TAMPA, Fla. — Nearly three months after four people were killed and more than a dozen injured in a fatal Ybor City crash, the community had the chance to let city officials know what safety improvements they’d like to see in the historic district.
“Something has to be done, and sooner than later, too,” said Candra Granville Mack.
Granville Mack was among the dozens who came out to Centro Asturiano de Tampa Monday night for a public meeting with city council members, police representatives, and more. She said her reason for being there was personal.
What You Need To Know
City council members, police, and more met with residents Monday night to discuss roadway improvements in Ybor City
The meeting follows a November crash that took the lives of four people and injured more than a dozen others after a driver Tampa Police say was fleeing from law enforcement plowed into a crowd
Tampa’s interim director of transportation services says some steps have already been taken, including lowering the speed limit on 7th Ave
Read previous coverage here
Her cousin, Sherman Jones, was 53 years old when his life was cut short in the early morning hours of November 8.
“‘Superman’ is what they called him,” she said. “That’s what he was – our super hero to the whole family.”
Jones was one of more than a dozen people hit by a speeding driver who Tampa Police said was involved in a pursuit with Florida Highway Patrol on Nov. 8.
“He was just out people watching,” she said. “It’s so funny because one of his nephew’s friends was out there that same day at a motorcycle event and happened to catch the last photo of my cousin just standing there, just people watching, before he was killed.”
Granville Mack said she and other family members returned to Ybor on Monday for Jones and for others.
“It’s difficult, and we’d like to hear some good information tonight to move forward so other families don’t have to be where we are now,” she said.
Interim Transportation Services Director Adam Purcell told the crowd that crashes like November’s are rare in the district.
“In the last ten years, there has not been a fatal crash on 7th Ave. except for what occurred in November,” said Purcell.
He said that for the historic district as a whole, the past five years have seen a relatively small number of crashes with serious injuries and two involving fatalities.
According to Purcell, transportation services staff started meeting with Tampa Police soon after November’s fatal crash to explore safety improvements.
He said speed reduction is a main focus, with the speed limit on 7th Ave. being lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph, part of the street being re-bricked, and on-street parking being added to narrow lanes and encourage slower speeds. The city is also looking at adding four-way stops and bollards at higher volume intersections.
Speakers at the meeting raised concerns about sidewalks and a street design they said favors cars instead of pedestrians. The panel also heard from people for and against a suggestion that’s come up again and again through the years – shutting down 7th Ave.
“Just take the street and make it like New Orleans,” said Granville Mack. “Just cut it off certain days so people can have fun and be safe.”
“The owners are concerned about closing down 7th Avenue, bringing in congestion and bringing in more people who do not spend their money on 7th Avenue,” said Joe Citro, a former member of Tampa City Council. “You have the homeowners concerned that it’s going to take more traffic off of 7th and put it on their neighborhood streets.”
Citro said he supports adding four-way stops and setting up bollards in parking spaces Thursday through Saturday.
Granville Mack said she hopes some change comes from the lives lost.
Some at the meeting asked for more discussions on the topic or a workshop-style meeting. City Councilmember Naya Young led the meeting and said she’s open to more conversations on making Ybor streets safer.