It's All in Your Perspective

I have been following with great interest the discussion regarding the so called "Heartland Expressway" a proposed new corridor running from I-4 NE of Lakeland through Osceola, Polk. Highlands, Hardee, Desoto and Lee Counties. This is one of those ideas which is so good that it may not happen!

As a market analyst engaged in market studies, highest and best use studies and feasibility analysis this project has all of the ingredients to make an interesting and compelling study. In my field the lexicon identifies "Linkages" which are primarily thought of as being roadways linking people and jobs and services. Linkages can also include public transportation, utilities and communication corridors as well.

The last article in May provided an overview of the project and news that the proposal was met with opposition and disinterest on the part of the new governor of Florida. To be sure the St. Petersburg Times stories leading up to the latest article not very subtly attempt to attach a "stink" to the project due the fact that there are large landowners who would benefit from the project. It all sounds very "John D. McDonald-ish" when you paint a picture of the rich land baron creating ill-gotten gains. In spite of the slant of the articles and using my own consulting practice as a resource as well as first-hand knowledge of previous successful projects the whole story has not been told. This area of Florida is where the great ranches, farms and landholdings of the past formed a vital part of our economy for many years. The plan seems to call for a conscious and overt effort to provide both the necessary linkages to control growth as well as accumulate public interest lands for conservation purposes.

Governor Crist calls the roadway "a road to nowhere"; precisely governor and that's the sensibility of it. As a life-long Florida resident I have seen many of the traditional growth areas attempt to control growth by not providing services and then finally when growth pressure occurs anyway a much steeper price is paid to provide the same services after the fact. Even more importantly is the question "Where else would you put a corridor"? Although Florida's traditional growth volume and patterns are changing we will continue to grow. We will grow where there is land and "Linkages" from where people live to where they shop and work and go to school. Building the road ahead of time is not a radical concept, look at the Veteran's Expressway in Tampa and the controlled community planning that followed and closer to the Heartland, the Polk Parkway. In both instances these are toll roads paying for their own cost impact and at the same time providing a much needed linkage in already congested areas (especially in the case of the Veteran's Expressway). The Polk Parkway provided me with a consulting assignment for the FDOT several years ago when they were attempting to negotiate the acquisition of sufficient land to widen an existing roadway at the Parkway and were met by reluctance on the part of the landowner. My assignment was to provide a marketability study of the larger parcel from which the acquisition would be made and determine the (at the time) highest and best use.

The study revealed that although the road had initially been controversial it accomplished the goals set for the project in opening up new lands in south Lakeland and Polk County for new and much needed family housing and new schools and services. The road provides access to the two main work centers for Polk residents, Tampa and Orlando. Central Lakeland at or near I-4 was (and is) congested and there were few parcels of land left to build on in northerly Polk due to environmental reasons.

Florida historically has too few north-south linkages and arteries but an abundance of east-west corridors crossing the peninsula. The call for additional widening of I-75 as well as I-95 and the congestion on the aging Florida Turnpike point to a need for relief by providing new growth centers and corridors instead of throwing money at a losing battle to stay abreast of traffic needs to already overcrowded areas of urban sprawl.