Residents split over proposed Linebaugh crosswalk near Westchase Elementary

At the May 7, 2025 meeting of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, dozens of Westchase residents and parents urged different outcomes on a proposed mid‑block crosswalk and pedestrian‑activated flashing signal on Linebaugh Avenue near Westchase Elementary.

The debate surfaced during the public comment portion of the meeting, where opponents including Rick Goldstein, vice president for government affairs for the Westchase Community Association, presented a petition and argued the project is unnecessary. “We are opposed to it,” Goldstein said. “The board and the voting members have voted unanimously to oppose the crosswalk for the following reasons. 1, we already have 2, if not 3, safety issues already in place. There's a crosswalk. There are traffic signals. There are crossing guards.”

Supporters said the crosswalk would provide safer walking options and reduce driving. Nicholas Akins, a Westpark Village homeowner and parent, told the board the crossing would give families “more options to safely walk our son to and from school” and could reduce congestion and help nearby small businesses by connecting neighborhoods north and south of Linebaugh.

Opponents described safety and operational concerns. Resident Robert Bader said installing a pedestrian‑activated crossing would “actually reduce safety and increase traffic risk” by shifting pedestrians from a signalized intersection to a mid‑block crossing with lower driver compliance. Retired Tampa Police officer Tim Degaspi, who also coordinates buses at Davidson Middle School, told commissioners that the traffic study documents “0” pedestrian crashes in the past five years and said a large number of existing traffic‑management measures (signals, crossing guards and school bus service) already serve the area.

Speakers said funding and neighborhood priorities are at issue. Goldstein said the crosswalk would cost “close to a million dollars” while sidewalks across the community remain in need of repair. Eric Di India, a Westchase resident, said the community has “uneven sidewalks throughout the entire community of some 3,500 units and yet there doesn't appear to be much money to address this true safety hazard. Instead, the county appears to be preparing to spend about a million dollars to build a crosswalk for the convenience of what I understand to be less than 50 elementary school students.”

Board members did not take a vote on the crosswalk during the meeting. A board member asked staff for a follow‑up. After public comment concluded, a commissioner asked county staff to provide a memorandum update to commissioners about the Linebaugh crosswalk and further study options and mitigation measures.

The county has not formally adopted a new design or construction schedule for the crosswalk. The petition and the community association’s unanimous opposition were entered into the public record at the meeting, and speakers on both sides asked the board to weigh safety trade‑offs, parking impacts for small businesses and the county’s sidewalk priorities before authorizing construction.