K-Bar Ranch Connection To Wesley Chapel Nearly Complete By JOHN C. COTEY john@ntneighborhoodnews.com K-Bar Ranch is tucked away in the northeasternmost part of Hillsborough County, with pretty much only one way in and one way out. However, another option is finally on the way. This July, a road connecting K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. to Wesley Chapel’s Meadow Pointe Blvd. is expected to be complete and open to travelers. K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. is an east-west road that runs through K-Bar Ranch, from Kinnan St. to, eventually, Morris Bridge Rd. City of Tampa chief traffic management engineer and head of the Smart Mobility Division Vik Bhide confirmed during a Tampa City Council workshop that construction on the final stage of the Pasco County side of the planned connector road will begin soon. “The developer (M/I Homes) has already secured permits from Pasco County for that work and will be moving forward with it,” Bhide said. “We are coordinating with Pasco County (its planning and engineering departments).” City Council member Luis Viera, who represents K-Bar Ranch and the rest of the city’s New Tampa area as part of his District 7, called for the workshop last year in light of mobility and safety concerns, as well as fire response times, all of which were raised at the meeting. Of most interest to K-Bar residents is the connection to Pasco County, which will allow easier travel north to the S.R. 56 corridor, which includes shopping, restaurants and the Shops at Wiregrass. Currently, residents of the western portion of K-Bar Ranch would have to take Kinnan St. south to Cross Creek Blvd., then west to Bruce B. Downs Blvd., then north towards Wesley Chapel. When K-Bar Ranch was planned, Bhide says four northbound access points to Pasco County were envisioned. The connection to Meadow Pointe Blvd. would be only be the second one to actually be completed, along with a connection at Kinnan St. and Mansfield Blvd. However, that Kinnan connection to Mansfield Blvd. is only available to the public via walking or biking. Otherwise, a safety arm monitored by Pasco allows only emergency vehicles through.
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Sometime soon, there will be a connection for vehicular traffic from Meadow Pointe Blvd. (above) in Wesley Chapel to K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. in New Tampa. (Photo: Charmaine George) A third connection, further east at Wyndfields Blvd. in Pasco, and a fourth connection when K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. is completed all the way to Morris Bridge Rd., won’t be ready for at least two more years, according to Bhide. But, with K-Bar Ranch residents clamoring for relief, the Meadow Pointe Blvd. connection is a needed addition, according to the City of Tampa. “Our recommendation, in light of the access needs in this area, is to open that up for traffic,” Bhide said. “The reason is….we feel the more access, the better. After hearing neighborhood concerns about public access and mobility, this would be the right thing to do.” Viera, who has had multiple meetings with K-Bar Ranch residents, said he hasn’t ever met anyone living there who didn’t want the connection to Meadow Pointe Blvd. to be made. “Now, we’ll schedule a community meeting to let them talk about the pros and cons,” Viera said. One of those cons will be additional traffic into K-Bar Ranch. “It will increase traffic,” Bhide said. “However, we think it will be a two-way benefit.” Bhide also discussed some of the safety measures already put into place on K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., but added that speeding in the area remains a major concern. There have been two fatal crashes on K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. in five years, and the community has made numerous complaints about the speeding. The city also is studying the intersection at Bassett Creek and Kinnan, in front of Pride Elementary, due to traffic concerns. “We are doing a deep dive on the safety concerns,” Bhide said.
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As for fire rescue response times, which have not been good in New Tampa (and in K-Bar Ranch in particular) according to the most recent reports published last year, City of Tampa Fire Chief Barbara Tripp said her department is working on better ways to access K-Bar Ranch area in order to decrease response times. While K-Bar is on the schedule to receive a new Tampa Fire Rescue station, sometime during the next few years, Tripp suggested a satellite station or maybe increasing units at the existing stations until then.
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