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APRIL 30, 2014
Major resurfacing planned for U.S. 41
By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Motorists driving on U.S. 41 in Lutz will notice lane closures while workers complete a $5.4 million waterline project. But even after the waterline work is done, traffic disruptions on the six-lane highway that cuts through Lutz will continue. The Florida Department of Transportation
will do a resurfacing project on U.S. 41, from Linnwood Drive to north of County Line Road, through Lutz. Plans call for resurfacing 7.4 miles of roadway. Other improvements include intersection upgrades for pedestrian improvements and bicycle lanes along the entire length of the project. The railroad crossing south of Crystal Lakes Road will be reconstructed as well,
which will require a temporary detour, according to FDOT spokeswoman Kris Carson. Design for the project was completed in March.The work is expected to begin in the winter, Carson said. The design work cost $2.3 million. The resurfacing and other improvements will cost an estimated $11.5 million, but those figures may change as the project progresses, Carson said.
Local woman revels in Boston Marathon run By B.C. Manion bcmanion@lakerlutznews.com
Trish Trout can scratch an item off her bucket list. The Wesley Chapel woman completed the 118th Boston Marathon on April 21, finishing the 26.2-mile course in 6 hours and 14 minutes. It was a day that she’ll never forget. “I was in the center of the Boston Marathon,”Trout said.“You’re a rock star for a day. It’s like everybody’s your best friend.” It came a year after bombings rocked the event, and security was tight, Trout said. Military police, Boston police and other law enforcement officers were stationed about every 150 yards along the route. Helicopters hovered over the crowds. Armored trucks blocked roads. Bomb-sniffing dogs walked through the crowds,Trout added. “My cheering section could not get to the finish line because it was lockdown. Even VIP ticket holders were kept out,” she said. Despite the heavy security, the atmosphere was festive. “It was a beautiful day. The energy was unreal,”Trout said.“At times, it was breathtaking, just seeing all of those people in support, and all of the runners. All ages, all shapes and sizes. It was awesome.” Spectators lined the course, cheering on See MARATHON, page 12
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TRISH TROUT
Trish Trout is taking it all in as she runs in the 118th Boston Marathon.
Pasco exploring bringing all advertising signs to the ground By Michael Hinman mhinman@lakerlutznews.com
More than a decade after she led a crusade to lower new business advertising signs in Pasco County, Kathryn Starkey is gearing up to bring the “grandfathered” ones up to code. The county commissioner says it’s time her colleagues start looking into enforcing the sign laws — which typically limit sign height at 11 feet — uniformly across Pasco, including those signs that pre-date the 2003 changes to the ordinance. Starkey, however, says she won’t push it without trying to find at least some help for business owners, who would have to invest in new signs. “One of the biggest complaints I get is the old signs that are still up, so we got to figure out a way to help those businesses bring those signs to our new look,” Starkey
MICHAEL HINMAN/STAFF PHOTO
It’s usually Golden Arches in the sky when there’s a McDonald’s around. But the newest McDonald’s at 1733 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Wesley Chapel has a sign at ground level, thanks to a Pasco County ordinance, and the early efforts of Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey.
said.“It’s difficult. It’s a financial investment, but I think we should incentivize them to bring them up to the current code.” How to incentivize those businesses is still a big question mark, but one possibility could be offering small grants or even lowinterest microloans to help defray the costs, Starkey said. Businesses with grandfathered signs have been allowed to keep them as long as they are not changed in a way that would make them become “more non-conforming” to the ordinance. After 11 years, some of those signs are starting to show their age, and are looking more and more out of place in areas where ground-level, or monument, signs have become the norm. Starkey’s original goal was to prevent the growing Wesley Chapel area from becoming See SIGNS, page 12