1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Executive Summary Hillsborough County’s Capital Improvements Program includes roadway investments that have the potential to further the planned and ongoing evolution of our communities. Prior to commencement of these projects, a Preliminary Land Use Assessment and Transportation Study (PLAT Study) is completed. These studies examine the market’s potential for growth, planned development pattern and form, and how people use the road. This informs the capital improvement’s Project Development and Environmental Phase (PD&E) and the ultimate design of the constructed project, ensuring that the newly constructed road works to enhance the community. The purpose of this study is to determine the most appropriate design strategy for the E. 131 st Avenue corridor. The study examines the existing land uses and transportation conditions in the area, the manner that various plans for the area direct those uses and infrastructure to evolve, as well as the direction that markets are moving land uses. This will help to ensure that the ultimate design of the road reflects the direction of the plans for the area and leverages the market in the area and the network that feeds this corridor. The studied portion of the 131 st Avenue Corridor (shown in Figure 1-1 ) runs from N. Nebraska Ave east to Bruce B. Downs Boulevard for a total distance of 1.5 miles. The Nebraska Ave intersection is dominated by Robbins Lumber Company. The Bruce B. Downs intersection is dominated by the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital. The area between is primarily multi- family housing with some convenience retail.
The study area is one of the most densely populated areas in Hillsborough County, with a density of nearly eight people per acre versus an average of two countywide. Over thirty percent of households in the area are zero vehicle households, and 16 of the 41 transit stops in the area are in the top 10 percent for average weekday boardings and alightings. The east end of the corridor has higher volumes of pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile users than the west end. The corridor has the potential to serve more local traffic users than regional traffic users, with half of automobile trips using the corridor beginning or ending on the corridor and 30 percent of automobile trips using the corridor traveling a total distance of less than two miles. The University Area Community Plan calls for a mixed-use environment connected by main streets, boulevards, and pedestrian links. It also specifically calls out E. 131 st Avenue as an economically vital neighborhood corridor for which a strategic redevelopment plan should be completed. Pedestrian safety and crime prevention are common themes, as are a focus on infill development, redevelopment, and multimodal transportation. The findings of this study support the focus of the plans. Market findings indicate a latent demand for market rate housing in the area. While there are 20,000 jobs in the vicinity of the corridor, there are only 1,000 people who both live and work in the vicinity of the corridor. The anticipated mixed-use redevelopment of the University Mall along with potential expansion of the V.A. hospital will bring additional demand to the area. These market rate housing units will be hard to realize without quality of life improvements.
6
E. 131 ST AVENUE PLAT STUDY PRELIMINARY LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION STUDY
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog