Neighbors Rally Against Bloomingdale Big-Box Development

Residents were out in in force May 7 on Bloomingdale Avenue waving hands and hand-made signs in protest of big-box retailer and apartment-complex development on land adjacent to the Bloomingdale Regional Library.

• See also Video Views From Big-Box Development Protest

Kids joined adults in the neighborhood rally, organized under the auspices of the Coordinated Active Neighborhoods Development Organization (CANDO), also known as, "No Bloomingdale Big Box."

The group is active on Facebook and on change.org, with a petition against the development that as of May 7 had realized 840 supporters. 

The May 7 rally, scheduled to start 5:30 p.m., was designed to coincide with rush-hour traffic on Bloomingdale Avenue.

"Obviously, we can't have something in here that's going to create more traffic," said protestor Mike Williams.

"I've been living here 31 years this month, I was here when this subdivision was brand new," said Little Oak Estates resident Julie Milam. "I would like to preserve the integrity of our neighborhood."

Protestors claimed that Bloomingdale Avenue and nearby Lithia-Pinecrest Road are failing and failed roads unable to sustain the addition of thousands of vehicles daily, should a big-box retailer and apartment complex join in the mix of community offerings.

Also, that the development would hurt the environment and increase safety risks to the general area, which is home to the library, Bloomingdale High School, the Bloomingdale Little League fields, the Campo Family YMCA and a handful of schools, including Alafia and Cimino elementary schools and Bloomingdale High School.

Residents raised concerns, too, about the process leading up to the approved zoning, which some people claimed was done without full transparency.

With the proposed new development in place, "traffic is going to be crazy," said 30-year resident Vivian Simmons, who added that she is deeply concerned for the safety of kids, being that there are many bus stops in the area.

"I could see them doing a park of some kind but not more apartments," she added. "There comes a time when you have to stop. It's just over-development."

Dale Gardner concentrated on the roads.

"I'm very concerned about the traffic," Gardner said, standing on Bloomingdale Avenue. This is a 'D' road we're on right now and Lithia-Pinecrest is an 'F' road, according to the Hillsborough County Commissioners own report, published in March 2010."

Thousands of more vehicles dialy on Bloomingdale Avenue and Lithia-Pinecrest Road?

"These roads can't handle that," Gardner added. "It's a disaster."

Among the protestors were students, young and old, including Brandon Elder, a senior at Bloomingdale High, who kept busy bouncing on his feet from side to side.

"I run for the cross country team and this is our usual route we go on," he said. "If there's a big-box there, all that goes away."

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RELATED COVERAGE:

• 'No Bloomingdale Big Box' Event Set for Rush-Hour Traffic (includes reader comments)

• Opposition Preps for Big-Box Development Protest

• Bloomingdale Residents Continue To Fight Big-Box Development (includes link to a petition that has garnered more than 830 signatures)
  

• Higginbotham Fields Big-Box Development Question (video and reader comments posted at Brandon Patch)

• Commissioner Answers Big-Box Development Question (video and comments posted at Bloomingdale-Riverview Patch)

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