Public hearings begin Tuesday

The state’s toll road agency will spend $183 million during the next five years acquiring land for Suncoast Parkway 2 and designing the four-lane highway, according to the agency’s five-year plan.

Florida Turnpike Enterprise officials will explain the plan to Citrus County commissioners Tuesday and ask for their feedback. The presentation of the plan is not part of a formal public hearing.

Suncoast Parkway 2 would be built through western Citrus County starting near the Hernando County line and running north to U.S. 19 above Crystal River in the area of Red Level.

Cost estimates for the total project have risen to $879 million.

State officials have scheduled public hearings to take input on the plan Tuesday at the Pasco County Government Center in New Port Richey and again Thursday at the Florida Department of Transportation District Seven Headquarters in Tampa. FDOT also will discuss its five-year transportation plan for District 7 at the two hearings.

Citrus County lies in District 7.

Members of the anti-parkway group, Citizens Opposed to Suncoast Tollway Inc. (COST), plan to attend the county commission meeting, even if they cannot speak.

Commission Chairman Dennis Damato said he would have no objections to taking public comment provided there is not a roomful of people who want to step to the microphone.

COST is a citizens’ group concerned about the potential environmental impacts of building a 400-foot wide four-lane toll road through a 26-mile long corridor of the county.

The route selected by the state was chosen during a previous Project Development and Engineering study in 1998. It runs north along the far eastern edge of Sugarmill Woods through two conservation areas — Annutteligia Hammock and the Lecanto Sandhills. It passes close to several northern communities.

However, FTE has yet to produce a map showing the exact route. FTE is looking at the old study data to determine what has changed in the selected route. Some communities have grown since that time.

If the road were built, it would pass through the primary recharge areas of three first-magnitude springs on Citrus County’s coastline, according Jim Bierly, a member of COST’s executive committee. A recharge area consists of porous soils that allow rainfall to reach the aquifer quickly. The aquifer provides water to the springs.

Bierly said he was encouraged by a newspaper report saying State Sen. Nancy Argenziano is drafting legislation to protect springs. Argenziano has not decided on the contents of the springs protection law, but Bierly said the bill is an indication the public is beginning to recognize the need for springs protection.

“They finally realize springs are important,” he said.

Building the parkway would cover thousands of acres of undeveloped land that allow aquifer recharge, Bierly said. He said the parkway also would encourage development along its borders, covering even more recharge soils with homes and streets.

Kevin Cunningham, president of the Citrus County Chamber of Commerce, said he considers Suncoast Parkway 2 an essential part of the state’s future transportation system.

He said Interstate 75 is already clogged with traffic during rush hour in some parts of the state, and Florida’s population continues to grow.

“What are we going to do, keep the roads the same?” he said.

Cunningham said Suncoast Parkway 2 will serve as an emergency evacuation corridor for the Tampa Bay region in case of a hurricane and will provide a major transportation corridor for people traveling from Tampa north to Georgia.

He said he is not sure the roadway would help local businesses because he anticipates most of the vehicles will be through-traffic, meaning they will pass through the county without stopping.

“It may make things happen faster,” said Cunningham, a Realtor. “Growth is inevitable. Without the parkway, we citizens will be affected by the traffic jams that will develop.”