as a tolling authority.
Like-minded initiatives have led to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway reversible express lanes, connecting Brandon to Tampa, and the toll lane extension from the south end of the Gandy Bridge to the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, which cuts travel time from south Tampa to MacDill Air Force Base, Pinellas County and more.
As for the PD&E study related to Big Bend Road, the aim is to address issues and concerns related to adding capacity on U.S. Highway 301 to alleviate congestion on U.S. 301, Interstate 75 and surrounding roads. In addition, it aims is to address congestion, safety and resiliency/evacuation concerns.
The U.S. 301 study reportedly ranks 7th highest out of 162 projects on TPO’s Major Investment Project Needs Assessment List for potential congestion reduction. Formerly known as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) is a transportation policy making board mandated by federal and state law.
Public workshops in late 2024 were held to gather feedback from residents and commuters along the U.S. 301 corridor. They were held at the Hilton Garden Inn Riverview, Riverview Public Library and Spurlino Family YMCA.
This follows the BOCC’s request for a Riverview Community Plan review in light of the THEA U.S. 301 study. Again, the aim is to edit and/or create new strategies for the plan as they affect the U.S. 301 corridor.
Open house meetings were set for March 22 and 25, at the Riverview Public Library, and April 1, as a one-hour virtual meeting, set to start 6 p.m.
County officials over the past 20 years have adopted 22 community plans as an extension of the county’s comprehensive plan. The aim is to represent the vision and goals for a specific area, with boundaries informed by public feedback and with goals and strategies representative of future priorities.
While they are designed to inform elected officials on development decisions, funds are not allocated through community plans, and they do not generally change a property’s land use or zoning.
In the presentations last week, it was noted that the current Riverview Community Plan, adopted in 2006, covers 13 goals and strategies. It breaks the Riverview area into “character districts,” including District 1, known as the “U.S. 301 Corridor District.” The corridor is envisioned “as a walkable, mixed-used environment supported by a ‘downtown’ with building design guidelines,” as codified in the county’s land development code.
While county planning commission staff is working with Riverview interests to update Riverview plan goals and strategies relative to the U.S. 301 corridor, the outreach will not stop there, especially so as the BOCC expands the Urban Service Area into Balm, Riverview and Wimauma, Collins said.
“We need to have a conversation with people; this is not rural anymore,” Collins added. “Triple Creek, for example, is changing rapidly and becoming just as suburban as Panther Trace, St. Charles and all other neighborhoods along U.S. 301.”
For more on the U.S. 301 THEA study, and to take a related survey, visit https://selmonstudies.com/us-301-study/.
For more on Hillsborough Plan, including office chats and volunteer opportunities as Hillsborough Plan ambassadors, visit www.planhillsborough.org/planriverivew.org/. For the existing Riverview Community Plan, visit www.planhillsborough.org/. Contact Jay Collins, AICP, at collinsj@plancom.org or Andrea Papandrew, AICP, at papandrewa@plancom.org/; call Collins at 813-582-7335 or Papandrew at 813-665-1331.